Spring Lake Alternative Education

Spring Lake Alternative Education is one of the rural-scale four-year high schools in SPRING LAKE, Michigan, operated by Spring Lake Public Schools, with 13 students on its rolls from grades 9 through 12. That puts it 97% leaner than the typical public school in Michigan, which averages around 460 students.

Spring Lake Alternative Education is one of 6 schools operated by Spring Lake Public Schools, a district that caters to 2,271 students overall.

Demographically, Spring Lake Alternative Education logs that nearly all students (85%) are White. The remainder consists of 15% multiracial. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the resource side, On paper, Spring Lake Alternative Education has 1 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 10.0:1. The state averages around 21.6:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 69% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. Set against Ottawa County (around 34%), the school's rate is north of typical.

Across the wider county, community-level numbers for Ottawa County indicate the typical household earns roughly $90,502 per year, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Ottawa County runs 103 public schools (combined enrollment of about 42,894 students), of which Spring Lake Alternative Education is one.

Nearest neighbor: Spring Lake High School, around 0.2 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Spring Lake Alternative Education.

The school occupies a commuter-belt site.

Five-year trend. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Spring Lake Alternative Education has edged down 55%, going from 29 students in 2018 to 13 in 2025. The Hispanic share of enrollment contracted from 7% to 0% over that span. Class-load math has narrowed: from 17.1:1 in 2018 to 10.0:1 in 2025.

On allk12, members of the Spring Lake Alternative Education community share and discuss classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.