New Idaho Christian school highlights national rise in private education

A Christian school that’s doubled in enrollment the past four years plans to open Idaho’s largest pre-K-12 private school, reflecting a continuing national explosion in private school enrollment.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment at Cole Valley Christian Schools in Meridian has ballooned from 700 students to nearly 1,400. The school opened multiple modular buildings at their Boise and Meridian campuses just to keep up.

Cole Valley and other private schools are still spiriting families away from public schools with offers of better student-to-teacher ratios, rigorous academics and curricula aligning with parents’ values. 

A June 2024 report from the Idaho State Board of Education suggests “although enrollment in Idaho’s regular public schools has leveled off in the very recent past, overall K-12 enrollment … is on the rise.”  

The report says an overall enrollment increase in the state comes from private and charter schools as well as homeschooling. 

While Idaho’s population has grown by about 670,000 since 2000, it doesn’t account for the disproportionate increase in private, charter and home education. 

Once Cole Valley consolidates its buildings into a single campus, student capacity will increase to 1,800. And the 72 acres of farmland purchased for the project could support an eventual 12-classroom addition with the capacity to handle 300 more students. 

Cole Valley doesn’t receive public funds, so school leadership plans to depend on private fundraising to pay for construction of the new campus.  

Enrollment in religious and private schools also is skyrocketing at the national level, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2024 survey conducted by the Cato Institute found 46% of private schools have experienced a recent enrollment increase. 

According to the same survey, 88% of private schools reported either having never closed their doors during the pandemic or reopening earlier than public schools. 

Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicate private-school enrollment in early elementary grades increased by 3-9% from 2019-22 despite the number of private schools decreasing by 3% during the pandemic. 

Meanwhile, public school K-7 enrollment fell 3-6% during the same period. 

U.S. Census data shows the total number of U.S. children in private K-12 schools reached just over 14 million in 2023, with an increase of 187,162 students over the previous year. 

NCES has reported lower than average private school enrollment in the western United States. While Idaho has a long way to go to reverse that trend, Cole Valley Christian Schools’ expansion is giving the state a solid start.