Christian high school planned in Rockland

ROCKLAND – A group of parents and church leaders is hoping to establish a Christian high school in the area by September 2002.

And if the group is successful, the school will look and function much like a public high school, with arts and music programs, sports and classrooms in a venerable brick building.

The school initiative began several months ago, said Jason Philbrook, a Rockland businessman. Parents of students at Pen Bay Christian Schools in Rockland met to discuss where their children would go after the students left the school’s ninth grade.

Pen Bay is run by Littlefield Memorial Baptist Church, which Philbrook attends, and offers preschool through ninth grade. The ninth grade had recently been added to accommodate families who want to keep their children in a Christian school.

Pen Bay has been offering Christian education for 27 years. Parochial education predates public education in the United States and Roman Catholic schools have long been a fixture in many Maine towns. But Christian schools springing from Protestant congregations have had more recent, explosive growth. Such Christian high school level education is offered in Bangor, Houlton, Bucksport, South Hope and Waldoboro, Searles said.

Pen Bay, which has about 175 students each year, had begun a high school program several years ago, but couldn’t keep it operating because of a lack of space.

“They’ve outgrown the building,” said John Searles of South Thomaston, whose wife, Maggie, is Pen Bay Christian’s administrator. Searles is also serving on the committee working to establish the new high school.

After reviewing several churches and other available buildings in the area, the committee concluded that a successful Christian high school must be independent of any one church, for space needs and for reasons of autonomy, Searles said.

“When you have one church being involved, you wind up being dictated to by that church,” he said.

The group has created a nonprofit corporation, run by a seven-member board of directors, and plans to call the new school the Mid Coast Christian Academy.

The school Searles, Philbrook and others envision would be college preparatory, with a component of the curriculum devoted to biblical studies. Teachers would be expected to be practicing Christians, he said, who “walk the walk.” Though the details will be determined by the board or by parental vote, Searles foresees a student dress code. He also emphasized what he sees as the importance of offering competitive sports for students.

The group is interested in leasing a portion of the former Rockland High School, a 19th century building now known as the Lincoln Street School. The building is leased from the city by a fledgling nonprofit group, the Lincoln Street Center for Arts and Education.

That group envisioned bringing the building to life again by renting classrooms to artists for studio space, and hosting performances in the auditorium. To date, much of the building is vacant, and the nonprofit organization is working to raise money to pay its lease.

Searles and Philbrook said the tentative plan is to lease about one-third of the school – three floors on one side – in addition to using the gymnasium and auditorium.

The Lincoln Street Center board is supportive of the proposal, both Searles and Philbrook said, and is in the midst of working out the details of the cost of a sublease. The city, as owner of the building, would also have to approve of the lease. City officials also appear to be supportive of the concept, Searles said.

Philbrook said some of the neighbors of the old school who attended a meeting there earlier this month also indicated support of the plan.

Searles said the group is aiming at having a student body of 50 to 75 by September 2002. The group hopes to keep tuition in the $2,500-$3,500 range. That will pay for eight to 10 teachers and an administrator, he said.

Fund raising is under way to pay for repairs to the building and to establish an endowment that would allow the school to offer scholarships to needy students, Searles said

A Christian high school in Rockland would draw students from as far south as Cushing and from as far north as Belfast, Searles believes.

Searles and Philbrook may be reached by e-mail at mcca@midcoast.com. Searles may be contacted by telephone at 354-6732.