Washington School

Washington School operates as a low-enrollment elementary campus in BESSEMER, Michigan, operated by Bessemer Area School District. Current enrollment sits at 179 students spanning grades K through 6. By comparison, Michigan's public schools average about 369 students each, so Washington School sits 51% leaner than that benchmark.

Bessemer Area School District runs 2 schools in total, collectively educating 343 students. Washington School is one of those campuses.

On demographics, Washington School records that 87% of students identify as White, making the school strongly White-majority. The remainder is composed of 8% multiracial, 2% Hispanic. That mix tracks the wider county fairly closely.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, Washington School has 16 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 11.6:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.8:1, putting Washington School tighter than the state norm the norm. An estimated 73% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. By comparison, Gogebic County runs at roughly 60%, so the school's eligibility rate is meaningfully above the surrounding baseline.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Gogebic County) records that median household income runs about $52,732, roughly 23% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 8%. Across Gogebic County's 6 public schools (combined enrollment of about 1,524 students), Washington School is one campus in the mix.

The closest other public school is AD Johnston JrSr High School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within ten miles, there are 6 other public schools, a sparser pattern than typical urban areas.

Geographically, the school is in a small-town area.

Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged down 16%: 214 students in 2018 compared to 179 in 2025. The student-to-teacher ratio tightened from 14.9:1 in 2018 to 11.6:1 today.

On this page, the feed for Washington School typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.