St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

There were 17,403 students enrolled in Allegan County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 3.2% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 51.2% of the county student body, while the other 48.8% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 82.1% of the student body, the biggest percentage in Allegan County schools, followed by 10.7% of Hispanic students, 4.6% of multiracial students, 1.6% of African American students, 0.6% of Asian students, 0.4% of American Indian students and less than 0.1% of Hawaiian students.

Wayland High School had the highest enrollment among Allegan County's 58 schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 814 students.

Overall student enrollment in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels, with white students experiencing the largest decline at 6.5%.

Academic performance has also suffered, with the state's average NAEP score dropping by 6.5 points and ethnic achievement gaps have widened. Black and Hispanic students' average math proficiency dropped by 7% in 2022, to 13.5% and 28.2%, respectively.

School name	Total enrollment in 2022-23	Total enrollment in 2023-24	% change
Wayland High School	828	814	-1.7
Plainwell High School	815	813	-0.2
Hamilton High School	781	808	3.5
Otsego High School	751	741	-1.3
Hamilton Middle School	719	714	-0.7
Wayland Union Middle School	649	617	-4.9
Allegan High School	648	614	-5.2
Plainwell Middle School	596	587	-1.5
Fennville Elementary School	523	529	1.1
Otsego Middle School	527	524	-0.6
Hopkins High School	498	490	-1.6
Starr Elementary School	460	451	-2
Washington Street Elementary School	450	450	0
L. E. White Middle School	447	436	-2.5
Baseline Middle School	412	403	-2.2
Gilkey Elementary School	393	399	1.5
Fennville Public High School	378	396	4.8
Pine Street Elementary School	401	390	-2.7
Hopkins Elementary School	386	384	-0.5
Hamilton Elementary School	355	363	2.3
Pine Trails Elementary School	344	339	-1.5
Douglas Elementary School	353	338	-4.2
Dix Street Elementary School	316	332	5.1
Martin High School	332	328	-1.2
Hopkins Middle School	349	322	-7.7
Dorr School	343	322	-6.1
Paris Ridge Elementary School	325	317	-2.5
Bessie B. Baker School	297	313	5.4
Fennville Middle School	298	288	-3.4
Robert D. Brandon Elementary School	278	288	3.6
Dawson Elementary School	297	286	-3.7
North Shore Elementary School	247	261	5.7
Saugatuck High School	259	258	-0.4
West Ward Elementary School	246	245	-0.4
Sycamore Elementary School	243	244	0.4
RJ Steeby School	272	240	-11.8
Bentheim Elementary School	214	218	1.9
Blue Star Elementary School	219	212	-3.2
Saugatuck Middle School	190	197	3.7
Pullman Elementary School	210	183	-12.9
Hamilton Flex	547	151	-72.4
Hillside Learning Behavior Center	138	135	-2.2
Allegan Alternative High School	123	118	-4.1
Innocademy Allegan Campus	94	95	1.1
Renaissance High School	84	92	9.5
Sandyview Elementary School	63	53	-15.9
Career Connections Academy	40	52	30
Outlook Academy	41	50	22
Allegan Online K-8	46	45	-2.2
Pearl Alternative/Adult Education School	44	43	-2.3
Glenn Public School	33	39	18.2
North Ward Elementary School	34	36	5.9
Otsego West Campus High School	27	25	-7.4
Outlook Academy Youth Home Campus	16	15	-6.3