Central Lutheran begins national funding campaign

Choir students gather for practice with music teacher Elizabeth Wegner. Central Lutheran School students are multi-cultural, including coming from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Laos. That diversity extends into their educational programing, with choir, band, visual arts program, and an outdoor education unit. (Photo by Jan Willms)

By JAN WILLMS

The belief that a Christian education was essential for a child was so strong in many early Lutheran communities that they built schools before they even built their churches.

One of those early schools, started in 1861, has developed into the current Central Lutheran School (CLS) at 775 Lexington Pkwy. It opened its doors as Trinity Lutheran School at 659 Wabasha. A branch school later opened a few miles west, and this school was the nucleus around which St. Stephanus Congregation was organized in 1890.

Around 1942 the Central Lutheran School Association was incorporated, and CLS was built at its present site in 1951.

“One of the custodians recalled when the students marched over from their previous schools on the day CLS opened,” said Steve Schrader, interim principal at CLS. “He said it was quite an exciting day.”

Schrader said his wife, who attended another local Lutheran school, said she remembered how excited everyone was about the gym that was part of CLS.

“It’s a very ordinary-sized gym by today’s standards,” Schrader said, “but back then it was a very big deal.”

Over the past 130 years, CLS has seen many changes. It has become a multi-cultural school, with students from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Myanmar and Laos.

“Many of our students serve as interpreters for their parents,” he said. “There is not the total support our kids have had in the past.”

According to Schrader, two-thirds of the school’s students receive financial aid and over 50 per cent qualify for free or reduced lunches.

The school is facing challenges, both in population and financially.

Schrader said that in 1968, the school had 594 students. Today, there are 108 students in K-8, and the preschool program fluctuates.

“We have added 20 students to the preschool population, and we should be seeing that number reach the low 40s,” he said. The school also provides extended care to early childhood and school-age children.

The school is currently supported by four local Lutheran congregations: St. Stephanus, Jehovah, Bethel and Emmaus.

The school also started charging tuition in 1990, on a gradual basis. But with the economic downturn and a change in demographics, CLS cannot rely that much on tuition and has become a mission-based school. Churches also are struggling to maintain their numbers, and that trickles down to the schools.

With that in mind, CLS has begun a fund-raising program with a goal of $450,000.

A video of the school has been created, initially with the work being donated by a cable TV station and now with the assistance of two parents. The video describes the school, its students and the many programs it has to offer, and it requests funds to make it all work.

“The video is being sent out to Lutheran churches around the country,” Schrader said. “And all four pastors in our supporting congregations are distributing it in a more personal way.”

“It’s an ambitious goal,” he admitted. “A lot of Lutheran schools and churches are struggling right now. But we believe God can do great things.”

He said that obtaining $450,000 from all sources would totally stabilize things for awhile to come.

The school’s first donation came from an alumnus who lives in Kalamazoo, MI. She saw the video on Facebook and donated $600.

“We’ve received up to $20,000 in matching funds from donors who gave $1,000 or more,” Schrader noted. He said it is too early to measure the success of the fundraiser, but he has high hopes.

“We are unabashedly a Christian school,” Schrader continued, “and we do whatever we can to make it possible for anyone looking for a Christian education to attend.”

He said that the school wants to provide a quality education, adding that the standardized test scores for CLS have been very competitive.

“We offer such a great variety of programs,” he said. “Our choir goes on tour, and we have a band and athletic program throughout the year. We have a good visual arts program, and our 7th and 8th graders have an outdoor education unit. Our kids really get a full exposure to a broad educational program.”

He said some people have stepped forward and pledged to help the school roll over its curriculum in the next three years.

“We hope to expand our technology through the use of iPads and equip our teachers to make good use of them,” Schrader said.

Schrader, who stepped in as interim principal last July when the former administrator left, said the process has started to find a new principal. He previously served CLS as principal earlier for several years, leaving in 2001.

He said his experience at CLS has been the best of his 39 years of service in Lutheran education, emphasizing the great sense of community within the school.

He said CLS is not a place that is sitting still. “Our goal is to thrive, not just survive,” he declared. “And we are doing everything we can to make that a reality.”

For more information, visit Central Lutheran School online at: http://www.clssp.org/give.cfm