City High-Middle School


City High Middle School is a secondary school operated by the Grand Rapids Public Schools in the greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area.

History

City High School was established in the early 1970s as an alternative school for Grand Rapids Public Schools students in grades 9–12 who were "highly motivated and academically gifted" but were not being served adequately by the district's larger high schools. Enrollment in its early years was about 100 students. The school expanded in 1979 to include grades 7 and 8 as City Middle School, roughly doubling its enrollment.
The school was originally located on the campus of what was then Grand Rapids Junior College on Bostwick Avenue. It has since moved thrice: first in the 1990s, when GRJC separated from the GRPS, to a building adjacent to Grand Rapids Central High School and Fountain Elementary; in 2006, to the site of the former Northeast Middle School at 1400 Fuller Avenue NE; and in 2013, to the former Creston High School building at 1720 Plainfield Avenue Northeast. The district repurposed the pre-2013 campus into GRPS University, a district training center.
In 2009, after several years at the bronze level, U.S. News and World Report awarded City a silver medal rating in its annual ranking of America's best high schools. City received the silver medal rating again in 2012. In 2013 the magazine honored City with a gold medal rating and ranked it #255 among the nation's high schools. Since then, City has continued its ascent in the state and national rankings, with U.S. News and World Report ranking it #1 in Michigan and #21 in the United States in 2020.