VIDEO: Private Schools Combat Low Class Sizes

CALHOUN COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A universal problem faced by private schools in rural areas is dwindling enrollment.

Over the years, graduating classes get smaller and smaller so much so that some close their doors for good.

It’s not a surprise that private schools have smaller class sizes than public schools, but being too small is where business can be dangerous.

To fight this, schools focus on the positives that can ensure that students come through their doors year in and year out.

Calhoun Academy may not be the largest private school in the area, but over its nearly fifty year history it provides its services to a consistent class size.

“Calhoun Academy has a history of longevity, her in Calhoun County and the surrounding areas, and it is part of our responsibility, year by year, to find programs that will be interesting with students coming in and also to market our school in many ways,” said principal Donald Pendergrast.

Some of the programs they offer makes Calhoun Academy appealing to potential students.

“We have music; we have P.E. We have art; we have accelerated reading programs,” said Pendergrast.

The Administration use these programs to market in surrounding counties, not just Calhoun, to broaden their horizon and increase class size.

“We have students coming in from Lafayette County, Yalobusha County, Chickasaw County, Webster County, and Grenada County at the present time, so we touch all those counties and try to venture out to all those counties,” said Pendergrast.

One of the more understanding reasons for low class sizes is the affordability factor.

“The economics plays a big part in our enrollment, and when the economics and the economy is going great then our enrollment increases. When it stabilizes and is not doing so well, then we’re kind of holding our own,” said Pendergrast.

Still, the school emphasizes the benefits that could prepare a student in the classroom for the next level.

“I think that we have a lot to offer to our students and we have a lot to offer to them as parents that are wanting a better education for their child in a safe environment,” concluded Pendergrast.

Calhoun Academy, specifically, plans on keeping this longevity.

Their programs and personability with students continue to give them a one-hundred percent graduation rate year after year.