SE Grand Rapids News

There were three Hawaiian students enrolled in Ionia County schools in the 2023-24 school year, 50% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Data showed that Ionia County welcomed 8,039 students during the 2023-24 school year. Among them, Hawaiian students comprised less than 0.1% of the student body to be the lowest represented ethnicity in the county.

Lakewood Elementary School, Freedom Acres School, and Ionia High School were the only schools in Ionia County that enrolled Hawaiian students in the 2023-24 school 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 have widened. Black and Hispanic students' average math proficiency dropped by 7% in 2022, to 13.5% and 28.2%, respectively.

School name	% of Hawaiian students enrolment	Total enrollment
Lakewood Elementary School	0.2	500
Freedom Acres School	0.8	131
Ionia High School	0.1	801
Saranac Elementary School	0	444
Portland High School	0	688
Oakwood Elementary School	0	476
Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility	0	9
Emerson School	0	171
Twin Rivers Elementary School	0	192
Belding High School	0	508
Westwood Elementary School	0	423
Woodview Elementary School	0	348
Belding Middle School	0	362
Portland Middle School	0	410
Saranac Junior-Senior High School	0	388
Ionia Middle School	0	613
A. A. Rather School	0	321
Ellis Elementary School	0	387
Pewamo-Westphalia Elementary School	0	208
Handlon Correctional Facility	0	3
Ionia Maximum Correctional Facility	0	3
R. B. Boyce Elementary School	0	258
Jefferson School	0	284
Douglas R. Welch High School	0	77
Coon School	0	15
North LeValley Elementary School	0	13
Haynor School	0	6