Students at Avondale GATE Magnet School collaborate during class.
By: Mary Beth Almond | C&G Newspapers | Published January 23, 2025
ROCHESTER HILLS/BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP/AUBURN HILLS — Avondale GATE Magnet School has been recognized among the top schools in Michigan, according to U.S. News & World Report.
In the recently released 2025 Best Elementary Schools and Best Middle Schools rankings by U.S. News & World Report, Avondale GATE Magnet School ranked No. 2 in Michigan for middle schools and No. 4 for elementary schools. The report includes more than 79,000 public schools that are ranked at the state and district level.
Officials from U.S. News said the top-ranked public schools in the 2024 Best Elementary and Best Middle schools rankings were evaluated based on state-required test performance, graduation rates, and how effectively they prepare students for high school. Schools are assessed on their students’ proficiency in mathematics and reading/language arts, with half of the rankings formula based on test scores and the other half considering the context of socioeconomic demographics.
“The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success,” LaMont Jones, the managing editor for education at U.S. News said in a statement. “The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond.”
At Avondale GATE Magnet School — which serves students in grades 2-8 — 92% of students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 98% scored at or above proficient in reading.
James Schwarz, superintendent of Avondale School District, said he is incredibly proud of GATE students and staff for the “remarkable achievement.”
“Everybody in that building feels very passionate about what they do and what they do for that population of students,” he said. “That population of students are often ones that are — in most public school settings — ignored, whose needs typically aren’t met. Those are the kids that ‘get it,’ so they are often the ones left coaching other kids who ‘don’t get it’ and left unchallenged themselves. That population is, nationally, the largest population that drops out, because they get disenfranchised with education — they’re bored. So our staff really feels passionate about their purpose and providing this type of education and challenge to students to really push on their potential.”
The Avondale School District launched its GATE, or Gifted And Talented Education program during the 2017-2018 school year, enrolling approximately 31 students in two multiage third-and fourth-grade classrooms at Woodland Elementary School.
At that time, Schwarz said the idea was that it would be a self-contained magnet program to service truly gifted students — being that there was not one in this area — a public school that services students to that end, in a program specific for that ability.
“We had brought in staff that had specific certifications in gifted education and began to run methodologies in the classroom that were steeped in best practice gifted strategies, coupled with support — because often gifted students also have areas of deficit, usually socially and emotionally. So we were very careful to supply those supports within the pilot,” Schwarz said. “The program quickly caught on with demand.”
In 2019, the program more than doubled — with 74 students enrolled in four multiage classrooms; two second-and third-grade split classes, and two fourth-and fifth-grade split classes.
To meet the increasing demand for enrollment, in 2000 the GATE program moved into a dedicated building, the Avondale Meadows Learning Center in Rochester Hills, with students in second through sixth grades eligible to be part of the program. The GATE program continued to expand, with the addition of seventh grade in the 2020-21 school year and eighth grade in 2021-2022.
“Originally it was 30 students, now (GATE) serves about 400 in a matter of about seven years,” Schwarz said.
Upon eighth grade, Schwarz said GATE students then go to high school, where they can differentiate into a wide variety of honors choices, Advanced Placement, dual enrollment and early college. GATE students can complete their high school requirements in half the time, which allows them to take AP or dual enrollment courses.
The GATE program is open to students in second through eighth grades within the Avondale School District and those outside the district as a school of choice, as space allows. Applications for students within the district are typically due in the fall, and school of choice applications are typically due in February.
The application window for the 2025–2026 school year at the GATE Magnet School in the Avondale School District is now through Feb. 4. For more information about Avondale School District or GATE Magnet School, visit www.avondaleschools.org.