The Christian alternative elementary schools in Monroe County teach children what they need to know within a Christian framework. St. Paul's Lutheran School in East Stroudsburg is one of these schools. The 40 students enrolled at St. Paul's follow a curriculum approved by the State Department of Education, but that curriculum also prepares students to live integrated Christian lives. The school offers an early childhood program for children between the ages of 3 and 5, and an elementary school program for children in first through eighth grades.
Monroe County also has non-Christian alternative elementary school options for those not interested in integrating religion into their education. The Growing Concern School in Tannersville is a private elementary school that uses the Montessori method to teach students. This method suggests that the goal of teaching is not to fill a child's head with facts, but to cultivate her own desire to learn. Thus, The Growing Concern School tries to provide an educational experience that meets a child's individual needs and helps her develop cooperative relationships, responsibility for herself and sensitivity toward others.
Christian alternative high schools build on the Christian-based education students learned in their elementary curriculum. There are four alternative Christian high schools in Monroe Country, and one of these is East Stroudsburg Christian Academy, a high school founded in 1975 located in the Pinebrook Bible Conference Center. The mission of the school is to incorporate Christian-centered education into every aspect of its academically challenging curriculum. For example; if students are studying the American Revolution, they also learn the biblical references and texts that guided George Washington and other revolutionary leaders.
As with its non-Christian alternative elementary schools, Monroe County is also home to non-Christian alternative high schools, such as Evergreen Community School in Mountainhome. The enrollment at Evergreen is kept purposely low to ensure each student receives all the attention he needs and to provide a strong sense of community between the teachers, staff and students. Evergreen uses a cross-curricular Montessori approach that aims to support and serve all the students' needs. In addition to promoting community, the school emphasizes research, problem-solving, communication and presentation skills through whatever course the student takes.