According to the Louisiana Department of Education, 337 nonpublic schools operate in the state.
Editor’s note: First in a multi-part series
on education in schools affiliated with Southern Baptist churches in Louisiana.
STATEWIDE –
According to the Louisiana Department of Education, 337 nonpublic schools
operate in the state.
The vast majority
of those are religiously affiliated, and, according to The Private School
Review – www.privateschoolreview.com – 28 have labeled themselves as Baptist.
While not all of those are Southern Baptist, at least 19 are, as was revealed
through an unscientific phone survey conducted by the Message.
A normal day at a
Southern Baptist school incorporates prayer and Bible study, plus the
acquisition of academic skills – reading, writing, arithmetic and more. The ‘A
Beka’ curriculum, which all 19 Southern Baptist schools use, also includes a
Christian world-view.
“For example, in
science the students in middle school will learn all of the theories of
creation, the Big Bang, and everything, but also, with greater emphasis, they
will learn that, according to the Bible, God spoke,” said Principal Amy Whatley
at FirstBaptist
ChristianSchool
in Lafayette,
where Bible study is a graded course.
“The curriculum
beautifully incorporates the Word of God into what is already floating around
out there in our society,” she explained.
“God is going to
be embedded in every aspect of our school,” said CovenantChristian
Academy principal James
Champagne. “That’s the big difference.” Covenant, in Houma, plans to open its doors this fall.
At MemorialBaptist
ChristianSchool
in Metairie, where Bible study is also a
graded course, missions projects also get a large emphasis Principal Gerald
Pember said.
“I think we’re
unique in that we’re very, very strict in our missions’ requirements for
students,” he said.
“As far as
discipline, we emphasize that behavior choices are theirs: are they making good
choices and that poor choices have consequences,” Whatley said.
Teachers are also
an important consideration at a Southern Baptist school, administrators agreed.
In general,
teachers are involved in private school for the ministry of it, rather than the
pay, since on the whole private school teachers make less than public school
teachers, sometimes considerably less.
“You have to find
teachers who want to minister to kids and also are good, qualified teachers,” Champagne said. Starting
annual pay at Covenant is set for the mid-twenties.
Teachers at
Memorial Baptist must adhere to strict requirements by signing an agreement
that states they are born-again Christians and another that pledges abstinence
from tobacco, alcohol, illicit drugs, and sexual impurity.
“They’re
interviewed for that before the board and must provide letters of reference
attesting to their involvement in church,” Pember said. Teachers must also be
degreed in their field, meet state qualifications and must be willing to
advance themselves through Bible courses offered at the school for continuing
education.
In many of the
schools, the students finish well ahead of their counterparts in public school,
in part due to the advanced nature of the A Beka curriculum, administrators
said.
“We spend a lot
of time making sure academics are excellent because we don’t have the resources
for other things,” said Dustin McAnn, principal at Temple
ChristianAcademy
in Jena.
Many of the
schools utilize fundraising in order to continue functioning. Indeed,
fundraising is often a joint effort among staff, students and parents.
For example,
parents at Temple
organize fundraising events and then divide the money amongst themselves to cover
the costs of their childrens’ tuition.
At FirstBaptist
ChristianSchool
in Lafayette,
fundraising covers extra things, Whatley said.
“For example next
year we want to add two more classes, so we’ll need to buy things to equip
those rooms,” she said. “The Parent Teacher Fellowship will give us the money
to do that.”
At NortheastBaptist
School in Monroe, about 95 percent of the staff is made
up of mothers who want their children in this school, said principal Anita
Watson. Employees of the school receive a tuition discount. In fact, Watson
herself began her career at Northeast in a similar fashion, working her way up
to principal.
“I had five kids,
and I home schooled,” she said, explaining that she continued home schooling
three more years after her husband died, despite the hardship.
“Then God opened
this door, and I went through it kicking and screaming” she said. “At one point
I had four kids in school, now I’m down to two.”
MemorialBaptist
ChristianSchool
in Metairie employs many fundraisers but also
makes use of state money through post-Katrina funds as well as the state
tobacco settlement.
The survey
conducted by the Message also revealed the following about Southern Baptist
affiliated schools in the state:
–The schools
range in size from 34 students – Temple Baptist Early Weekday Education in
Winnsboro, which serves pre-k and two kindergarten classes – to 1,560 students
– ParkviewBaptist
School in Baton Rouge, which serves K-12.
–The oldest
school – CrescentCityChristian
School in Metairie
– opened in 1956 and over the years has experienced a move, a changing of
ownership and a merger.
–The newest
school – CovenantChristianAcademy
in Houma – is
scheduled to begin classes in the fall of 2007. CenlaChristian
Academy in Pineville
started last fall.
–Most schools
are owned/supported by Southern Baptist churches, though one – NortheastBaptistSchool
– is supported by the Northeast Louisiana Baptist Association and 10 churches.
–The cost of
tuition can range dramatically from one school to the next, depending upon the
grade levels served and other factors. TempleBaptist
in Winnsboro charges $100/month – or $1200/year – and is the least expensive.
The most expensive – ParkviewBaptistSchool
in Baton Rouge
– is $5,500 a year for a high school student.
–All the schools
also charge fees not included in tuition. Fees vary from school to school but
can include registration fees, new student fees, resource/book fees, and
capital improvement fees, all of which can significantly impact the cost.
–Most of the
schools offer at least one payment plan as well as discounts. Discounts can
include multi-student, military, church member, employee, or ministerial.
–Fewer than half
of the schools set tuition rates by grade, while the remainder – about ten
schools – have one tuition rate for all grades.
–Ten schools
offer some form of financial aid.
–All but four of
the schools also offer preschool, while ten go through eighth grade, seven go
through twelfth grade, and one goes to kindergarten.
–All but two of
the schools offer care before school and/or after school.
–All but six
offer organized sports. Some of these six are planning to include sports in the
near future.
–Only three
don’t offer other extra-curricular activities, but at least one is planning to
incorporate extracurricular activities in the future.
–All but nine of
the schools use corporal punishment as an option. Most do so only at the
parent’s request or with parental permission, while a couple require that
parents administer the punishment.
–All the schools
use the A Beka curriculum. Seven supplement with other curricula or use other
curriculums in tandem with A Beka.
–Eleven of the schools are
state-approved, and two are pending approval.
–Maximum class
sizes range from 11 to 28, with the lowest average teacher/student ratio at 1:7
and the largest at 1:23.