Farwell Area Schools

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Farwell Area Schools is a public district in Central Michigan. It serves the town of Farwell and parts of several townships in Clare and Isabella counties, and it covers pre-kindergarten through 12th grade with four schools. The current superintendent is Tom House. The district had a budget of about $20.5 million for the 2021-2022 year.

As of 2023-2024, about 1,011 students attend Farwell Area Schools. There are around 61.4 full-time-equivalent teachers and about 185.5 full-time-equivalent staff, for a student-teacher ratio of about 16.5 to 1. The district’s main campus is at 399 East Michigan Street in Farwell, and the website is www.farwellschools.net.

History in brief:
- The first school in the area was established in 1870 (Surrey Township School District No. 1).
- A two-classroom frame school opened in 1873.
- Grading started in 1891; grades 11–12 were added in 1905.
- A new school opened in 1907, and a gym was added in 1934.
- Beginning in 1935, smaller nearby districts began consolidating with Farwell’s district, continuing into the 1960s.
- An elementary school was built in 1949, and a new high school opened in 1955.
- The current high school opened in January 1964; the old high school became an upper elementary, and the 1907 building was torn down.
- In 1929, Josiah Littlefield donated 91 acres of forest to the district. The district still harvests timber for woodworking and uses the forests for science and forestry education.

The district shares a campus between East Ohio and East Michigan Streets in Farwell, at 399 East Michigan Street.