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Zach Colick
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Posted: Wed May 27th, 2009 08:49 pm |
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Editor's note: The following story appears in the May 27 Town of Paradise Valley Independent. Post comments by hitting reply in the upper right-hand corner. Comments will be posted in an upcoming issue of the Town of Paradise Valley Independent.
Camelback Desert School to shut doors
Private school options decrease in Paradise Valley
By Zach Colick
Independent Newspapers
And then there were three.
With the closure May 27 of Camelback Desert School, Paradise Valley families are now left with three private school options when it comes to educating their children.
Tesseract School, Kachina Country Day School and Phoenix Country Day School are the only remaining private schools in Paradise Valley.
Citing declining enrollment and an aging facility in need of comprehensive repairs and upgrades, Camelback Desert School officials said the decision to close their Paradise Valley campus and merge it with a sister Scottsdale campus was the most practical solution for both private schools.
Parents, who were recently notified by letter about the pre-K-8 school’s closure, will now be forced to decide whether to enroll their children at Camelback Desert School’s Scottsdale campus, 9606 E. Kalil Drive — approximately 8 1/2 miles from the Paradise Valley campus — another private school or at a nearby public school.
“With any sort of decision like this, you’re always going to have parents that are excited about the opportunity and others who won’t want to drive the extra miles (to the Scottsdale campus),” said Kathleen Schaefer, spokeswoman for Nobel Learning Communities, a Pennsylvania-based company that owns and operates Camelback Desert School, as well as more than 170 pre-K-8 private schools nationwide.
“But we do believe that many parents understand our reasoning and that this decision will ultimately benefit the education of their children.”
The economy is affecting the decision-making and priorities families must make when it comes to educating their children.
While large classrooms offer an enormous social benefit throughout a child’s life and a savings to school districts nationwide, such an environment can lead to learning problems for youngters who need a smaller environment — just 10 to 15 students per class — to better comprehend class material and develop better study habits.
Janece Kline, executive director of nearby Kachina Country Day School, said despite private schools officials’ ability to recruit youngsters to enroll in small classroom settings for enriched curriculums, increased enrollment in public schools has put a lot of pressure on private schools to offer such incentives throughout high school.
“We’re holding our own and have a strong pre-school program,” Ms. Kline said of Kachina Country Day School’s success, noting the school is able to take in many more first through eighth graders.
Kachina Country Day School, like many private schools, only serves pre-K-8 students.
But Ms. Kline said she is attempting to open a high school near Scottsdale Road and Lincoln Drive in the near future — with an enrollment cap at 150 students — which she said many parents support as they want their children to continue learning in a private school setting vs. a large public school setting.
Ms. Kline said many Camelback Desert School parents have been in contact with her about enrolling at Kachina Country Day School. Five children have already enrolled for the 2009-10 school year and a handful of students toured the campus last week to see whether it would be a good for them.
“These children are tied in geographically and many want to stay in Paradise Valley,” she said.
With the closure of Camelback Desert School’s Paradise Valley campus, Ms. Schaefer said school officials hope to retain as many students and teachers as possible at their sister Scottsdale campus. She said that all depends on the number of students choosing to move to the Scottsdale campus.
Camelback Desert School, which Nobel Learning Communities purchased from the Barton family two years ago, employs 20 faculty members who teach 50 pre-K-8 students.
Because of the down economy, school officials said more and more parents are choosing to hold out paying annual tuition costs — deposits are non-refundable — until they are absolutely certain they will be able to afford it.
“We’re seeing slower re-enrollment and re-registration than ever before because of the economy,” said Jamie Kominos, executive director of Nobel Learning Communities.
Ms. Kominos said parents have been supportive of the campus consolidation, noting school officials have been keeping students top-of-mind throughout the entire process.
She said the Paradise Valley campus’ nurturing and supportive learning environment provided by faculty and administration will carry over to the Scottsdale campus.
Ms. Kominos explained students will have a better and stronger academic and social enviornment as class sizes will remain small.
While there will be more students on the campus, she said that will be to childrens’ benefit, creating a better overall learning experience.
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