For conventional schools, residency is generally the determining factor for which public school a child will attend. However, through Schools of Choice, some districts report that a majority of their residents have left for other districts, while others report that a majority of their enrolled students are nonresident students.
After accounting for both Schools of Choice enrollment gains and losses, 256 school districts saw a net enrollment gain of students under Schools of Choice. For the 2011-12 school year, the following 33 districts (with enrollments exceeding 100 students) had more than 20 percent of their final net enrollment come from students entering through Schools of Choice.[*] None of the districts on this list are city districts: Fourteen are suburban, 16 are rural and three are districts located in towns.
Graphic 13: Net Gains Per Schools of Choice
Greater Than 20 Percent of Enrollment, 2011-12
Rank |
District Name |
Enroll-ment |
Entering via SOC |
Exiting via SOC |
Net SOC |
% Net SOC |
1 |
West Bloomfield |
6,523 |
1,728 |
68 |
1,660 |
25.45% |
2 |
Clintondale |
3,715 |
2,547 |
988 |
1,559 |
41.97% |
3 |
Lakeview (Macomb) |
3,795 |
1,587 |
157 |
1,430 |
37.68% |
4 |
Fraser |
5,277 |
1,399 |
231 |
1,168 |
22.13% |
5 |
Riverview |
2,832 |
1,154 |
79 |
1,075 |
37.96% |
6 |
Dearborn Heights #7 |
2,909 |
1,186 |
236 |
950 |
32.66% |
7 |
Western |
2,927 |
819 |
81 |
738 |
25.21% |
8 |
Carrollton |
2,050 |
835 |
114 |
721 |
35.17% |
9 |
Corunna |
2,243 |
829 |
176 |
653 |
29.11% |
10 |
Pennfield |
2,100 |
729 |
81 |
648 |
30.86% |
11 |
Bangor Township |
2,533 |
746 |
112 |
634 |
25.03% |
12 |
Inkster |
2,660 |
1,109 |
530 |
579 |
21.77% |
13 |
Swan Valley |
1,815 |
550 |
63 |
487 |
26.83% |
14 |
Madison (Lenawee) |
1,521 |
699 |
222 |
477 |
31.36% |
15 |
Berrien Springs |
2,140 |
543 |
70 |
473 |
22.10% |
16 |
Clawson |
1,794 |
560 |
92 |
468 |
26.09% |
17 |
Jonesville |
1,469 |
578 |
129 |
449 |
30.57% |
18 |
Vandercook Lake |
1,275 |
498 |
83 |
415 |
32.55% |
19 |
Essexville-Hampton |
1,771 |
505 |
96 |
409 |
23.09% |
20 |
Houghton-Portage Township |
1,333 |
430 |
68 |
362 |
27.16% |
21 |
Sand Creek |
952 |
348 |
54 |
294 |
30.88% |
22 |
Watervliet |
1,338 |
384 |
99 |
285 |
21.30% |
23 |
Bridgman |
988 |
297 |
40 |
257 |
26.01% |
24 |
Genesee |
825 |
263 |
50 |
213 |
25.82% |
25 |
Reese |
911 |
240 |
27 |
213 |
23.38% |
26 |
Beal City |
671 |
262 |
65 |
197 |
29.36% |
27 |
New Lothrop |
881 |
216 |
20 |
196 |
22.25% |
28 |
Eau Claire |
801 |
345 |
150 |
195 |
24.34% |
29 |
Bark River-Harris |
691 |
193 |
18 |
175 |
25.33% |
30 |
Saugatuck |
838 |
179 |
8 |
171 |
20.41% |
31 |
Pittsford |
671 |
239 |
90 |
149 |
22.21% |
32 |
Mar Lee |
326 |
172 |
51 |
121 |
37.12% |
33 |
Leland |
455 |
132 |
36 |
96 |
21.10% |
Source: Center for Educational Performance and Information.
There are 47 school districts of 100 students or more where the number of students leaving through Schools of Choice amounts to more than 20 percent of the district’s total resident students. The Galien Township School District (which closed after the 2012-13 school year) saw the largest proportional losses, with more students leaving than those who stayed.
Unlike the previous list, there are a four city districts that saw a net loss of 20 percent or more: Pontiac, Battle Creek, Van Dyke and Jackson.[†] Eleven of the districts listed below are suburban, 29 are rural and three are located in towns.
