Students say International Baccalaureate classes a major draw to attending school in Kalispell

There are several reasons why residents of the Bigfork High School District attend school in Kalispell.

Bigfork parents Bob and Suzie Keenan have experienced their share of these reasons over the years.

The Keenans have had five children attend various high schools over the years.

Their youngest child, Ryan, is a sophomore at Flathead High. “Ryan made the decision for three reasons,” Bob said. These were: 1) the International Baccalaureate program, 2) a large freshman class of 400 students gave him a bigger pool in which to make friends, and 3) he wanted to compete at the AA level in high school golf.

The Keenans’ daughter, Sara, attended Bigfork all four years of high school. Kyle attended Bigfork his freshman year and transferred to Flathead for his final three years. The Keenans’ oldest children attended Bigfork their freshman and sophomore years before transferring to a school in Fort Wayne, Ind., for their final two years. Bob said their oldest children had an opportunity to attend a highly rated high school in Indiana and live with his sister during that time.

“We’ll go to the ends of the earth to get the best education for each individual child and their wants and needs,” Bob said.

For the current school year, Bigfork has a net loss of 33 middle school and high school students going to school in Kalispell. that compares with the elementary having a net gain of nine students. This combined net loss of 24 students due to out-of-district attendance has resulted in the district losing $108,900 this year.

Maureen Averill, board chair of Bigfork School District Trustees, said it’s not unusual for Bigfork to lose high school students. “There’s a fairly transient population of kids changing schools,” she said.

Averill said that programs attract high school students to Flathead and Glacier high schools, including the International Baccalaureate program and Advanced Placement courses, along with programs in carpentry, welding, auto shop, for example.

Averill said Bigfork school trustees had a demographic study done a number of years ago that predicted the district would lose students and then gain some. She is encouraged, however, by the fact that Bigfork High School’s enrollment has trended upward since 2010, when it reached a 10-year low of 257 students. Current enrollment in 286 students, despite the migration of some district students to Kalispell.

Chance Kittle, 17, is a junior at Flathead High School. He went to Bigfork High School his freshman and sophomore years and decided to transfer because of its International Baccalaureate program.

Kittle ran cross country and track at Bigfork High, but those sports are not why he switched to Flathead. Kittle explained that the International Baccalaureate program is for juniors and seniors. “I had a couple friends who had it,” he said, noting he really enjoys the world focus the program offers.

His sister, Valerie, attended Glacier High School all four of her high school years because of its Advanced Placement program, he said.

Bigfork HIgh School offers an honors program similar to the one Flathead offers its freshmen and sophomores, Kittle said, explaining why he waited for his junior year to transfer.

Marcia Sheffels has been county school superintendent about nine years. She said Flathead County has open enrollment at its 23 schools. Sheffels said open enrollment has thwarted efforts to bring charter schools into the state.

Keenan, a former state senator, agrees. “In a sense, it’s school choice,” he said.

Sheffels said Flathead County schools have open enrollment as long as there is room for students to attend. Only two of the 23 schools charge tuition for out-of-district students: Kalispell and West Valley. Kalispell School District charges $350 for each K-8 student per year and $150 for each high school student. West Valley charges $1,000 for each K-8 student.

Bigfork isn’t the only high school in the county that loses students to out-of-district schools. Many Columbia Falls and Whitefish students attend out-of-district schools. This school year,  57 students from Bigfork chose other schools, while 58 Columbia Falls students and 86 Whitefish students attended other schools.

Bigfork gained 24 out-of-district students (for the net loss of 33), while Columbia Falls gained 30 (for a net loss of 28) and Whitefish added 21 (for a net loss of 66). Thirty-eight students who live in the Bigfork High School District attend Flathead or Glacier high schools, 11 are home-schooled and eight attend private schools.

A total of 131 students from Flathead and Glacier high schools attended other schools, but gained 192, for a net gain of 61 students.

Other students that the public high school districts lost went to private schools or were home-schooled. There are 242 high school students enrolled in private schools in the county this year, while 105 are home-schooled.