UP Gazette

Escanaba Junior-Senior High School had the largest enrollment among Delta County schools, welcoming 1,089 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, 50.2% of them were boys, and 49.8% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 90.3% of the Escanaba Junior-Senior High School total enrollment.

Among the 14 schools in Delta County, Gladstone Area High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 472 students, while Escanaba Upper Elementary School welcomed 426 students and ranked third in the 2024-25 school year.

Escanaba Junior-Senior High School is part of Escanaba Area Public Schools, which roughly covers schools within Delta County, with its main office in Escanaba.

In the previous school year, Escanaba Junior-Senior High School also had the largest number of students among Delta 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
Escanaba Junior-Senior High School	Escanaba	1,089
Gladstone Area High School	Gladstone	472
Escanaba Upper Elementary School	Escanaba	426
James T. Jones Elementary School	Gladstone	355
Gladstone Area Middle School	Gladstone	346
Cameron Elementary School	Gladstone	321
Lemmer Elementary School	Escanaba	296
Tri-Township School	Rapid River	243
Mid Peninsula School	Rock	220
Webster Kindergarten Center	Escanaba	215
Big Bay De Noc School	Cooks	192
Escanaba Student Success Center	Escanaba	105
Learning Center	Escanaba	85
Bay Pines Center	Escanaba	29