The Largest School in Michigan Isn’t Where You Think

When you're talking about the largest schools in Michigan, there are a few different ways to look at it. Your mind might instantly jump to a school with a huge building or collection of buildings, or to a high school with the largest student body.

Those are fair, but they aren't the only possible measure.

Why not take a look at the school with the largest total student body? After all, it's not in the most obvious place.

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Public School Review ranks schools across the country on a variety of metrics, including student body size. Of course, as the name implies, this only covers public schools.

The school with the largest total student body is, naturally, a K-12 school. (Don't worry, we'll narrow down to high schools and such in a minute.)  So, of course, the school isn't in the Detroit or Grand Rapids metro areas. Instead, it's in a small city on the coast of Lake Michigan.

With a K-12 student body population of 3,444, according to Public School Review, Michigan Great Lakes Virtual Academy in Manistee has one claim as the largest school in Michigan. If the word "virtual" caught your eye, it does play a role, as the MGLVA is a fully online school system.

As for the largest student body population at a physical campus school, that institution can be found in the Detroit metro. With 2,782 students, Dakota High School in Macomb is the largest school in Michigan.

As for elementary schools, the largest student body is at Dundee Elementary in Dundee, Michigan, with 842 students.