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Students at Chisago Lakes Baptist School are busy with their spring extracurricular activity this month, something that has been a tradition at the school for many years.

The school is preparing for the spring drama, The HMS Pinafore, which will be performed April 26-28 in the school gym.

The spring event is well-known at the school, which started more than 30 years ago at Chisago Lakes Baptist Church.

At its inception in 1974, the school was a place where home schoolers could come to pick up specific class credits, including Bible studies, and participate in sports. It was known as Bible Heritage Christian Academy. In 1978, the education building was constructed to house classrooms and a full-size gymnasium. In 2004, the church building was remodeled and all secondary classes were moved to that building.

Now, the school offers a traditional elementary and secondary education for kindergarten through twelfth grade.

School Administrator Alan Hodak said the school is small, offering the opportunity for small class sizes and small teacher/student ratios. The effect has been high test scores at all grade levels - the average ACT score for graduating seniors this year is 24.

The lower elementary grades - K through second - are taught in separate classrooms, while older kids are taught together - third and fourth, fifth and sixth, and seventh and eighth grades are combined.

Once at the high school level, students have different classes throughout the day like any public school. These class requirements include at least two years of Spanish, three years of history and science and four years of English. Students are offered the opportunity to take a wide range of advanced classes like physics and calculus, some of which are required for graduation.

"Our goal is to get them ready for college," Hodak said.

For students to take part in the spring drama, they are required to be in choir, which is offered beginning in ninth grade. The school band starts in fifth grade.

Sports offered are basketball, soccer and girls volleyball. Teams compete in a christian school league, playing against other private christian schools across the state.

The sports schedules also include games against other private schools. Despite its small numbers, Hodak said the school has consistently fielded competitive sports teams, particularly volleyball in recent years.

"Our kids have been pretty competitive in matches against schools three times our size, especially in volleyball," Hodak said. "Our team could compete against schools like Chisago Lakes or Forest Lake."

The school also competes in the Minnesota Association of Christian Schools Fine Arts Festival and speech competitions.

This year's senior class has six students. The school population is at 126, Hodak said.

Tuition runs just under $3,000 for secondary and around $2,800 for elementary. The school offers financial aid to church congregation families; about half of the students are members of the church.

Show times for The HMS Pinafore are: Thursday, April 26: Family Night- adults- $8, 12 and under, $4; Friday, April 27 and Sat., April 28: adults and students only. All performances start at 7:30 p.m. General admission seats are $8 at the door, while reserved seats are $10. Reservations are accepted at the school or by calling (651) 257-4587, ext. 25.

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