St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

St. Joseph High School had the largest enrollment among Berrien County schools, welcoming 933 students during the 2024-25 school year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2024-25 school year, 50.7% of them were boys, and 49.3% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 72.6% of the St. Joseph High School total enrollment.

Among the 74 schools in Berrien County, Lakeshore High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 843 students, while Niles Senior High School welcomed 828 students and ranked third in the 2024-25 school year.

St. Joseph High School is part of St. Joseph Public Schools, which roughly covers schools within Berrien County, with its main office in St. Joseph.

In the previous school year, St. Joseph High School also had the largest number of students among Berrien County schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,427,386 students enrolled in Michigan schools, a figure 4.8% below the pre-pandemic total of 1,499,552 in 2019-20, with white students seeing the largest decline of approximately 3%.

Academic performance in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels. According to the 2024 NAEP results, the share of students reaching the basic benchmark in core subjects is about 10 percentage points lower than in 2019—except for fourth-grade math, which saw a decline of just 2 points.

Achievement gaps between ethnic groups also persist. On average, Hispanic students scored 15 points below white students. The gap was even wider for Black students, who scored about 30 points lower than their white peers.

The 2025 education budget, approved by Gov. Whitmer last July, totals $23.4 billion—$900 million less than the previous year’s budget. K-12 schools are working with $20.6 billion, a reduction from the $21.5 billion allocated in 2024.

However, some school superintendents and educators were concerned about the new budget. "Schools cannot function properly without adequate funding for safety and mental health," stated Rep. David Martin, R-Davison, referring to a significant cut of around $301 million from school safety and mental health programs. Based on the current bill, the program will receive just $26.5 million.

School name	City	Total School Enrollment
St. Joseph High School	St. Joseph	933
Lakeshore High School	Stevensville	843
Niles Senior High School	Niles	828
Upton Middle School	St. Joseph	690
Lakeshore Middle School	Stevensville	612
Buchanan High School	Buchanan	561
Berrien Springs High School	Berrien Springs	554
Ballard Elementary School	Niles	516
Ring Lardner Middle School	Niles	510
Benton Harbor High School	Benton Harbor	469
Clarke School	St. Joseph	462
Berrien Springs Middle School	Berrien Springs	424
Lincoln School	St. Joseph	423
Benton Harbor Charter School Academy	Benton Harbor	418
Roosevelt Elementary School	Stevensville	412
Brown School	St. Joseph	410
Eastside Connections School	Niles	403
Sylvester Elementary School	Berrien Springs	394
Stewart Elementary School	Stevensville	391
Countryside Academy Middle-High School	Benton Harbor	386
Countryside Academy Elementary	Benton Harbor	384
Brandywine Elementary School	Niles	379
Hollywood Elementary School	Stevensville	377
Brandywine Senior High School	Niles	366
Watervliet Senior High School	Watervliet	360
Buchanan Middle School	Buchanan	358
Coloma Elementary School	Coloma	356
Moccasin Elementary School	Buchanan	354
Mars Elementary School	Berrien Springs	338
Coloma High School	Coloma	336
South Elementary School	Watervliet	335
North Elementary School	Watervliet	312
Watervliet Middle School	Watervliet	309
Bridgman Elementary School	Bridgman	309
Merritt Elementary School	Niles	304
River Valley Middle-High School	Three Oaks	265
F. C. Reed Middle School	Bridgman	261
Fair Plain Middle School	Benton Harbor	240
Bridgman High School	Bridgman	239
Lybrook Elementary School	Eau Claire	233
Ottawa Elementary School	Buchanan	230
Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School	Benton Harbor	229
Coloma Junior High School	Coloma	228
Mildred C. Wells Preparatory Academy	Benton Harbor	227
Berrien Springs Virtual Academy	Berrien Springs	213
New Buffalo Elementary School	New Buffalo	211
Three Oaks Elementary School	Three Oaks	195
Brandywine Middle School	Niles	183
Eau Claire High School	Eau Claire	180
Coloma Intermediate School	Coloma	175
New Buffalo Senior High School	New Buffalo	172
Blossomland Learning Center	Berrien Springs	159
Fair Plain East Elementary School	Benton Harbor	150
Eau Claire Middle School	Eau Claire	139
Lighthouse Education Center	St. Joseph	134
Niles Cedar Lane	Niles	134
New Buffalo Middle School	New Buffalo	133
Bridge Academy of Southwest Michigan	Benton Harbor	112
WAY Niles	Niles	95
WAY Watervliet High School	Watervliet	90
Discovery Enrichment Center	Benton Harbor	80
Berrien Springs Discovery Academy	Berrien Sprgs	74
Riverside School	Riverside	72
River School	Sodus	70
Brandywine Innovation Academy	Niles	69
Career and Alternative Pathways to Education Center	Benton Harbor	60
Buchanan Virtual Academy	Buchanan	49
Southside Special Education School	Niles	45
WAY Eau Claire	Eau Claire	35
Niles Comm Schools Adult Education	Niles	24
Niles Virtual School	Niles	18
Buchanan Step Up	Buchanan	15
Northside Child Development Center	Niles	13
Berrien County Juvenile Center	St. Joseph	10