Lincoln School

Located at 500 ELKENBURG ST, in SOUTH HAVEN, Michigan, Lincoln School is a small elementary school that serves 251 students (grades pre-K through 3), part of South Haven Public Schools. By comparison, Michigan's public schools average about 369 students each, so Lincoln School sits 32% leaner than that benchmark.

Within South Haven Public Schools, which oversees 6 schools and 1,815 students, Lincoln School is one campus in the system.

On demographics, Lincoln School shows that the largest single group is White, at 63% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school reports 14% multiracial, 11% Hispanic, 11% Black. The wider county runs roughly 80% White, putting the school's mix considerably less White than the area baseline.

On the resource side, Lincoln School reports 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.6:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 15.8:1 average. An estimated 67% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is higher than Van Buren County's rate of about 52%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Lincoln School sits in the top 10% of Michigan schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 36.5%; actual is 49.6%, +13.2 points clear of the demographic baseline.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Van Buren County indicate median household income runs about $68,114, roughly 23% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 10%. Across Van Buren County's 45 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,850 students), Lincoln School is one campus in the mix.

South Haven High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 5 other public schools cluster around Lincoln School. Among the 4 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Lincoln School ranks 1st on composite proficiency, above the local average of 33.4%.

The school occupies a town-based site.

Looking at the recent track record. Over the past 7-year window, the student count stayed largely flat: 255 students in 2018 compared to 251 in 2025. The White share of enrollment climbed from 53% to 63% over that span. Class-load math has pulled in: from 14.8:1 in 2018 to 13.6:1 in 2025.

Inside the community feed, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. The community welcomes input from current and former families.