By Erin Hemme Froslie
The Forum
Founded by people who believed a Christian education was crucial to the upbringing of their children, religious schools have been a part of the Fargo-Moorhead community since its beginnings.
Churches and religious communities established a practical ministry by emphasizing moral education and the spreading of the Gospel while training students in reading, writing and arithmetic.
"People should be able to live an integrated life," says Cathy Schwinden, principal at Holy Spirit School. "We believe that the spiritual and moral parts of life should be a part of everything you do."
Even during times of economic difficulties, parents and churches found ways to support schools. The schools were testimonies to faith. Here students saw that religion wasn't just a Sunday thing and that prayer can be as natural as breathing.
"We provide a safe atmosphere where Christian teachers witness their faith everyday and students pray and worship," says Gene Sommerfeld, principal at Grace Lutheran School.
At first the religious schools were parish-based, geared toward the children of the congregation and others in the denomination.
But now religious schools are seeing changes. Small class sizes and a sense of community draw non-Catholics to Catholic schools; non-Lutherans to Lutheran schools and a variety of church backgrounds to interdenominational schools.
"I think it's because they see the Christian influence can affect a student's life," says Darwin Gorder, Oak Grove Lutheran School's principal. "If we plant some seeds in students' lives, maybe down the line they'll use it."
The religious schools in the Fargo-Moorhead area keep growing. Some schools have outgrown buildings and others have added grades.
Despite the challenges of keeping tuition costs low while offering modern needs like technology, the schools succeed - something that benefits the community as a whole.
"It's good for all of us to have options," Schwinden says.
Northern Cass selling off old
schools
By Deneen Gilmour
The Forum
For sale: Argusville school; 10 miles north of Fargo. Built in 1926, additions in 1957
and 1989. Situated on 17 lots. Includes parking lot and football field. Bids opened April
19.
The school will be the first of four sold as the far-flung Northern Cass School District
disposes of old buildings and prepares to move into a new school on Highway 26.
The new school will bring the district's 450 students into one 92,400-square foot building
for kindergarten through senior high.
Currently, students attend classes in Arthur, Hunter and Grandin. The Argusville school
closed after the 1997-98 year.
Come fall, students and staff will begin a fresh academic year in the new school. Once
everybody is tucked inside the new building, the school board and Superintendent Hal
Habermann plan to sell the other three schools.
Habermann said he dares not let the old schools go until every nail has been pounded in
the new building.
It's not too soon, though, to let folks know they'll be up for sale this summer. He's
prepared fact sheets on each school and is showing people the Argusville building. The
other schools size up this way:
* The Arthur school, built in 1932, is the district's largest building. Today it's
used by 180 seventh- through 12th-graders. Additions were tacked on in 1956 and 1974.
* The Hunter school was built in 1924. A gym was added in 1952 and more classrooms
constructed in 1960.
* The Grandin school was built in 1954 and expanded in 1989.
Habermann has no idea what people may want to do with the buildings. "That will be up
to them," he said. Selling the schools could create economic opportunities if they're
converted to assisted-living facilities or housing, he said.
A while back, someone scoped out the Argusville school for a seven-unit condo but the deal
didn't materialize. Habermann views the football field as prime property for new homes.
School of 'houses'
Construction started a year ago and is 75 to 80 percent complete, said principal and
project coordinator Mike Nygaard. Habermann feels assured it will be ready for students
the first day of school this autumn.
The 80-acre plot was chosen for its central site and tree-protected location.
The $8.5 million school is built in a "house" concept, Nygaard explains - one
house for K-2, another for 3-5; another for 6-8 and one for 9-12.
The building includes a large gym for high school physical education classes and athletic
events, plus an auxiliary gym for younger students' classes and sporting events, and a
separate auditorium for music, drama and community events. The design includes locker
rooms to accommodate adult use of the school's fitness facilities.
Situated along the south branch of the Elm River and a mature shelter belt, the grounds
will feature a nature trail and butterfly habitat.
