<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3z91d1_1GpOaDdu00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3z91d1_1GpOaDdu00" width="1200" height="630" >SIOUX CENTER—The Sioux Center Christian School has only seen a slight drop in enrollment going into the 2026-27 school year, according to the school’s official numbers.Sitting at 519 students overall, the number is only a 10-student decrease from last year’s number of 529.The Christian school has seen a slight decline over the past couple years, but has maintained a high retention rate of 98 percent.“One of the parts of our story is that in 2024, we had a really big class of eighth graders. They had 72,” said head of school Paul Brenner. “They were 20 percent bigger than any other class, so right away, as soon as that class graduated to high school, we were going to be down.”Another impact on overall numbers is a few smaller classes joining the school. Both the first and fourth grades are into the high 40s.Brenner said there are likely multiple factors influencing a few of the smaller classes that are similar throughout the state.“Birth rates are lower, a majority of our students come from our supporting churches,” he said. “Their preschool age children are down there, and so the numbers are going to be down with kindergartners entering our school.“If people are moving away whether it’s for housing, work or other reasons, that’s going to impact us as well.”Student vouchers or Education Savings Accounts have remained a hot-button issue in Iowa since their launch in 2023, but for Sioux Center Christian, the impact is hardly noticeable.“We could have new families here that wouldn’t have thought about a Christian school without the ESAs,” Brenner said. “But overall the numbers show our enrollment has gone down since ESAs have been implemented.”While the school has seen a drop in preschool age children, Brenner noted the kindergarten class is up to 54 students and is more in line with their other class sizes.This year’s largest class is the eighth grade class at 60 students, followed closely behind by the third grade at 59 students.Last year’s 35,000-square-foot addition to the school continues to be a boon for the school and its largest class. The $14 million Blazer Center expansion and remodeling project was finished in August 2025 and added six new seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms, along with paraprofessional spaces, a new lobby and a pair of bathrooms.“We’re definitely enjoying the added space and the new space,” Brenner said. “All of our students and staff that are here are enjoying and benefiting from it.”</div></body>

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SIOUX CENTER—The Sioux Center Christian School has only seen a slight drop in enrollment going into the 2026-27 school year, according to the school’s official numbers. Sitting at 519 students overall, the number is only a 10-student decrease from last year’s number of 529. The Christian school...

Sioux Center Christian sees small decline

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SIOUX CENTER—The Sioux Center Christian School has only seen a slight drop in enrollment going into the 2026-27 school year, according to the school’s offi

Sioux Center Christian sees small decline

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