Tri-City Sun

Standish-Sterling Central Junior-Senior High School had the largest enrollment among Arenac County schools, welcoming 659 students during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

Of all the students welcomed in the 2023-24 school year, 50.2% of them were girls, and 49.8% were boys.

Data also showed that most of the students were white, representing 95.3% of the Standish-Sterling Central Junior-Senior High School total enrollment.

Among the six schools in Arenac County, Standish-Sterling Central Elementary School ranked second in enrollment numbers with 649 students, while Sterling Elementary School welcomed 174 students and ranked third in the 2023-24 school year.

Standish-Sterling Central Junior-Senior High School is part of Standish-Sterling Community Schools, which roughly covers schools within Arenac County, with its main office in Standish.

In the previous school year, Standish-Sterling Central Junior-Senior High School also had the largest number of students among Arenac County schools.

Overall student enrollment in Michigan remains below pre-pandemic levels, with white students experiencing the largest decline at 6.5%.

Academic performance has also suffered, with the state's average NAEP score dropping by 6.5 points and ethnic achievement gaps have widened. Black and Hispanic students' average math proficiency dropped by 7% in 2022, to 13.5% and 28.2%, respectively.

School name	City	Total School Enrollment
Standish-Sterling Central Junior-Senior High School	Standish	659
Standish-Sterling Central Elementary School	Standish	649
Sterling Elementary School	Sterling	174
Au Gres-Sims Elementary School	Au Gres	166
Au Gres-Sims High School	Au Gres	149
Au Gres-Sims Middle School	Au Gres	95