Bear Lake Elementary School

Bear Lake Elementary School is a K-5 school of micro-enrollment scale in BEAR LAKE, Michigan, one of the schools within Bear Lake Schools, works with 147 students in grades pre-K through 6. Enrollment runs roughly 60% smaller than the state mean of about 369.

Bear Lake Schools runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 280 students. Bear Lake Elementary School is one of those campuses.

In terms of who attends, Bear Lake Elementary School shows that the student body is overwhelmingly White (86%). Other groups include 12% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at school resources, On paper, Bear Lake Elementary School has 10 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.8:1, putting Bear Lake Elementary School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 61% of students at Bear Lake Elementary School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment.

With demographic context factored in, Bear Lake Elementary School is in the OUTPERFORMING tier of the BeatsExpectations model, which fits a per-state line through proficiency and FRL share. Schools with this campus's poverty mix typically land near 39.2%; this one delivers 64.8%, a residual of +25.6 points.

Across the wider county, Manistee County reports that median household income runs about $63,516, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 8%. In all, Manistee County runs 14 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,511 students), of which Bear Lake Elementary School is one.

Bear Lake High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.0 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Bear Lake Elementary School.

The campus sits in an outlying setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Bear Lake Elementary School has ticked up 13%, going from 130 students in 2018 to 147 in 2025. Class-load math has narrowed: from 18.3:1 in 2018 to 14.8:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, the feed for Bear Lake Elementary School typically covers school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. The community welcomes input from current and former families.