Graphic 14: Net Losses Per Schools of Choice Greater than 20 Percent of Enrollment, 2011-2012
Rank |
District Name |
Enroll-ment |
Exiting via SOC |
Net SOC |
% Net SOC |
1 |
East Detroit |
3,677 |
2,202 |
-2,179 |
37.46% |
2 |
Pontiac |
5,430 |
2,100 |
-2,097 |
27.89% |
3 |
Battle Creek |
5,393 |
1,646 |
-1,524 |
23.38% |
4 |
Jackson |
6,055 |
1,816 |
-1,487 |
23.07% |
5 |
Benton Harbor |
3,089 |
1,348 |
-1,325 |
30.38% |
6 |
Lincoln Park |
4,773 |
1,436 |
-1,072 |
23.13% |
7 |
Roseville |
5,233 |
1,543 |
-979 |
22.77% |
8 |
Adrian |
3,187 |
1,203 |
-937 |
27.40% |
9 |
Mount Clemens |
1,534 |
1,020 |
-773 |
39.94% |
10 |
Van Dyke |
3,088 |
823 |
-724 |
21.04% |
11 |
Albion |
820 |
651 |
-649 |
44.26% |
12 |
Willow Run |
1,672 |
903 |
-621 |
35.07% |
13 |
New Haven |
1,328 |
634 |
-620 |
32.31% |
14 |
Hillsdale |
1,535 |
491 |
-327 |
24.23% |
15 |
Mayville |
779 |
333 |
-297 |
29.95% |
16 |
Ecorse |
1,016 |
534 |
-295 |
34.45% |
17 |
Baldwin |
599 |
277 |
-276 |
31.62% |
18 |
Buena Vista |
644 |
357 |
-270 |
35.66% |
19 |
River Valley |
688 |
294 |
-221 |
29.94% |
20 |
Bellevue |
616 |
267 |
-206 |
30.24% |
21 |
Akron-Fairgrove |
275 |
199 |
-181 |
41.98% |
22 |
Galien |
126 |
211 |
-171 |
62.61% |
23 |
Madison (Oakland) |
1332 |
708 |
-164 |
34.71% |
24 |
Addison |
897 |
264 |
-158 |
22.74% |
25 |
Covert |
531 |
153 |
-133 |
22.37% |
26 |
Martin |
586 |
215 |
-129 |
26.84% |
27 |
Morrice |
552 |
224 |
-128 |
28.87% |
28 |
Merrill |
722 |
203 |
-122 |
21.95% |
29 |
Litchfield |
329 |
141 |
-116 |
30.00% |
30 |
Vanderbilt |
154 |
119 |
-107 |
43.59% |
31 |
Mason County Eastern |
483 |
201 |
-107 |
29.39% |
32 |
Athens |
612 |
156 |
-99 |
20.31% |
33 |
Stanton Township |
140 |
86 |
-85 |
38.05% |
34 |
North Adams-Jerome |
434 |
186 |
-80 |
30.00% |
35 |
East Jackson |
1244 |
315 |
-80 |
20.21% |
36 |
Tekonsha |
286 |
101 |
-68 |
26.10% |
37 |
Owendale-Gagetown |
199 |
102 |
-62 |
33.89% |
38 |
Chassell Township |
262 |
105 |
-55 |
28.61% |
39 |
Arenac Eastern |
265 |
73 |
-51 |
21.60% |
40 |
Waldron |
293 |
94 |
-39 |
24.29% |
41 |
Suttons Bay |
649 |
178 |
-34 |
21.52% |
42 |
Republic-Michigamme |
141 |
39 |
-29 |
21.67% |
43 |
Kaleva Norman Dickson |
626 |
163 |
-17 |
20.66% |
44 |
Northport |
152 |
42 |
-16 |
21.65% |
45 |
Onekama |
419 |
112 |
8 |
21.09% |
46 |
River Rouge |
1147 |
404 |
64 |
26.05% |
47 |
Clintondale |
3715 |
988 |
1559 |
21.01% |
Source: Center for Educational Performance and Information.
[*] This analysis is limited to districts with at least 100 students, because many small districts were disproportionately highly ranked in terms of the percentage of students enrolled through Schools of Choice.
[†] Pontiac and Battle Creek appear to be struggling academically and financially. See: Jennifer Chambers, “Pontiac School Board OKs Consultant for Consent Agreement,” The Detroit News, Oct. 15, 2013, accessed Oct. 24, 2013, http://goo.gl/xH7lfN; Karen Lynn Todd, “BCPS Superintendent: Teachers, Outdoor Ed Center on Block,” Battle Creek Enquirer, May 20, 2013, accessed Oct. 24, 2013, http://goo.gl/MEMCV4; Lindsay Knake, “Saginaw County School Districts See Spikes, Sharp Declines in Enrollment,” MLive, Oct. 3, 2013, accessed Oct. 24, 2013, http://goo.gl/SLoDTP.