North Michigan News

Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy had the largest enrollment among Manistee County schools, welcoming 3,936 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, 50.9% of them were girls, and 49.1% were boys.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 52.7% of the Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy total enrollment.

Among the 13 schools in Manistee County, Manistee Middle High School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 685 students, while Onekama Consolidated Schools welcomed 294 students and ranked third in the 2024-25 school year.

Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy is part of Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy, which roughly covers schools within Manistee County, with its main office in Manistee.

In the previous school year, Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy also had the largest number of students among Manistee 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
Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy	Manistee	3,936
Manistee Middle High School	Manistee	685
Onekama Consolidated Schools	Onekama	294
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School	Manistee	292
KND Elementary School	Brethren	289
John F. Kennedy Elementary School	Manistee	270
Bear Lake Elementary School	Bear Lake	147
Brethren High School	Brethren	140
Bear Lake High School	Bear Lake	133
Betsie Valley School	Thompsonville	131
Brethren Middle School	Brethren	85
Casman Alternative Academy	Manistee	65
Manistee ISD Center Programs	Manistee	55