When school bells ring in September, students not only return to the public school system in the province, they also return to study at independent schools and Cranbrook is no exception.

The two largest independent schools in Cranbrook are the Kootenay Christian Academy and St. Mary?s Catholic Independent School which enrol more than 150 students each. St. Mary?s takes students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 and Kootenay Christian Academy from Kindergarten to Grade 9.

In addition to these, there is also the Aqamnik Elementary School at the St Mary?s Reserve, which has 38 students from Kindergarten to Grade 7, and is a fully certified school following the BC curriculum.

St. Mary?s and the Kootenay Christian Academy get 50 per cent of their funding from the provincial government and charge tuition and engage in fund-raising to make up the difference. Both schools also follow the B.C. educational curriculum but within a Christian context. The Academy is non-denominational and St. Mary?s, while primarily Catholic, accepts non-Catholics as well.

Aqamnik Elementary does not charge tuition and is fully funded by the federal and provincial governments. It also accepts non-aboriginal students and provides school supplies for its children.

St. Mary?s and Aqamnik Elementary provide all-day kindergarten while the Kootenay Christian Academy is looking into the possibility of all day kindergarten in the future. Meanwhile, the Academy opened up a licensed, play-based, pre-school for three to five-year-olds at its second campus at Praise Fellowship Church on the west side of town.

Independent schools enrol almost 70,000 students in B.C. – 11 per cent of the provincial total -- and while most of them are Christian the appeal to parents goes beyond faith-based education.

The Kootenay Christian Academy has been operating out of leased space at the Cranbrook Alliance Church for 16 years and St. Mary?s has been operating since 1965.

Jerelynn MacNeil, principal at St. Mary?s, says parents that send their children to the Catholic school like its more structured approach and its emphasis on leadership and emotional growth of its children as well as its religious instruction and safe environment. The school also provides after school and day care programs.

?Parents have a big say and influence at St. Mary?s and they really feel part of the school community and being part of their child?s education is a real draw for them.?

High academic standards as well as a Christian education motivate parents to send their children to the Kootenay Christian Academy, says Principal Tracey Sabbagh. ?We have high standards and expectations and our staff help students to achieve them.?

Despite its relatively small size, Kootenay Christian Academy is able to offer such ?enriched? courses as photography, carpentry, business, drama and fine arts which is an attraction to both students and parents.

Meanwhile Aqamnik Elementary Principal Michael Berech says the mainly aboriginal school emphasizes ?experiential leaning? that sees students learning outside the classroom as well as within.

?We find when the students get out of the classroom and have real life experiences they learn much better and their learning retention is better too. They also enjoy it more.?

The Aqamnik School, located next to the main Band office, started in 1989 and it?s hoped it will eventually expand to Grade 12. The school employs B.C certified teachers, has all the latest equipment including computers and a ?smart board? and is expanding its outreach to the aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities as much as it can, says Berech.

The school has always had all-day kindergarten ?because we believe it gives the students a stronger learning foundation,? he says.