Peanut Gallery: In Praise of Gonzaga Prep

The demographics of Prep closely resemble those of the neighborhood and the neighborhood high school, John Rogers. A solid majority of the kids attending Gonzaga Prep qualify for federally subsidized lunches! About…10 years ago…Gonzaga Prep became the only Jesuit High School in the country to offer Fair Share Tuition. That is to say, irrespective of the average cost per pupil, the tuition to Prep is what your fair share of that average cost is. This means that any child that wants to attend Prep can. Some families send their kids to Prep and pay more than the average cost per pupil—their fair share of that amount is more. You pay what’s fair for you. This tuition practice is also in place at all Diocesan elementary and middle schools in the Diocese of Spokane. Gonzaga Prep no longer resembles Joel E. Ferris, that bastion of educational civilization deep in Spokane’s South Hill, but has genuine racial, ethnical, cultural and economic diversity. Not only that, Prep has lots of kids from Coeur d’Alene!

JBelle