Demand for private schools soars

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998 | 10:20 a.m.

Leaders of the Shiloh Christian School are increasing their stake in Las Vegas' private school market -- a market officials say is scrambling to keep up with demand.

Shiloh has scheduled groundbreaking for a new $9-million, 38-classroom school at 9:30 a.m. Friday at their new site on Cheyenne Avenue, almost two miles west of Durango Drive. The new structure will be three times larger than the current 30,000-square-foot school and affiliated church, West Charleston Baptist. Church officials hope the new building will be completed by year's end, perhaps even by fall.

Shiloh officials say children such as eight-year-old Kaitlyn Cameron are the cornerstone of a long future in the private school business.

"I like my teachers, they are really nice," the Shiloh third-grader said. "In math, we're doing division. We've already learned our multiplication tables."

Her parents said private schools offer a more personal atmosphere.

"The quality of education is fantastic," said Kaitlyn's mother, Leanne Cameron. "The kids take pride in the school. They take pride in their work. The teachers are so concerned about the students."

Private school leaders in Clark County say there are plenty of parents like the Camerons who are fleeing crowded public schools for more pricey, but relatively scarce, private schools.

"We have a waiting list that last year was at 500, but that got ridiculous, so we cut it off at 300," said Shiloh Principal Lois Cadwallader, a former Clark County public school teacher. "Parents are looking for a more accelerated curriculum and a return to more traditional discipline and values."

Clark County has 65 private schools, compared to 219 public schools, according to the Nevada State Department of Education. Thirty-two private schools are licensed with the state board. Most of the others are small church schools that are nonprofit and exempt from licensure.

"For a city of 1 million people, we should have more private school choices," Cadwallader said.

Several other private school leaders said even they welcome new private school construction, given the glut of parents seeking private schools.

"If they want to compete with us, come on in," said Harry Hendrickson, superintendent of Trinity Christian Schools. "There's nothing un-American about competition."

Shiloh leaders are building the new school for 680 students. The current building, 6701 W. Charleston Blvd., is at capacity with the 415 students enrolled there. Shiloh also will expand its pre-school through 10th-grade curriculum all the way through the 12th grade in the new building.

With 680 students, Shiloh would be the third largest private school in Clark County just behind Bishop Gorman, with an enrollment of 1,098, and The Meadows School, with an enrollment of 764, according to state figures.

Shiloh's annual tuition, now $2,750 for the elementary grades and $2,900 for high school, could increase as much as $800 a year to pay for construction.

Cadwallader said Shiloh is paying for the new building with tuition increases, fund-raising and the sale of the current building, listed at $2.8 million. Church officials, who hope to raise $2 million, said they have about $200,000 so far to go toward construction of the new school.

"We're convinced there is a great demand for the Las Vegas Valley for what Shiloh can offer," said Shiloh math and history teacher Tom Olson. "An affordable education with a strong, accelerated curriculum in a Christian environment."