Sparta Area Schools

Last updated

Sparta Area Schools
Address
465 South Union Street [1]
Sparta
, Kent , Michigan , 49345
United States
District information
GradesPre-Kindergarten-12
SuperintendentJoel Stoner [2]
Schools4 [3]
Budget$41,138,000 2021-2022 expenditures [3]
NCES District ID 2632370 [3]
Students and staff
Students2,413 (2023-2024) [3]
Teachers141.1 (on an FTE basis) (2023-2024) [3]
Staff332.33 FTE (2023-2024) [3]
Student–teacher ratio17.1 (2023-2024) [3]
Other information
Website www.spartaschools.org

Sparta Area Schools is a public school district in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. In Kent County, it serves Sparta and parts of the townships of Algoma, Alpine, Sparta, and Tyrone. [4] In Ottawa County, it serves parts of Chester Township and Wright Township. [5]

Contents

History

The first school in Sparta was an informal classroom in Harriet Symes' log cabin. The next year, 1847, Sparta's public school district was organized, and it built Nash School in 1849. As enrollment grew, a two-story white brick building was built in 1875 to house the public school. It was located on the west side of North Union Street between Alma and Grove Streets—a site that would be used for schooling until 2008. [6] The first high school class graduated in 1881, but the high school didn't go to grade twelve until 1894. [7]

A new school was built in 1901 on the site of the 1875 school. It was expanded several times over the next five decades, and housed the high school until 1959. Elementary school wings were added in 1949 and 1954 and were known as Central Elementary. In 1970, the older sections of the building were demolished, [7] leaving the elementary wings, which closed in 2008 [6] and were torn down in 2009. [8]

In fall 1959, a new high school opened at 480 South State Street. Guido Binda was the architect. [9]

Appleview Elementary was built in 1968 and was originally the district's middle school. McMiller and Palmer of Grand Rapids was the architecture firm. [10] [11]

Ridgeview Elementary opened in fall 1990. [12] The school’s architect, The Design Forum, Inc., received an award from the American Institute of Architects, which praised the design for its "Lego-like quality of the masonry." [13]

As part of a bond issue passed in 2004, the high school was converted to a middle school and the middle school was converted to Appleview Elementary. It also funded construction of the current high school, which opened in fall 2007. [14] A new middle school opened in fall 2020. [15] The former middle school (the 1959 high school building) became the Early Childhood Center. [16]

Defunct schools in the district include Myers School, built in 1952 and closed in 1999. It replaced an older Myers School that, as of 2015, was used as a museum. Englishville Alternative High School, at 8285 Vinton Ave. in Plainfield Township, closed in 2013. [17]

Schools

Schools in Sparta Area Schools district [16] [3]
SchoolAddressNotes
Sparta High School 475 W. Spartan Drive, SpartaGrades 9-12. Opened 2007. [14]
Sparta Middle School235 E Spartan Drive, SpartaGrades 6-8. Opened 2020. [15]
Appleview Elementary240 E. Spartan Drive, SpartaGrades 3-5. Opened 1968. [10]
Ridgeview Elementary560 W. Spartan Drive, SpartaGrades K-2. Opened 1990. [12]
Early Childhood Center480 S State St, SpartaPreschool. Opened 1959. [9]

References

  1. ↑ Sparta Area Schools. "Sparta Area Schools" . Retrieved September 7, 2025.
  2. ↑ Sparta Area Schools. "Administration" . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Sparta Area Schools". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences.
  4. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Kent County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. "Ottawa County School Districts" (PDF). Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Cammel, Ron (May 4, 2008). "Parents, classmates say goodbye". Grand Rapids Press. p. B1.
  7. 1 2 Sparta Township Historical Commission. "Old Sparta High School 1901-1970" . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Council accepts bid to raise former school". Grand Rapids Press. August 13, 2009. p. A11.
  9. 1 2 "New Sparta High School". Grand Rapids Press. September 9, 1959. p. 20.
  10. 1 2 "Sparta votes Monday on new school". Grand Rapids Press. February 25, 1966. p. 32.
  11. ↑ "It's open house Sunday for Ridgeview Elementary School". Grand Rapids Press. October 18, 1990. p. 25.
  12. 1 2 Howard, Kathy (August 30, 1990). "New school welcomes first batch of students". Grand Rapids Press. p. 22.
  13. ↑ "Architect association awards fine work". Grand Rapids Press. March 11, 1991. p. E1.
  14. 1 2 Morrison, Gary W. (June 9, 2005). "Work starts on new Sparta High". Grand Rapids Press. p. 5.
  15. 1 2 Holst, Janice (January 3, 2022). "Small-town togetherness reflected in new school". School News Network.
  16. 1 2 Sparta Area Schools. "Our Buildings" . Retrieved September 8, 2025.
  17. ↑ Cunningham, Jeffrey (June 16, 2015). "Sparta schools finding buyers for vacant school sites". MLive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.