Average school- year enrollment: 50 students.
Student-teacher ratio: 12-to-1 or less.
Not a charter school. Phoenix receives no state school aid. Charter schools are not allowed in Nebraska.
Approved by the Nebraska Board of Education.
Tuition: $800 a month. The school offers tuition assistance with help from private donors, so many students pay less than full tuition. Assistance is based on a sliding scale tied to family income. No one pays less than $100 a month, so all parents have a financial stake in their children's success.
Typical school day: 8:30 a.m. to noon, reading, writing, spelling and handwriting; lunch; 12:50 p.m. to 2:10 p.m., math instruction. During the school year, Phoenix teaches math up to pre-algebra. Students' final hour is either science or social studies. Those subjects get decidedly less emphasis.
History: Founded by Omahan Patti Clark 20 years ago as a for-profit business; changed to nonprofit several years ago. Clark was born in Council Bluffs and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. She volunteered in a reading program at her child's school, became a big proponent of phonics and became convinced of the need for a special school. She died in 2008.
Reading programs: Spalding Phonics; grammar is taught using Shurley English; Read Naturally supports comprehension and fluency instruction.
Math programs: Otter Creek and Saxon Math.
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