SE Grand Rapids News

There were 683 Hispanic students enrolled in Ionia County schools in the 2022-23 school year, 1.4% 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, Hispanic students comprised 8.4% of the student body to be the second highest represented ethnicity in the county.

Among the 28 schools in Ionia County, Ionia High School recorded the highest enrollment of Hispanic students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 103 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 Hispanic students enrolment	Total enrollment
Ionia High School	12.8	805
Ionia Middle School	13.4	664
Belding High School	11.8	557
Woodview Elementary School	11	373
Jefferson School	13	315
Ellis Elementary School	9.6	394
Emerson School	19.2	172
Portland High School	4.6	702
Belding Middle School	9.5	325
Lakewood Elementary School	6.1	493
A. A. Rather School	9	321
R. B. Boyce Elementary School	8.7	264
Saranac Junior-Senior High School	5.4	405
Saranac Elementary School	4.6	434
Westwood Elementary School	4.7	405
Twin Rivers Elementary School	8.5	188
Portland Middle School	3.6	415
Douglas R. Welch High School	16.9	83
Freedom Acres School	6	133
Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School	3.7	190
Oakwood Elementary School	1.2	497
North LeValley Elementary School	0	14
Coon School	0	9
Haynor School	0	9
Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility	0	4
Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility	0	4
Handlon Correctional Facility	0	2
Michigan Reformatory	0	1