North Michigan News

West Senior High School had the largest enrollment among Grand Traverse County schools, welcoming 1,384 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, 51.8% of them were boys, and 48.2% were girls.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 90% of the West Senior High School total enrollment.

Among the 30 schools in Grand Traverse County, Central High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 1,326 students, while West Middle School welcomed 1,081 students and ranked third in the 2024-25 school year.

West Senior High School is part of Traverse City Area Public Schools, which roughly covers schools within Grand Traverse County, with its main office in Traverse City.

In the previous school year, West Senior High School also had the largest number of students among Grand Traverse 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
West Senior High School	Traverse City	1,384
Central High School	Traverse City	1,326
West Middle School	Traverse City	1,081
East Middle School	Traverse City	829
Grand Traverse Academy	Traverse City	824
Kingsley Area Elementary School	Kingsley	655
Central Grade School	Traverse City	510
Eastern Elementary School	Traverse City	475
Willow Hill Elementary School	Traverse City	429
Kingsley Area High School	Kingsley	401
Kingsley Area Middle School	Kingsley	366
Westwoods Elementary School	Traverse City	365
Long Lake Elementary School	Traverse City	364
Cherry Knoll Elementary School	Traverse City	333
TCAPS Montessori School	Traverse City	331
Silver Lake Elementary School	Traverse City	286
Traverse Heights Elementary School	Traverse City	245
	--	233
Courtade Elementary School	Traverse City	215
Woodland School	Traverse City	209
Blair Elementary School	Traverse City	202
The Greenspire School	Traverse City	176
Traverse City High School	Traverse City	171
Old Mission Peninsula School	Traverse City	146
Fife Lake Elementary School	Fife Lake	144
Life Skills Center	Traverse City	131
The Greenspire School	Traverse City	93
North Ed New Horizons	Traverse City	75
North Ed Bridgeway	Traverse City	70
North Ed Creekside School	Traverse City	64