Top 10 Michigan school districts impacted by school choice
Districts hit hardest by choice
Top 10 districts losing students to other districts
These districts saw the highest percentage of students opt for another traditional district elsewhere, led by Ecorse which saw nearly half of its students leave. Click on a district to see where students went and differences in demography.f
| % White students | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Students in district | Left for another public school district | Percent leaving | School-age population | School enrollment | Gap |
| Ecorse | 1577 | 756 | 48% | 24.7 | 14.5 | -10.2 |
| Mount Clemens | 2996 | 1394 | 47% | 51 | 21 | -30 |
| Madison | 1844 | 853 | 46% | 88.2 | 57.8 | -30.4 |
| Albion | 1020 | 443 | 43% | 53 | 29.1 | -23.9 |
| East Detroit | 6985 | 2954 | 42% | 37.2 | 18.6 | -18.6 |
| Iron Mountain | 1148 | 460 | 40% | 91.9 | 89.5 | -2.4 |
| South Lake | 2091 | 831 | 40% | 61.8 | 41.9 | -19.9 |
| New Haven | 2423 | 930 | 38% | 80.8 | 70.6 | -10.2 |
| Adrian | 4146 | 1432 | 35% | 71.5 | 56.6 | -14.9 |
| Bridgeport-Spaulding | 1949 | 648 | 33% | 37.4 | 21.7 | -15.7 |
Top 10 districts losing students to charter schools
Nearly half of the students who live in the Detroit Public Schools attend a charter school. Many city school districts across Michigan have seen thousands of parents choose charters over the struggling traditional public schools. Click on a district to see where students went and differences in demography.
| % White students | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Students in district | Left for a charter school | Percent leaving | School-age | District enrollment | Gap |
| Detroit | 104013 | 50994 | 49.0% | 4.4 | 2.2 | -2.2 |
| Grand Rapids | 27272 | 6788 | 24.9% | 35 | 23.1 | -11.9 |
| Flint | 14894 | 5657 | 38.0% | 24.8 | 14.8 | -10 |
| Pontiac | 10901 | 4292 | 39.4% | 20.4 | 8.5 | -11.9 |
| Ypsilanti | 7514 | 2569 | 34.2% | 37.8 | 22.5 | -15.3 |
| Lansing | 17023 | 2379 | 14.0% | 35.4 | 26.3 | -9.1 |
| Hamtramck | 5251 | 2369 | 45.1% | 56.3 | 45 | -11.3 |
| Taylor | 10419 | 2222 | 21.3% | 63.3 | 55.6 | -7.7 |
| Plymouth-Canton | 19574 | 2209 | 11.3% | 71.7 | 70.9 | -0.8 |
| Wayne-Westland | 14005 | 1871 | 13.4% | 63.9 | 55.8 | -8.1 |
| Dearborn | 21606 | 1592 | 7.4% | 86.5 | 93.3 | 6.8 |
Note: Minimum of 1,000 students living in the district. Source: Michigan Department of Education, U.S.Census
Michigan Education Watch
Michigan Education Watch is made possible by generous financial support from:
Subscribe to Michigan Health Watch
See what new members are saying about why they donated to Bridge Michigan:
- “In order for this information to be accurate and unbiased it must be underwritten by its readers, not by special interests.” - Larry S.
- “Not many other media sources report on the topics Bridge does.” - Susan B.
- “Your journalism is outstanding and rare these days.” - Mark S.
If you want to ensure the future of nonpartisan, nonprofit Michigan journalism, please become a member today. You, too, will be asked why you donated and maybe we'll feature your quote next time!