Schools work to keep pace with new students

Greenwood Christian Academy’s 4-year-old building is too small.

The private school has no classrooms to spare. Teachers have converted space in the school’s front lobby and a staff member’s office into classrooms, and next year three more will be built above the auditorium.

Private schools in Johnson County and on the southside have more students signing up for classes. Indiana’s school voucher program is responsible for part of the rise in enrollments, but parents also are taking advantage of financial aid and work programs to afford the cost of tuition, which ranges from $3,500 to $6,660.

Greenwood Christian Academy enrolled 146 new students this year, a third more than last year. For the first time, 10 students are on a waiting list for spots in the

third-, fourth- and fifth-grade classes, and the school’s 12th-grade class is closed to new students for the year, development director Stacy Slater said.

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