North of the building, the National Guard will help shape four separate athletic fields -
football, baseball, softball and soccer.
Teachers visited the new school two weeks ago with Nygaard. He said they're energized now
that they can picture themselves teaching inside the new building.
The new school will do more than improve the look of education, Habermann said. Teachers
who had been split among three towns will be in one building, able to collaborate.
Putting everybody under one roof gives teachers a chance to join forces on learning
projects which transcend disciplines and subjects.
The merger increased the number of available semester-unit classes from 60 to 90.
Additional course offerings come under the headings of keyboarding, industrial technology,
art, home economics, social studies and math.
Forum staff
The Forum
Grace Lutheran
The beginning of Grace Lutheran School actually dates back to 1908, although the school closed in 1916 due to lack of students.
In 1948 the school reopened to celebrate Grace Lutheran Church's 50th anniversary. Classes were held in the church basement until the school outgrew the space.
On Jan. 13, 1952, the present school building at 1025 14th Ave. S., Fargo, was dedicated. At the time classes went through the fourth grade and classrooms were added as enrollment grew.
Extensive remodeling was done in 1967 and a gymnasium, library, music room, offices and kitchen were added in 1977.
Today the school includes more than 200 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.
Grace Lutheran School is part of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the largest Protestant school system in the United States.
Park Christian
Ninth graders at Park Christian School in Moorhead enjoy an annual trip to Washington, D.C. Courtesy of Park Christian School
Park Christian will become Moorhead's first private high school when it adds a 10th grade class next school year, but the school has been a presence in the community for nearly 20 years.
The interdenominational Christian school opened in the former south Moorhead Park School in 1981 after the merger of Central Christian School, Fargo, and Daystar Christian School, Moorhead.
Enrollment more than doubled in Park Christian's first four years, prompting the purchase of the school's current location at 300 17th St. N., Moorhead. Since then a gymnasium and classrooms have been added.
In 1998 the school added pre-kindergarten and kindergarten by leasing classroom and gymnasium facilities at Bethel Evangelical Free Church in south Fargo.
By 2001 the school will offer grades pre-kindergarten through grade 12.
St. Joseph's School
St. Joseph's School in Moorhead is believed to be the oldest school in the Red River Valley as well as in the Catholic Diocese of Crookston.
In 1876 a Mrs. Parsons, who had come from the east to visit friends in Fargo, began conducting classes in a home attached to the frame church.
Four years later, the Benedictine Sisters of St. Joseph, Minn., opened a formal school with 50 children. The sisters didn't have their own school building until 13 years later.
In 1929 the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Benedict, Crookston, took charge of the school.
The present building at 10th Street South and Second Avenue was built in 1927 as a combination church and school. The church occupied the second floor until the present church was built around the corner 27 years later.
More recently the school has relied on volunteers and parishioners to help it move into the 21st century. In 1998 more than $150,000 worth of equipment and time was donated to build a state-of-the-art computer network for the school's students.
Oak Grove Lutheran
Young women studied art, domestic sciences, Norwegian, music and the Bible at Oak Grove High School when it was known as the Oak Grove Lutheran Ladies' Seminary circa 1909. Courtesy of Oak Grove High School
Oak Grove Lutheran School began as a school for young women.
The Oak Grove Lutheran Ladies' Seminary, affiliated with the Lutheran Free Church, opened on Nov. 1, 1906. The students studied domestic sciences, Norwegian, music and Bible lessons.
In 1926 the school dropped "Lutheran Ladies" from its title when it accepted eight young men as students. In 1952 the name was changed to Oak Grove Lutheran High School.
Classes for grades 7 and 8 started in the fall of 1978. Sixth grade was added in the fall of 1998.
Building additions have been common on the Oak Grove campus. Fossum Hall was built in 1948; the administration building in 1960; the gym in 1972; and the dining center in 1985.
Since Oak Grove is the only boarding school in the United States for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, students from other states and countries attend the school.
The flood of 1997 caused nearly $1 million in damage to the school, but few traces of the destruction remained when the school opened the next August.
