Private schools thriving

published on Monday, August 31, 2009 10:41 PM MDT

By GAIL SCHONTZLER Chronicle Staff Writer

Private schools in the Bozeman area are flourishing, despite the economic downturn that has put a squeeze on many parents’ wallets.

NICK WOLCOTT/CHRONICLE Elizabeth Lee and Bonnie Dana help lay sod around their school's new outdoor classroom at the Learning Circle Montessori Elementary School on Monday. Despite a poor economy and dropping enrollment the school is investing in a new natural playground and outdoor classroom. Several of the larger private schools reported Monday that their fall enrollment is up, despite tuition that can go as high as $8,400 a year per child. And most of the larger private schools have either expanded recently or are making plans to do so.

“Our enrollment is growing,” said Todd Hicks, headmaster at the Petra Academy, which combines a Christian education with a classical approach, including Latin and rhetoric.

Hicks said Petra has 90 students, up from 76 last year, in kindergarten through high school. School officials have started talking about trying to raise several million dollars to build a school next year, to give it a permanent home. It is now renting space near Grace Bible Church.

Petra’s tuition was raised about 10 percent this year, to $5,790 for middle and high school students. Like all the private schools contacted for this story, Petra offers scholarships based on families’ financial need.

“Our enrollment is up 48 percent” from last year, said Tim McWilliams, headmaster at Headwaters Academy, a secular, college-prep school for middle-school students. This fall Headwaters grew from 23 to 34 students, just two short of being full, despite tuition of up to $8,400. It has a waiting list for eighth-graders.

“It’s a pleasant surprise,” McWilliams said. “Most schools involved in our accreditation association are having a hard time. They’re definitely finding enrollment down because of the economy.”

Why are Bozeman-area parents willing to put up thousands of dollars for private school tuition in the middle of a recession?

“I think the people in Bozeman really value education,” said Nancy McNabb, head of the Middle Creek Montessori School, located one mile east of Four Corners.

“I feel this town really does support private education,” McNabb said. “Parents are so dedicated to their children, some who are not in the financial range that can afford it will make sacrifices.”

Middle Creek Montessori has 140 children, from toddlers through sixth grade. Last year it invested $1 million in buying property for expansion. Its creek-side property features a log home, a 100-year-old barn and goats, sheep, chickens and rabbits. Its tuition varies, from $440 for part-time children up to $850 a month for full-day elementary school plus after-school attendance.

“Last year was more of a struggle,” when the school lost 10 children, McNabb said.

At the Learning Circle Montessori elementary school, located about a mile north of the Gallatin Valley Mall, parents and volunteers were busy Monday laying sod for a new, natural playground. It features an outdoor amphitheater, man-made cave, climbing wall, a tunnel, a stream and boggy area where kids can study nature.

The playground is another significant investment in the future of the school, which last year built a $300,000 classroom addition.

Dani Stern, head of Learning Circle Montessori, said last year the school lost nine students, and enrollment dropped from 50 to 41, because of the recession. Today it’s up to 45 students.

“It feels like it’s starting to come around,” said Stern, who has read about bigger problems at private schools across the country. Her mother’s Catholic alma mater in Baltimore is closing after 50 years.

Parents are willing to pay $748 a month for a Montessori education, Stern said, because it stresses giving students freedom to pursue their own interests, teaches self-reliance and self-confidence and encourages kids to ask questions.

Heritage Christian School has seen a bigger impact from the recession. Matt Henry, school administrator, said the school opened Monday with 170 students, down from 195 last year.

“People are feeling the pinch out there,” Henry said. “We had families leave (Bozeman) due to the recession.”

Heritage Christian, founded in 1982 to offer a God-centered, Bible-centered education, underwent a $1 million expansion from 2004 to 2005. Construction of a new classroom wing allowed it to add high school classes.

Despite the 13 percent drop in enrollment, Henry said he remains optimistic about the school’s future.

“We are,” Henry said. “It’s in God’s hands. It is God’s school and we trust the outcome to him every year.”

Gail Schontzler can be reached at gails@dailychronicle.com or 582-2633.

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