By Harold C. Ford

Fenton Senior High School topped the list of high school rankings in Genesee County, according to a study published in August 2026 by U.S. News and World Report.  The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 27,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. 

In response to an inquiry by East Village Magazine (EVM) about the report, Douglas M. Busch, Superintendent of Fenton Area Public Schools, issued a statement.

“We are deeply honored to see Fenton High School recognized on a national level as the top-ranked high school in the Flint Metro Area,” Busch wrote. “The ranking reflects Fenton High School’s rigorous academic curriculum, robust Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) opportunities, exceptional extracurricular activities, and strong support systems designed to empower all learners.”

Emily Rossmaessler, president of the Fenton Board of Education, added, “Earning the #1 spot in the Flint Metro Area is a testament to the culture of excellence, high standards, and community partnership that define Fenton Schools.”

EVM contacted more than 20 Genesee County school districts about the U.S. News report; only Fenton provided a substantive response by press deadline. 

Rankings methodology

Information found about individual schools at the U.S. News website includes: rank (in a selected geographic sample such as state or county), location, grades served, student enrollment by grade, student demographics, percent of student population economically disadvantaged, and percent of student population enrolled in free lunch and reduced lunch programs.

Ranking factors include: college readiness index rank, college curriculum breadth index rank, state assessment proficiency rank, state assessment performance rank, and graduation rate rank.

Flint-based EVM used the U.S. News search engine to narrow its search to high schools in Genesee County. U.S. News indicated that 1,259 Michigan high schools were included in its rankings; 27,267 high schools in the U.S. were included in the report.

EVM restricted its search primarily to Michigan’s Public High Schools. A few area charter schools made their way onto its list but most did not. Thus, most charter schools, private schools, online schools, and hybrids are not included in the following review. Data about home schooling is scarce in Michigan. 

24 Genesee County High Schools

A total of 1,259 Michigan high schools were listed in the U.S. News report, including 24 found in Genesee County. The list below includes the name of the high school, the community in which it is found, name of the district, and national rank out of 11,747 high schools in parentheses. 

114. Fenton Senior High School; Fenton; Fenton Area Public Schools; (3,000 national ranking)

137. Lake Fenton High School; Linden; Lake Fenton Community Schools; (3,687)

159. Davison High School; Davison; Davison Community Schools; (4,392)

182. Linden High School; Linden; Linden Community Schools; (4,977)

225. Grand Blanc Community High School; Grand Blanc; Grand Blanc Community Schools (6,356)

236. Kearsley High School; Flint; Kearsley Community School District; (6,639)

258. Goodrich High School; Goodrich; Goodrich Area Schools; (7,072)

305. Flushing High School; Flushing; Flushing Community Schools; (8,231)

316. Clio Community High School; Clio; Clio Area School District; (8,571)

327. Hill-McCloy High School; Montrose; Montrose Community Schools; (8,917)

349. International Academy of Flint (K-12); Flint; (9,445)

400. Swartz Creek High School; Swartz Creek; Swartz Creek Community Schools; (10,813)

415. Bentley Senior High School; Burton, Bentley Community School District; (11,225)

447. Genesee High School; Genesee; Genesee School District; (12,108)

438. Carman-Ainsworth High School; Flint; Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools; (11,747)

492. Atherton Jr./Sr. High School; Burton; Atherton Community Schools; (#13,432)

(The following schools have imprecise rankings, due to factors including a lack of data available in the U.S. News model. The are presented in alphabetical order.)

494-678. Beecher High School; Mount Morris; Beecher Community School District; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. Bendle High School; Burton; Bendle Public School; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. Bobcat Innovation; Grand Blanc; Grand Blanc Community Schools; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. E.A. Johnson Memorial High School; Mount Morris; Mt. Morris Consolidated Schools; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. Hamady Community High School; Flint; Westwood Heights Schools; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. Lakeville High School; Otisville; Lakeville Community School District; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. Madison Academy High School; Burton; (13,460-17,945)

494-678. Southwestern Classical Academy; Flint, Flint School District of the City Of; (13,460-17,945)

Unranked area schools

Nearly a dozen area schools, mostly academies, were unranked with little or no data reported. 

The unranked schools included: Elmer A. Knopf Learning Center (Genesee Intermediate School District); Flex High Burton; Flint Cultural Center Academy; Glen Academy; Greater Heights Academy; Michigan School for the Deaf; New Standard Academy; Northridge; Richfield Public School Academy; Way Academy Flint; Woodland Park Academy.

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(Editor’s note: Harold C. Ford was a public-school educator for 44 years in four different capacities.  He has been writing about education for East Village Magazine for about a decade.)