LEWISTON, Maine — In their SAT prep class Wednesday, students sat with heads down, focused on taking a test.
It’s spirit week at the Vineyard Christian School on Foss Road and students were dressed as characters. Teacher Susan Daggett sat in the front of the room, overseeing her 15 students. The room was quiet.
It isn’t always that way, Daggett said. “Normally, we do vocabulary games, spelling bees.”
“She squirts us with a squirt gun,” one boy joked.
Next year, the room will be completely quiet. The school is closing in June, the victim of a tough economy, said Allen Austin, executive pastor of the Pathway Vineyard Church, which runs the school. The economic climate has made it increasingly difficult for families to afford private education, he said.
Parents were informed of the school’s closing Wednesday night. Details will be shared with the congregation in church Sunday.
The school opened in 2000. It has 12 teachers and an enrollment of 93 in prekindergarten through grade 12.
“We had a high enrollment of 145 a few years back. It’s been a steady decline,” Austin said.
The cost to send a child to the school is about $3,400 a year.
“That’s not the true cost. It’s grossly under market,” Austin said. “It needs to be double that” to make the school sustainable. But doubling the tuition to $7,000 per child is not a realistic cost parents could pay, he said.
One of the benefits of the school has been small class sizes.
“But now it’s at a point where the student-to-cost ratio is impossible for us to continue,” Austin said.
In the school hall are the typical lockers and murals, as well as frequent references to the Christian faith. One quote painted on a wall reads: “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
In addition to traditional subjects, students study religion every day.
“The Bible is a course they all have,” Austin said. “We have chapel days. The whole value of our Christian faith is woven into every classroom. Service to the community has been a part of their education.”
While the school’s enrollment has decreased, Pathway Vineyard Church enjoys healthy attendance. On any given Sunday, 1,100 people attend services, Austin said.
“If everybody who calls the Pathway Vineyard their church came, [attendance] would be around 1,500,” he said. “We’ve seen steady growth over the past few years.”
Most of the Vineyard students are from the Lewiston-Auburn-Lisbon area. Some parents are looking into sending their children to Catholic schools next year; others, to public schools.
“We’ll help them however we can,” Austin said.
Knowing the school has to close is heartbreaking, the pastor said. “There’s emotion tied to it. I helped found the school.”
The church’s Sunday school will continue, with a morning session for students up to grade six. A youth service for teenagers is held Sunday night.
“We have over 200 kids on this campus every Sunday,” Austin said. “Our commitment to ministering to kids does not change with the school closing. It’s just a matter of a vehicle in which we deliver our ministry will look different.”
After getting through this week’s announcements, Austin said, “Our real desire is to finish this year on a positive note, celebrate everything that has been accomplished in the last 12 years.”
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So its the unions fault that the school is closing ?
This why we need school choice here in Maine.
This is the kind of turmoil to kids we can expect with school choice and privately run charters. Those who do well will continue until they hit a few years of poor performance and then be forced to close due to the success of a neighboring school. Like any business some will do really well (At least profit wise) while others will continuously struggle, fail, and close. Frankly, I’d prefer to help my publicly funded local school to be right where it is for the next 100 years. The only fix it needs is more people like me who give a damn about it’s success and my children’s individual performances.
They should wait and see if Santorum wins the presidency. If Mr. “Church = State” wins he is sure to fund Christian schools. Let us pray he doesn’t.
I say lets PRAY that he does win! Its sad that a Christian School is closing. Its sad when anything has to close down.
I trust that these students will transition back into the traditional school system ok, and that the teachers are able to find gainful employment. I hope that these teachers will or can be able to get back into a public school and we all can learn from their experience.
If the school was truly committed to The Word they would not need money they only need to do what is right.
In Reply To………if Santorum wins the presidency ………. sure to fund Christian schools……….. That’s why all the Atheists are praying that he doesn’t win.
If the true cost is $7,000 per student, then that is what needs to be collected. But that seems like a lot of money for an operation without infrastructure, expensive extra curricular activities, and “high paid” teachers and administrators. The real problem the impact on the children whose education has been interrupted due to a poor business practice: selling below cost.
Agreed. 12 teachers for 93 students at $3400/kid tuition…..That design is not going to work. I suspect the teachers are probably poorly paid, but still, way too few kids for 12 teachers.
With all the muslim immigrants in the area i’m surprised there’s anything christian left in lewiston.
Immigrants come in….if their are Christians already there how are their less Christians? Are the Christians leaving?
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2011/05/31/news/lewiston-auburn/lewiston-and-auburn-dealing-with-baby-boom/
The amount of immigrant enrollments has greatly increased as most somali families have 5 to 10 children.
But it doesnt decrease the others is what I am saying.
I suggest you proof read before posting. It was really hard to understand, until I determined that your “their” was meant as “they are” or “they’re”
And yeah, people are abandoning Lewiston in droves. I sold my father’s apartment house there when I couldn’t find a single decent tenant to fill a first floor vacancy. The previous tenant had lived there for 40+ years. Plus the fact, I wanted to get out of the rental business before the State learned that I don’t do business with Muslims.
Why have a xtian school in Lewiston any more. It is becoming a Muslim city, so look for madrasahs to open here, and those people who believe religious schools should be entitled to tax dollars might wish to rethink their position.
Right, people don’t seem to realize that tax money for religious schools means ALL religions, not just yours.
If all we had was charter schools, and this was the one you were sending your child to, and now it’s closing… you’d be left with NO public school in your area. You’d have to send your child to whatever school was still open nearby–assuming it was accepting new students. The school’s owners might have a religious philosophy entirely different from your own, but you’d have to send your child there or drive many miles to get him or her to a different school…
God says “start a school”. Reality says “close it down”. What a dilemma!
I really dont understand why they have to close. If they are that committed to Gods word they would give their money and time to stay open.