Michigan’s Safest School Districts

School shootings are always top of mind for parents, students and teachers these days. While shootings were down in the last year due to students learning at home during the pandemic, the fear of gun violence at school will never be far away from parents’ worries — on top of fears of their kids getting sick or bringing home the — when in-person learning resumes.

Kids and staff no longer just need to be prepared for inclement weather (remember those tornado drills?). Today’s kids and educators must to be ready to go into lockdown in the event of an active school shooting.

While no one can predict a school shooting, there is some data that can provide insight into a school district’s overall safety. Niche, a popular schools-and-neighborhoods data website, attempted to provide such a gauge.

The site took a closer look at stats from the U.S. Department of Education, along with information regarding student absenteeism, in-school suspensions, out-of-school suspensions, expulsions, law enforcement referrals and school-related arrests.

Each school’s data was weighed. A disclaimer worth nothing: Even when all this data is considered, that doesn’t mean a school with higher rates of these issues will inevitably — or is even more likely to — experience a gun violence situation. It can, however, be a partial indicator of overall school safety, which was Niche’s goal in assembling its list.

The verdict? In Michigan, 393 public school districts were rated on their school safety. A swath of these safe schools are in Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, including the metro Detroit and greater Ann Arbor regions.

It’s also worth noting that other districts — including local ones that don’t appear on our consolidated list here — might also have strong safety suits. They simply did not appear on the Niche list.

To see how your specific district fared, visit Niche’s Safest School Districts in Michigan database and search for your city, town or village.

Scroll down to see which districts and charters made the cut in 2021. Schools are listed in alphabetical order by county. Click on the school name to learn more about the district’s specific data from Niche.

Macomb County

• Armada Area Schools
  Ranking: No. 149
• Chippewa Valley Schools 
  Ranking: No. 216
• Fraser Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 287
• Lake Shore Public Schools
  Ranking: No. 322
• Lakeview Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 316
• Richmond Community Schools 
  Ranking: No. 127
• Utica Community Schools 
  Ranking: No. 217
• Warren Consolidated Schools
• Ranking: 329
• Warren Woods Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 82

Oakland County

• Berkley School District 
  Ranking: No. 304
• Birmingham Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 2
• Bloomfield Hills Schools 
  Ranking: No. 51
• Clarkston Community School District 
  Ranking: No. 209
• Farmington Public School District 
  Ranking: No. 282
• Holly Area School District 
  Ranking: No. 387
• Huron Valley Schools
  Ranking: No. 164
• Lake Orion Community Schools 
  Ranking: No. 113
• Lamphere Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 298
• Novi Community School District 
  Ranking: No. 16
• Oakland Schools 
  Ranking: No. 3
• Rochester Community School District 
  Ranking: No. 17
• Southfield Public School District
• Ranking: No. 365
• South Lyon Community Schools 
  Ranking: No. 190
• Troy School District 
  Ranking: No. 6
• Walled Lake Consolidated Schools 
  Ranking: No. 248
• West Bloomfield School District 
  Ranking: No. 253

Washtenaw County

• Ann Arbor Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 180
• Chelsea School District 
  Ranking: No. 71
• Dexter Community School District 
  Ranking: No. 80
• Milan Area Schools 
  Ranking: No. 214
• Saline Area Schools 
  Ranking: No. 10

Wayne County

• Allen Park Public Schools
  Ranking: No. 207
• Bridge Academy 
  Ranking: No. 301
• Crestwood School District 
  Ranking: No. 376
• Covenant House Academy Detroit
• Ranking: No. 377
• Dearborn City School District 
  Ranking: No. 269
• Detroit Achievement Academy
• Ranking: No. 232
• Detroit Service Learning Academy
• Ranking: No. 348
• Edison Public School Academy 
  Ranking: No. 130
• Flat Rock Community Schools 
  Ranking: No. 227
• Grosse Ile Township Schools 
  Ranking: No. 1 
• Grosse Pointe Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 63
• Huron School District 
  Ranking: No. 128 
• Livonia Public Schools School District 
  Ranking: No. 197
• Northville Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 50
• Plymouth-Canton Community Schools 
  Ranking: No. 204
• Riverview Community School District 
  Ranking: No. 278 
• Trenton Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 160 
• W-A-Y Academy 
  Ranking: No. 154
• Woodhaven-Brownstown School District 
  Ranking: No. 61
• Wyandotte Public Schools 
  Ranking: No. 193

Looking for even more information about Michigan’s Schools? Check out our roundup of the best school districts in Michigan, according to Niche. 

This post was originally published in 2018 and is updated regularly. 

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