Forest Area Middle School

As a tiny 6-8 campus in FIFE LAKE, Michigan, Forest Area Middle School teaches 193 students from grades 4 through 8, part of Forest Area Community Schools. Enrollment runs roughly 62% leaner than the state mean of about 502.

Within Forest Area Community Schools, which oversees 3 schools and 493 students, Forest Area Middle School is one campus in the system.

On the student-mix side, Forest Area Middle School shows that nearly all students (89%) are White. The remainder is composed of 5% multiracial, 3% Native American. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, Forest Area Middle School has 13 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.3:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 17.5:1, putting Forest Area Middle School tighter than the state norm the norm. About 56% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal.

In the area at large, the surrounding county (Kalkaska County) reports that median household earnings sit near $68,578, roughly 19% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Forest Area Middle School is one of 8 public schools in Kalkaska County (combined enrollment of about 1,728 students).

Nearest neighbor: Forest Area High School, around 0.0 miles off. 2 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius.

The campus sits in a rural setting.

Trend over the last 7 years. Over the past 7-year window, the student count expanded 8%: 178 students in 2018 compared to 193 in 2025. Class-load math has tightened: from 17.7:1 in 2018 to 14.3:1 in 2025.

On this page, posts here usually surface around open house dates, ride-share offers, and field-trip permission slips. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.