St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

There were 14,926 students enrolled in Van Buren County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 0.8% more than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 51% of the county student body, while the other 49% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 67.9% of the student body, the biggest percentage in Van Buren County schools, followed by 20.6% of Hispanic students, 5.4% of multiracial students, 4.9% of African American students, 0.7% of Asian students, 0.5% of American Indian students and less than 0.1% of Hawaiian students.

Michigan Online School had the highest enrollment among Van Buren County's 45 schools in the 2023-24 school year, welcoming 1,236 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
Michigan Online School	926	1,236	33.5
Mattawan High School	1,171	1,125	-3.9
Mattawan Middle School	817	833	2
Mattawan Later Elementary School	782	812	3.8
Mattawan Early Elementary School	744	696	-6.5
Paw Paw High School	692	665	-3.9
South Haven High School	569	569	0
Bloomingdale Middle and High School	569	563	-1.1
Redwood Elementary School	567	528	-6.9
Paw Paw Early Elementary School	472	482	2.1
Paw Paw Middle School	475	461	-2.9
Paw Paw Later Elementary School	462	447	-3.2
Decatur Junior Senior High School	405	403	-0.5
Lawton Elementary School	401	398	-0.7
Hartford High School	404	385	-4.7
Gobles High School	330	383	16.1
Gobles Elementary School	359	374	4.2
Davis Elementary School	380	349	-8.2
South Walnut Elementary School	335	341	1.8
Hartford Middle School	295	314	6.4
Lawton Middle School	307	313	2
Bangor Middle School	285	294	3.2
Lawton High School	289	292	1
Maple Grove Elementary School	302	290	-4
Bloomingdale Elementary School	311	287	-7.7
Bangor High School	276	277	0.4
Lincoln School	234	227	-3
Lawrence Elementary School	207	225	8.7
Lawrence Junior-Senior High School	212	190	-10.4
Sister Lakes Elementary School	181	168	-7.2
Covert Elementary School	140	155	10.7
Hartford Alternative Education	98	122	24.5
Covert High School	103	116	12.6
Mattawan Early Childhood Education Center	96	87	-9.4
Bert Goens Learning Center	87	81	-6.9
Cedar Street Community and Family Center	90	80	-11.1
Covert Middle School	65	73	12.3
Community-Based Transition Center	70	70	0
Bangor Career Academy	102	60	-41.2
Lawton Accelerated Academic Center	53	37	-30.2
Behavioral Education Center	41	32	-22
Gobles Virtual Academy	48	32	-33.3
WAY South Haven	34	29	-14.7
Wood School Bangor Township 8	24	25	4.2