Private schools foresee growing alongside area’s population

LEARNING

Seventh-grade STEM students at Peachtree Academy take part in an ‘Egg Landers’ project. Students were required to use their STEM skills to make sure

the egg not only survived but the landing device remained undamaged for continued use. Special Photo | Peachtree Academy

Private schools foresee growing alongside area’s population, economy

By TOM SPIGOLON

tspigolon@covnews.com

Some area school leaders believe private educational institutions should grow along with Newton County’s economy and population in coming decades.

Private schools’ educational offerings often differ from public schools and create educational options for parents, they say.

JaNice Van Ness, chief executive officer of Peachtree Academy, said she believes anticipated population and economic growth will benefit the multi-campus school, which has locations in Conyers and Covington.

School leaders foresee about a 16% enrollment growth in two years in Peachtree’s service area based on such measures as building permits and number of approved single-family subdivision lots, Van Ness said.

Van Ness said the school now serves students from eight counties.

Parents are willing to drive longer distances in metro Atlanta, especially to provide a quality education for their children, she said.

Rachel Ernst, the head of school and upper school principal at Loganville Christian Academy, also said she sees the area’s potential population growth as benefiting LCA. The school added the most students in its history this school year, she said.

LCA has enrollment goals through the next decade that she declined to disclose, but she said the school anticipates about 600 students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 in the 2022-23 school year.

“As long as those areas keep growing, we will see the benefits,” Ernst said.

She said public schools’ general reaction to the pandemic may have people more seriously considering private education.

National publications have noted the pandemic prompted some increases in private schools’ enrollments because they more closely followed parents’ wishes about the timing of returns to in-person learning.

“People are looking for a change since what public schools have gone through,” Ernst said.

Van Ness said Peachtree Academy is SACS and Cognia accredited but is able to offer a learning environment that is an alternative to larger public schools.

Because Peachtree has smaller class sizes, students are better able to focus on schoolwork, she said.

“I think parents want smaller classes,” she said.

Parental involvement also is greater at Peachtree because they are encouraged to give 10 volunteer hours to the school, Van Ness said.

Even as LCA grows, school leaders choose to keep class sizes relatively smaller than public schools, Ernst said.

She noted private school students also have opportunities they likely would not have at much larger public schools, such as better chances to participate in competitive athletics and other activities.

Public schools typically have many more students trying to gain a few spots on athletic teams or participate in other extracurricular activities compared to private schools where the competition is not as fierce, Ernst said.

Loganville Christian Academy Lower School Principal Amy McCaulley stands with some students at

the school on Ga. Hwy. 81. Special Photo | Loganville Christian Academy