What to Know When Choosing a Private School in Clinton Township

Private school registration for the 2013-14 school year is underway, and parents are scrambling to find the best education for their children.

Matt Fenton, principal of Faith Christian School, said parents considering a private, faith-based education often come to open houses or school tours prepared with specific questions.

“It depends on their motivation for coming,” Fenton said. “A lot of parents come here because they are concerned about safety in the public schools. Academics are another big question. What are your class sizes? Are there standardized tests?

"Because we’re a Christian school, they also ask what is your philosophy with the Bible and Christianity?”

Other FAQs asked are:

• What are the after-school programs?
• Are there uniforms?
• What is the teacher-to-student ratio?
• Is there childcare?
• What are the facilities?
• What is the curriculum?
• For faith-based schools, will children of other faiths be accepted?

Faith Christian School, which is located in Clinton Township but affiliated with Faith Baptist Church of Warren, has educated children in kindergarten through high school since 1972.

While an open house is scheduled for Sunday, March 17, from 2 to 4 p.m., Fenton said parents can also set up an appointment to meet with him one-on-one basis, tour the school or have their child shadow another student for a day.

Although St. Thecla Catholic School held its open house earlier this month, Assistant Principal Lynn Fennell said one-on-one parent tours and student shadowing are available throughout the school year and into the summer.

Like Faith Christian and most other private, faith-based schools in the area, St. Thecla students do not need to be Catholic to attend the school, but parents should be aware that the school's respective religion is a part of the curriculum.

"Parents will often ask about our standardized test scores," Fennell added. "Where public schools use the MEAP, we go through archdiocese and use the Iowa Test." 

Based on common core standards, the Iowa Test is a “norm-referenced test,” designed to compare students to other students across the nation using a Bell curve.

What type of test or measure of student achievement a school uses should also be a top question for parents, Fennell said.

"As an administrator, I want to make sure that not only are my students ready to go to college but they have credentials needed to get to college," Fenton said, adding that parents should also question a school's technology to make sure it is up to date.

Parents can use online databases like Private School Search that help search for private schools in their area based on gender, religion, tuition and more. Schools will often have FAQs pages on their websites as well to help parents cover their bases.

Here are a few private schools in our area:

St. Thecla Catholic School

• Grades: Preschool through eighth grade
• 20762 S. Nunneley Rd., Clinton Twp., 48035
• 586-791-2170

Trinity Lutheran School

• Grades: Preschool through eighth grade
• 38900 Harper Ave., Clinton Twp., 48036
• 586-468-8511

St. Luke Lutheran School

• Open House: Friday, March 8, 7 p.m.
• Grades: Preschool through eighth grade
• 21400 S. Nunneley Rd., Clinton Twp., 48035
• 586-791-1151

Faith Christian School

• Open House: Sunday, March 17, 2-4 p.m. 
• Grades: Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade
• 23130 N. Remick, Clinton Twp., 48036
• 586-783-9630

St. Mary Catholic School

• Grades: Preschool through eighth grade
• Primary Campus: 24475 Saint Francis St., Clinton Twp., 48036 
• Main Campus: 105 Market St., Mt. Clemens, 48043
• 586-468-4570

Looking outside Clinton Township as well? Here's a list of private schools and open houses in other local communities.

Patch editor Aysha Jamali contributed to this story.