St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

Mattawan Consolidated School had the highest enrollment among Van Buren County districts, welcoming 3,553 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 51.6% of them were boys, and 48.4% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 84.6% of the Mattawan Consolidated School total enrollment.

Among the 14 districts in Van Buren County, Paw Paw Public School District ranked second in enrollment numbers with 2,135 students, while South Haven Public Schools welcomed 1,779 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Mattawan Consolidated School roughly covers schools within Van Buren County, with its main office in Mattawan.

In the previous school year, Mattawan Consolidated School also had the highest number of students among Van Buren County schools.

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.

District	City (Main Office)	Total Enrollment
Mattawan Consolidated School	Mattawan	3,553
Paw Paw Public School District	Paw Paw	2,135
South Haven Public Schools	South Haven	1,779
Hartford Public Schools	Hartford	1,349
Michigan Online School	Gobles	1,236
Lawton Community School District	Lawton	1,040
Bloomingdale Public School District	Bloomingdale	1,033
Bangor Public Schools (Van Buren)	Bangor	972
Gobles Public School District	Gobles	789
Decatur Public Schools	Decatur	752
Van Buren ISD	Lawrence	684
Lawrence Public Schools	Lawrence	415
Covert Public Schools	Covert	344
Bangor Township School District #8	Bangor	25