By Sarah Hufnagle
As most of you have noticed, our school’s growth this past year has been considerable. In a twelve month’s time, the district enrollment has increased by thirty percent! To put that in perspective, last year Christian Elementary School East (CESE) enrolled 222 students. This year they have 419! Christian Junior High School saw an increase from 142 students to 181. Christian High School also grew, jumping from last year’s enrollment of 349 students to this year’s 433… and counting! What caused this sudden growth? Christian Unified’s Director of Admissions, GayLynn Heinrich, said it’s a matter of values. Families simply aren’t happy with the public school education system and they want their kids to receive a Christian education.
Due to the sudden influx of students, thirty new teachers and staff members were added to accommodate the school’s growth. Many are wondering what will happen if this pace continues.
Will there still be enough room for all K-12 students on one campus? What actions will the school have to take in order to accommodate more students when many are concerned we are already bursting at the seams? Will an additional campus be opened? Will we stop enrolling new students? As of right now, the decisions are yet to be determined so that still leaves us with more questions than answers.
When asked how the rapid growth of our elementary student enrollment would impact the potential growth of CHS, Heinrich stated, “Most successful Christian schools grow their high school by growing the elementary. Growth looks or works best when you do it with the young, but ultimately we don’t want to exclude any families from having a Christian education.” In other words, today’s elementary students are tomorrow’s high schoolers. And Christian Unified is here for them all.
