UP Gazette

There were 5,272 students enrolled in Houghton County schools in the 2024-25 school year, 0.2% less than the previous year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Boys made up 52.1% of the county student body, while the other 47.9% were girls.

Data also showed that white students made up 94.3% of the student body, the highest percentage in Houghton County schools, followed by 1.8% multiracial, 1.3% Asian, 1.1% Hispanic, 0.9% African American, 0.5% American Indian and less than 0.1% Hawaiian students.

Houghton Elementary School had the highest enrollment among Houghton County's 18 schools in the 2024-25 school year, welcoming 618 students.

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.

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	Total enrollment in 2023-24	Total enrollment in 2024-25	% change
Houghton Elementary School	654	618	-5.5%
Calumet High School	499	525	5.2%
Calumet Laurium & Keweenaw Elementary School	504	496	-1.6%
Houghton Central High School	478	481	0.6%
Copper Island Academy	350	386	10.3%
Houghton Middle School	346	359	3.8%
Lake Linden-Hubbell Schools	355	327	-7.9%
Dollar BayTamarack City Area K-12 School	314	317	1%
Hancock Middle-High School	322	292	-9.3%
Washington Middle School	277	275	-0.7%
Jeffers High School	269	270	0.4%
Barkell Elementary School	255	257	0.8%
South Range Elementary School	189	204	7.9%
Chassell K-12 School	196	192	-2%
E. B. Holman Elementary School	184	183	-0.5%
Copper Country Learning Center	83	82	-1.2%
Elm River Township School	6	8	33.3%