St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

There were 594 multiracial students enrolled in Cass County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 3.4% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Data showed that Cass County welcomed 6,456 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, multiracial students comprised 9.2% of the student body to be the second highest represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 24 schools in Cass County, Union High School and Sam Adams Elementary School recorded the highest enrollment of multiracial students in the 2023-24 school year, with a total of 76 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	% of multiracial students enrolment	Total enrollment
Union High School	14.3	530
Sam Adams Elementary School	20.5	370
Howard-Ellis Elementary School	9	598
Dowagiac Middle School	14	379
Cassopolis High School	19.7	259
Cassopolis Middle School	22.2	207
Edwardsburg High School	4.1	782
Kincheloe Elementary School	12.9	224
Edwardsburg Middle School	4.2	636
Patrick Hamilton Elementary School	11.8	220
Marcellus Elementary School	8	264
Justus Gage Elementary School	7.1	283
Edwardsburg Primary School	4.5	331
Eagle Lake Elementary School	2.3	400
Edwardsburg Intermediate School	2.5	360
Marcellus High School	5.5	164
Marcellus Middle School	6.5	139
North Pointe Center	15.1	53
Brookside Learning Center	8.3	72
Volinia Outcome Base School	10.4	48
Pathfinders Alternative Education	10	50
Edwardsburg Alternative Learning Center	6.2	65
Cassopolis Alternative Education	18.2	22
Marcellus Community Education Center	0	1