Enrollment down at Owatonna Christian School on Owatonna

OWATONNA — Though public schools have yet to begin classes for the 2009-2010 school year, students at Owatonna Christian School have been in class since Monday, hitting the books.

The school, which teaches students from pre-kindergarten levels through 12th grade, has seen a decrease in enrollment from last year, something School Administrator Shawn Smith said could be partially due to the economy.

“Like many schools that are similar to OCS, we’ve lost some students,” said Smith.

He said enrollment is down from last year by about 10-12 students and estimated the decrease to be about 15 percent of the student body.

“It’s a pretty sizable number,” said Smith.

One contributing factor to the decrease in enrollment is the decision by last year’s juniors to take the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option, which enrolls them in college classes that qualify for high school credit.

“For the first time in the history of the school, all of our juniors last year decided to take post-secondary classes,” said Smith. “So we won’t have a graduating class.”

The PSEO option is not available through Owatonna Christian College, so in order to take college classes, students must enroll in a public school district. Smith said the staff will miss the students, but they are attending other schools this year in line with their own educational goals.

Another factor staff suspect might be contributing to the decrease in enrollment is the lack in sports programming. In the past , Owatonna Christian School has been able to provide certain sports, like soccer, to the students. The school doesn’t have a co-op in place, however, and this year, there aren’t enough students interested in soccer to form a team. Though no solid plans are in place as of yet, Smith is hoping to bring sports back to the kids.

“I’m in talks with another Christian school in Prior Lake to see if we can find a way for the students to play sports,” said Smith.

With the goal of providing students with a quality education and an education with a Christian world view, there are some developments that will improve the school this year. The school has added a computer lab, which they say will be used at all grade levels, after making a purchase from the now defunct Pillsbury Baptist Bible College.

The school purchased 18 computers, in addition to lab equipment, desks and chairs from the college after it closed its doors last year. There is still some networking to be completed in the computer lab, but it is set up at Owatonna Christian School, and with a little work, will be available to students for use this school year.

On top of the new technology, the school has actually grown its staff.

“We hired on a new part-time person that is working with the combined grade levels in the areas of reading and math,” said Smith.

The school also hired on a new full-time English teacher and a part-time music teacher to replace staff that departed from the school last year.

“We did not make any cuts,” said Smith. “We are committed to providing the best education possible, and we need our teachers in order to do that.”

That doesn’t mean the school’s work is done, however, as they continue to raise funds for future plans, which include a new playground.

Owatonna Christian School will hold a picnic for students, parents, and teachers on Sept. 17, and they will hold a fundraiser, in the form of a carnival, in October.

Melissa Kaelin can be reached at 444-2372.

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Member Opinions: By: NoteTaker on 9/2/09 I'm especially gratified to hear of the school's purchase of computer equipment from the former PBBC. And while sports are not part of a core curriculum, in my opinion, I am saddened to know that their sports program is pretty much non-existent. Nonetheless, academics come first and I and others expect great things from these kids. By: mnobserver on 9/3/09 Unfortunately, the declining enrollment is not just been because of the economy. The school's enrollment has been on a steady decline for years. The church along with the school have not addressed the core issues that are driving families away from enrolling their children in the school. The school's tuition is one of the lowest in the state for a private school, so saying that the economy is a factor is only diverting attention away from the real problems that the school is having. I think that the low enrollment is a reflection of this (doesn't the church have a lot of families that have school aged children- why aren't they attending the school?) Would this not tell you something about the school and its leadership? By: ostensibledichotomy on 9/3/09 Very observant, mnobserver...and utterly true. An institution is only as sound as its substrate and the economy has nothing to do with the progressively negative outcome in this case. Sad, but I doubt very much that meaningful steps to restructure will occur in time to salvage the school. ~OD~
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