SE Grand Rapids News

Among the many ethnicities represented in Ionia County schools, white was the most prevalent ethnicity among Ionia County students in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Of the 10,312 students attending Ionia County schools, 82.6% were white. Hispanic students were the second largest ethnicity, making up 10% of Ionia County students.

In the previous school year, white students were still the most common group in Ionia County, representing 82.6% of the student body.

Link Learning Virtual Program had the most diverse student body in Ionia County including African American, American Indian, Asian, Hawaiian, Hispanic, multiracial, and white.

In the 2022-23 school year, the total number of students enrolled in public schools in the county increased 23.6% when compared to the previous year.

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 widening. Black and Hispanic students' average math proficiency dropped by 7% in 2022, to 13.5% and 28.2%, respectively.

School name	Most represented ethnicity	Percent of Total Student Body	Total Enrollment
A. A. Rather School	White	85.4%	321
Belding High School	White	83.5%	557
Belding Middle School	White	85.8%	325
Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility	African American	75%	4
Coon School	White	100%	9
Douglas R. Welch High School	White	77.1%	83
Ellis Elementary School	White	86%	394
Emerson School	White	76.7%	172
Freedom Acres School	White	88.7%	133
Handlon Correctional Facility	African American	100%	2
Haynor School	White	88.9%	9
Ionia High School	White	83.5%	805
Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility	African American	75%	4
Ionia Middle School	White	80.9%	664
Jefferson School	White	81%	315
Lakewood Elementary School	White	88.6%	493
Link Learning Virtual Program	White	65.6%	2,134
Michigan Reformatory	African American	100%	1
North LeValley Elementary School	White	100%	14
Oakwood Elementary School	White	94.2%	497
Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School	White	93.7%	190
Portland High School	White	91.6%	702
Portland Middle School	White	91.8%	415
R. B. Boyce Elementary School	White	87.9%	264
Saranac Elementary School	White	91.5%	434
Saranac Junior-Senior High School	White	90.4%	405
Twin Rivers Elementary School	White	85.6%	188
Westwood Elementary School	White	91.1%	405
Woodview Elementary School	White	83.9%	373