Private Schools In Demand Unhappy With Public Education, Parents Turning To Schools That Are Often Church-Affiliated

Enrollment at North Idaho private schools is shooting up as fast as a smart kid’s hand.

The number of schools is growing, too. There may be two dozen in the Panhandle, although no one seems to have an exact tally.

Frank Hesse, principal at Coeur d’Alene Christian Center, said there’s no special reason for the schools to keep track of each other.

“We’re definitely not in competition,” he said. “There’s so many people out there wanting private schools that we can’t meet demand.”

Almost all of the schools are church-affiliated. Among their signs of growth:

Enrollment at Lake City Junior Academy has increased every year for the past eight. This year’s jump was 10 percent over last, with 155 students in preschool through 10th grade.

North Idaho Christian School in Hayden Lake has 248 kids this year, up from 56 just seven years ago. There’s a waiting list for all of its grades, one through 12.

Immaculate Conception Boys’ School in Post Falls has 132 students in kindergarten through 11th grades, up from 102 last year and nearly triple the enrollment of 1991-92.

Classical Christian Academy in Coeur d’Alene has 70 students in kindergarten through seventh grade, more than double its 1995-96 enrollment.

“We started out with 29 last year,” said Classical Christian board member LeeAnn Cheeley.

The academy just opened last year. But the newest addition to the private school roster is Holy Family Catholic School.

Holy Family opened its doors last week at the St. Thomas Parish center. It marks the reintroduction of Catholic education in Coeur d’Alene, which once had two Catholic elementary schools and a high school.

The longest-operating private school in Kootenai County may be Lake City Junior Academy.

“The earliest records are from 1915,” said Principal Ray Cummings.

Lake City is one of five Seventh-day Adventist schools in the Panhandle, he said. The others are in Wallace, Sandpoint, St. Maries and Spirit Lake.

Why are more parents willing to pay tuition - sometimes exceeding $2,000 per year - when public schools are free?

One reason is that there are simply more families. The Panhandle’s population is growing.

But Larry Kay of North Idaho Christian School echoed other principals when he attributed enrollment growth in large part to satisfied customers.

“When the parents are happy, word gets around,” Kay said.

Some parents are eagerly seeking a religious orientation. Both Immaculate Conception Boys School and St. Dominic’s Girls School, for example, are affiliated with the Society of St. Pius.

Traditional Catholicism underpins a liberal arts education there, which includes courses in Latin.

Nearly 30 different denominations are represented by the students of Falls Christian Academy, even though the school is a mission outreach of Falls Full Gospel Church.

Falls Christian is the Panhandle’s largest private school. It has 400 students, ranging from 4-year-olds in preschool to 12th graders.

The school has some openings, but that changes constantly, said co-administrator Nancy Jenkins.

“Since public school started, we’re getting daily requests,” she said.

Some parents pull their children from public schools after a few days or a couple of months, she said.

Jenkins’ oldest daughter transferred to a private school because Coeur d’Alene High started double-shifting and the family didn’t like the disruption. Eventually, the girl’s three sisters made the same move.

Did they give up anything by leaving public school?

“Orchestra,” said Jenkins. “That was about it.”

Drew and Russell Baker aren’t offered some vocational classes at Falls Christian, but their mom is pleased with what they are getting. That includes more opportunity to play sports because it’s easier to make the teams.

“What we’re paying is worth it,” she said of the tuition. “Not only for the education, but the moral values.”

There’s no question some parents are unhappy with overcrowding or what they see as a lack of discipline at public schools.

But Sig Jensen, principal at Southside Christian School, doesn’t like to compare his 50-student Cocolalla program with public schools.

“We build on a different foundation, we have different goals,” he said.

Southside’s goal is morality-based education, he said.

Still, parents also come to Jensen asking a basic question: “Will Johnny be able to read?”

Many private-school administrators tout their traditional teaching methods, such as an emphasis on phonics.

Coeur d’Alene’s Lighthouse Academy offers something different to its 56 students.

“We have a hands-on approach, with lots of activities and projects,” said Colleen Fouche, who founded Lighthouse 10 years ago. “We avoid workbooks and memorization.”

Most of the schools don’t require church membership. Some parents are willing to accept a strong Biblical orientation even if they’re not strongly religious.

That’s because they’re dissatisfied with public schools, said Dan DuPey, administrator of the Coeur d’Alene Christian School.

“They say, ‘We can take this because the options out there aren’t really meeting our needs.”’

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