By Bruce Barton

In an area where residents demand strong academics, the morals and ethics that are also part of a strong education are often downplayed. At Southbay Christian School in Mountain View, these values are placed on the same level with reading and math.

Principal Grace Fontanilla stressed the “family atmosphere” that pervades this nondenominational school on Miramonte Avenue, where parents put in nearly as much time as their children.

“They come here because they care,” Fontanilla said of parents who select Southbay. “There are so few schools like us that have a family atmosphere. … People who come here put their kids and their school first.”

School enrollment is down from over 400 a few years back to the current 231 figure, which school officials attribute to the current economic downturn. Of the current enrollment, Mountain View comprises the highest percentage of students, Los Altos the third highest.

Yet the school, with its intense parental involvement, continues to add improvements. On Nov. 29, the school dedicated a new computer lab, with parents donating $30,000 in equipment. Improvements to the playground area also are planned.

A tour through the school reveals large, organized classrooms where, unlike many public schools, art and music are also an important part of the curriculum. The school has 100,000 square feet of classroom space.

Formerly Sunnyvale Christian School, founded in 1964, the school moved to its present location in 1982. It is a ministry of Southbay Christian Center and shares a 9-acre property with the church. The school “seeks to glorify God and influence our community by partnering with families and churches to nurture and educate children on the right path through excellent teaching based on a Biblical foundation and its life application,” according to its mission statement.

Though a Christian school, enrollment includes Muslims, Jews and students of other religions.

Fontanilla said that 30 percent of all graduates of this preschool-to-eighth-grade school go on to perform some mission work around the world, while about 10 percent become missionaries.

To instill a sense of concern for others, students and parents are continually serving the community. Children collect canned goods to deliver to the Community Services Agency in Mountain View at Thanksgiving. They also work at the agency, which serves needy residents, on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

“This school augments what we teach at home,” said parent and marketing manager Nancy Keuch Rosa. Conflict resolution, for instance, is stressed, in which students use their words to resolve disagreements.

According to Fontanilla, a well-rounded education means students who are strong emotionally as well as academically.

“Do you get wisdom or a collection of facts?” Fontanilla asked of what children take from their education.

“Parents are the primary educators of children,” said school board chairman Mike Guisti. “We’re here to assist in that (philosophy).”

Virtually all money for the school is funded by the parents. Southbay holds its annual fund-raiser in April and organizers have set a minimum $50,000 goal. First Lady Laura Bush has been invited.

Southbay Christian School is located at 1134 Miramonte Ave., Mountain View. For more information, call 961-9485 or logon to: www.southbay.org.