Around 100 local parents gathered at the CRRC on November 3 to entertain the notion of a Niverville-based Christian school.
During afternoon and evening information sessions, Steinbach Christian School (SCS) principal Thor Barkman led visitors through the ins and outs of beginning a SCS satellite school in this neck of the woods.
Barkman extolled the benefits of a private faith-based grade school education.
“The emphasis on faith is strong,” Barkman said. “We believe in faith, we believe in family, and we believe in community. But we recognize that we are not doing spiritual development and exposure at the expense of academic [learning]. We [offer] a rigorous academic program.”
Barkman’s insight comes from years of experience. He’s familiar with Niverville’s educational landscape, having taught in schools here during his early years as an educator.
He’s taken his skills overseas where he and his family witnessed firsthand the joys of faith-based learning. Prior to his acceptance of the SCS principal position, Barkman served as vice principal for ten years at the Steinbach Regional Secondary School.
Should a private Christian school become a reality in Niverville, Barkman says it just makes good sense to operate that school under SCS’s umbrella. This fall, SCS—previously known as Steinbach Bible College—celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary.
Their growth in recent years as a Kindergarten to Grade 12 school indicates the demand for this kind of instruction, he adds. In the past two years alone, 140 students were added to enrolment, bringing SCS to a record 440 students in the fall of 2024.
Barkman has reason to believe this trend will continue. With limited space for growth at the Steinbach facility, he says it is natural to explore the possibility of satellite operations.
Currently, 35 of SCS’s students hail from Niverville. Barkman says there’s a good possibility that more are attending private schools in Winnipeg. As well, homeschooling families are strongly represented in this area.
“If you care to read statistics, you know that kids are struggling,” said Barkman. “Over the last number of years, a growing percentage of students are self-reporting anxiety, self-reporting some sort of mental health issue. It’s a multi-factor problem, but we’d be remiss to say that we know they’re struggling and just keep doing the same thing. We’ve got to do something a little bit different. That’s what we [do].”
It begins, he says, with hiring the right teachers. All of SCS’s teachers must sign a statement of faith to work at their school.
“While we are teaching Manitoba curriculum, any aspects where it comes in conflict with conservative theology, it is a Christian teacher who is presenting that material,” Barkman reassured parents. “So the limiting factor is not the curriculum, it’s the teacher. And if we’re careful with the teachers [we hire], then we’re solid.”
As well, he adds, it’s about the leadership provided by a board made up of local churched representatives, all of whom are or have been parents of SCS students.
“[The makeup of the] board means that the school doesn’t pivot left or right very easily” Barkman said. “It acts as a rudder.”
Barkman’s goal at the Tuesday meetings was not to encourage a satellite school as much as establish general interest in such an endeavour. As well, he sought to determine a starting point based on that interest.
Likely, he says, it would begin small, using local existing real estate and offering either elementary, middle school, or high school options. In Barkman’s mind, there is no reason to believe that Niverville wouldn’t be able to support its own K–12 school within five to ten years.
“If churches provide the real estate as a starting point for us, we provide the educational expertise. We hire the teachers, we provide administration, and, as a certified school, we automatically come with the funding.”
Barkman says that the province recognizes school-of-choice options like SCS. Financially, the government is willing to support registered private schools to the tune of $6,500 per student. This is half of what the province deems necessary to educate a student. Public schools receive approximately $13,000 in base funding per student.
That’s where public funding ends for private schools, though. They receive none of the additional funding offered to public schools for bussing and special programming.
Still, Barkman says SCS is in a position to charge lower tuition rates to make up the difference. As a matter of fact, he adds, SCS rates are significantly lower than most other private schools in Manitoba.
Tuition for SCS enrolment, he says, ranges from approximately $3,500 to $5,500 per year, per student, depending on the grade level. This is thanks, in large part, to the generous donor base that SCS enjoys.
While this may still be a big financial hit for many families, Barkman says parents need to realize that 40 percent of an SCS student’s tuition is tax-deductible. This is because SCS is a registered charitable organization. Donations to the school are 100 percent tax deductible.
Barkman’s initial step in determining the feasibility of a Niverville-based satellite school was to speak to the local ministerial. Knowing there is potential for weekday space in some local churches is imperative.
Having received some affirmation in that regard, the Tuesday represented the second step in the process: talking to local parents.
After these informational sessions, the next step is in the hands of parents. By early January, Barkman hopes to assess expressions of interest, submitted either in paper form or electronically via the school’s website. No firm commitment is necessary at this time.
In order to make a local school workable, Barkman says they’d need to ensure a minimum of ten students per teacher. In the case of elementary or middle school students, split classes are a possibility if needed.
“If I’m going to advertise for and hire teachers, I have to be on that by the end of January. We have to beat the public system to the punch on that.”
As to what an early-stage private school would look like, Barkman asks parents to keep their expectations reasonable.
What the SCS satellite school would be able to offer from a potential church building will be limited. Unique solutions will need to be sought for extracurricular programming, such as band, shops, and athletics.
“You have to start simple. When you start something, it’s not going to be as developed as a developed school. [But] it’s going to be much more developed than homeschooling.”
