Fair Plain East Elementary

Fair Plain East Elementary is one of the close-knit elementary-level communitys in BENTON HARBOR, Michigan, one of the schools within Benton Harbor Area Schools, with 150 students on its rolls from grades 4 through 5. Enrollment runs roughly 59% below the state mean of about 369.

Within Benton Harbor Area Schools, which oversees 6 schools and 1,227 students, Fair Plain East Elementary is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Fair Plain East Elementary shows that the student body is overwhelmingly Black (88%). The remainder consists of 5% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, 3% White. By comparison, Berrien County as a whole is about 13% Black, so the school skews meaningfully more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Fair Plain East Elementary shows 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 11.5:1. The state averages around 15.8:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. Around 95% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, often used as a Title I proxy. By comparison, Berrien County runs at roughly 55%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

Zooming out to the county, census data for Berrien County shows median household income runs about $65,425, 31% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across Berrien County's 75 public schools (combined enrollment of about 21,027 students), Fair Plain East Elementary is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is Fair Plain Middle School, roughly 0.8 miles away. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Fair Plain East Elementary.

Fair Plain East Elementary operates from a suburban location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Fair Plain East Elementary has declined 63%, going from 410 students in 2018 to 150 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share declined from 93% to 88%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 21.8:1 in 2018 to 11.5:1 today.

On this page, members of the Fair Plain East Elementary community share and discuss school events, parent volunteer needs, and clubs. Members of the school community can share what they know.