Paw Paw Middle School

Paw Paw Middle School is a medium-sized middle school in PAW PAW, Michigan, part of Paw Paw Public School District. The school hosts 498 students in grades 6 through 8.

Within Paw Paw Public School District, which oversees 5 schools and 2,146 students, Paw Paw Middle School is one campus in the system.

In terms of who attends, Paw Paw Middle School logs that nearly all students (83%) are White; the rest looks like 12% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. That composition is broadly in line with Van Buren County as a whole.

Looking at the economic backdrop, Staff filings list 28 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 17.9:1 students per teacher. That tracks the state average closely. Roughly 38% of students at Paw Paw Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Van Buren County (around 52%), the school's rate is meaningfully below typical.

After controlling for student poverty, Paw Paw Middle School is in the bottom 10% of Michigan public schools. The BeatsExpectations model predicts schools with this FRL share to land around 49.6%; Paw Paw Middle School posts 34.1%, -15.5 points below that line.

Around the school, Van Buren County reports that the typical household earns roughly $68,114 per year, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 10%. In all, Van Buren County runs 45 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,850 students), of which Paw Paw Middle School is one.

The closest other public school is Paw Paw Early Elementary School, roughly 0.5 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts Paw Paw Middle School at 5th of 5; the average score across the group is 47.4%.

Paw Paw Middle School operates from a small-town location.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Paw Paw Middle School has declined 3%, going from 515 students in 2018 to 498 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share contracted from 89% to 83%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 19.1:1 in 2018 to 17.9:1 today.

On allk12, members of the Paw Paw Middle School community share and discuss pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.