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I can go on forever about Bob Jones, but don't have time. Racist, anit-catholic .......

Home school academy takes root in growing Birdseye
By MARTIN J. KIDSTON - IR Features Writer - 04/27/06

Photos by Martin Kidston - Several students with the Last Chance Academy in Birdseye head home for the day. They come from Montana City, East Helena, Helena and Birdseye to attend the school, which opened in September. The 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. school day makes the students smile. BIRDSEYE — Down the highway from the Last Chance Chapel, heavy machinery applies the final touches to a network of new roads. The roads will soon serve the Stallion Ridge subdivision, an 86-lot project fondly referred to by the locals as Helena’s expanding suburbs.

While life in this secluded community 15 miles west of Helena changes at a rapid pace, a small, private school has gained a foothold here beyond the reach of public debate.

Offering a private, home-school setting with a Christian twist, the Last Chance Academy opened its doors in the community’s namesake chapel last September. The school receives its only funding through the church and a monthly tuition of almost $200 per student.

The academy now claims three teachers and 13 students who range in grade and ability. William Parsons, the school’s administrator, described the academy as a Christian home-school that includes teachings on the Bible.

The school’s curriculum doesn’t shy away from classroom prayer. While some communities debate how evolution and creationism should be taught, the academy approaches them both as theory.

“I think a lot of our text materials are written from a Christian perspective,” Parsons said. “We believe the Bible is true 100 percent.”

The academy uses textbooks published by Bob Jones University to teach science and the Bible. When teaching history and English it uses A Beca Books, a Florida-based publishing firm that produces “God-honoring, high-quality textbooks and teaching aids.”

History lessons include what Parsons called a “truer account of history.” In one class, he said, it’s taught that the nation’s founding fathers were Christian — a point, he said, that public schools shy away from.

“We also talk about evolution and I present it as theory,” he said. “Evolution is an idea of how mankind tries to rationalize its creation.”

The school, fundamental in its Christian values, is growing. Despite a lack of advertising, Parsons expects the student body to nearly double next year to 25 students and even more the following year.

The academy has no school board, no curriculum and has yet to write a mission statement. All that, Parsons said, still must come together. The student-to-teacher ratio, he said, remains the school’s priority.

“If we keep growing like we’re growing, we may be looking at more teachers and the need for a new building soon,” he said. “The church wanted to start this school because the suburbs were coming. They knew it would be a good place to start a private school.”

On Wednesday, the academy’s high-school students talked about their current reading assignment, “The Scarlet Letter.” The junior high students continued with “The Diary of Ann Frank” to coincide with their WWII studies and Holocaust commemoration.

“I love teaching here,” said Lori Carey, the school’s only English teacher. “I’m trusted to be as creative and imaginative as I can be. I get to know the students personally, and it’s rewarding to see them change.”

Jacob Weise, an eighth-grader at the academy, is a tall and gangly kid. He wears a Metallica hat and a German flying cross around his neck. He was also expelled from the public school system.

“This is my last chance,” he grinned, playing off the school’s name. “I like science sometimes and Bible sometimes. I’m not too sure about my Christianity, but I’m learning.”

Weise, who speaks poorly of his public school experience, said he’s doing better at the academy. There aren’t as many students, he said, and fewer distractions.

Carey, who saw that Weise was getting bored with his standard eighth grade reading assignments, gave him William Faulkner as an advanced project. He made easy work of the book and is slowly turning his grades and attitude around.

“He does better when the work is harder,” Carey said. “He’s come a long way since he’s been here. It’s good to watch the light bulb click on.”

Rachel Osborne, the only girl in the high school class, drives from Montana City every day to attend the academy instead of public high school like most girls her age. She was home-schooled before she arrived at the academy but was falling behind in math.

“It’s a lot more relaxed here,” she said. “You don’t have the teachers nagging you all the time. There’s no pressure.”

Osborne, who isn’t one to elaborate her thoughts — unless you get to know her, she said — caught up on her math skills thanks to the school’s only math teacher, Gil Wooden.

Wooden, busy with a class Wednesday, taught 30 years in public schools and 10 more in private, including a stint as principal at the Helena Christian Academy. Several of his students are already studying advanced algebra.

“His experience is one of the big things that draw people here,” Parsons said. “The teachers we have aren’t here for the paycheck. They’re here for the kids. We teach all the core subjects, plus Bible class. And we hold chapel once a week.”