SE Grand Rapids News

There were 7,113 white students enrolled in Ionia County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 2.1% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Data showed that Ionia County welcomed 8,178 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, white students comprised 87% of the student body to be the highest represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 28 schools in Ionia County, Ionia High School recorded the highest enrollment of white students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 672 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 white students enrolment	Total enrollment
Ionia High School	83.5	805
Portland High School	91.6	702
Ionia Middle School	80.9	664
Oakwood Elementary School	94.2	497
Belding High School	83.5	557
Lakewood Elementary School	88.6	493
Saranac Elementary School	91.5	434
Portland Middle School	91.8	415
Westwood Elementary School	91.1	405
Saranac Junior-Senior High School	90.4	405
Ellis Elementary School	86	394
Woodview Elementary School	83.9	373
Belding Middle School	85.8	325
A. A. Rather School	85.4	321
Jefferson School	81	315
R. B. Boyce Elementary School	87.9	264
Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School	93.7	190
Twin Rivers Elementary School	85.6	188
Emerson School	76.7	172
Freedom Acres School	88.7	133
Douglas R. Welch High School	77.1	83
North LeValley Elementary School	100	14
Coon School	100	9
Haynor School	88.9	9
Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility	25	4
Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility	25	4
Handlon Correctional Facility	0	2
Michigan Reformatory	0	1