LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL
ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018 Empowered by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Lutheran High School nurtures spiritual, academic, and personal growth, equipping students for lives of Christian service.
FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL Friends of Lutheran High School, We just opened our doors for the 36th school year. It’s amazing how God continues to bless Lutheran High School. 2017-2018 was a fantastic year—as you’ll see from this report. We are also looking forward to another fantastic one this year! Lutheran High School continues to focus on, as it always has, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We work with families and their churches to nurture each child’s one-to-one relationship with Jesus. As we combine this with academic rigor and a welcoming environment, it’s no wonder why we continue to have fantastic years. To Him Be the Glory! Through our feasibility study last fall, our Board of Directors has made several big and impactful decisions in the last year. Your input was valuable as we determined next steps in ministry to best serve Him. THANK YOU for filling out our feasibility survey! We have begun construction to serve more and more students to center them on His Word. You can continue to see progress as you visit our website. I ask for your continued prayers for LHS, our current families, and those who have moved on from our school. Our ministry continues to work with families and churches to bring up the next generation of Christians under the truth that is found and defined in the Bible. This is not an easy task in today’s broken world. We are blessed to continue to widen our reach, striving to bring all under the promise of the Cross. Thanks again for your continued support for Lutheran High School! In His Service,
Dr. Craig Ernstmeyer Head of School ernstmeyer@lhssc.org @cernstmeyer
LHS continued its fiscally strong financial position due to fiscal responsibility on the part of faculty and staff. The percentages below do not include the efforts of the Reach Campaign, which attained its first goal, the Celebration Goal of $2.5 million in pledges and gifts. Lutheran High School continues its efforts to accomplish our Challenge Goal of $4 million.
REVENUE
85% tuition and fees 9% congregational support 6% third source EXPENSES
75% school 17% business 4% building 4% advancement
THE YEAR IN REVIEW JULY-SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER-DECEMBER
APRIL-JUNE
Enrollment increased to 345 students.
Thirty-eight new members were inducted to National Honor Society; a total of 96 upperclassmen were NHS members.
Mr. Armand Haak, Math Department Chair, received the William Dahlgren Teacher of Excellence Award through the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering.
Welcomed 102 freshmen (surpassing the goal of 86) to the Cougar Family. Enrolled 52% of 8th graders from our Association grade schools. Theme verse for the year: Rise Above. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12 Added three new courses to the curriculum: Digital Arts, Economics, and Algebra 3. Expanded The Learning Center and Academic Lab programs to include two full-time teachers and a parttime administrator. Viewed the total solar eclipse on August 21 together as a school. Installed a video recording system for the stadium. Room 201 was completely renovated with new flooring, lighting and furniture. Updated the Commons with efficient LED lighting. Installed an LED sign along Mexico Road. These highlights are just some of achievements of the 20172018 academic year. A full report detailing the year’s accomplishments and goals for the future is included in the 2018 Strategic Plan, which is available on our web site under the About > Who We Are tab.
The entire student body raised $5,000 to send a child to Disney World through the Make a Wish Foundation. Hosted 15 students and 2 teachers from Ludwigsburg Germany for two weeks as part of the Sister Cities exchange program. The Boys Cross Country Team won the District Championship for the first time in school history. Boys Swimming and Girls Cross Country won the AAA Conference Championship.
JANUARY-MARCH Twenty-two students and adults joined the March in Life in Washington, D.C. Senior Lila Witte advanced to Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship program. Mr. Michael Flandermeyer received the Jeremiah Award from Lutheran Association for Special Education. Launched the Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out Campaign to raise funds for campus expansion and renovation projects. NHS organized a school-wide collection of personal care items for the students of Concordia Seminary. The Girls Swimming Team won the AAA Conference Championship. Designed and launched a fundraising and relationship management database system.
Mr. David Zilz, Director of Robotics, was named Coach of the Year at the MO First Robotics State Championships. The Scholar Bowl team won the District Championship for the first time in school history. Music students earned a 1 rating and two Gold ratings at the State Festival and five 1 ratings at the District Festival. The Baseball Team captured both AAA Conference Championship and District Championship titles. A new Parents Club was organized to connect parents to one another through social opportunities and service to the school. Ninety percent of students participated in at least one sport or activity during the year. One hundred percent of our athletic and activity programs were recognized by MSHSAA for Outstanding or Distinguished academic achievement. Received over $2.5 million in pledges and gifts to accomplish the Celebration Goal of the Reach Campaign. Broke ground on a 27,970 sq. ft. building expansion project that will include additional classrooms and a new gymnasium.
CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS
CLASS OF 2018
77
graduates accepted
1,822 total alumni earned
million $2.5 494 college credits in scholarships
3.33
AVERAGE
GPA
24.4
AVERAGE
ACT
98% attending a 4-year or 2-year college or university Arizona State University Citrus College Coe College Concordia University Nebraska Concordia University Wisconsin DePauw University Florida Southern College Illinois State University Iowa State University Lindenwood University Maryville University McKendree University
Michigan State University Mississippi College Missouri S&T Missouri State University Murray State Northwest Missouri State University Oklahoma State University Ranken Technical College Saint Louis University Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville St. Charles Community College
St. Louis Community College Truman State University Tulane University University of Arkansas University of Central Missouri University of Florida University of Kansas University of Missouri--Columbia University of Missouri--St. Louis Vanderbilt University Webster University William Woods University
HONORING TRADITION The Hall of Honor was organized in 2012 as a way of celebrating the rich heritage and tradition at Lutheran High School. It serves as a means of recognizing, preserving, and honoring the school leaders, athletes, teachers, and individuals who made significant contributions to the LHS programs. Many individuals have been influential in the Cougar tradition of excellence and have had exemplary accomplishments. The Hall of Honor honors the contributions and accomplishments of these individuals. This year’s inductees into the Hall of Honor were Coach Bob Carter, Mrs. Kathy Chapin, and Mr. Jim Droste.
PAST HALL OF HONOR INDUCTEES Gordon Bredow Harry and Nancy Cromer Lew Fruend Ron Holtmeier Bob and Marti Price Dr. Bernie Tonjes Brad Walters Dave Wulff Al Mahnken Bob Storm Jim and Sue Bastian Dr. Mark Hingst Joe and Jennifer Koenig ‘99 Randy Boettler Stan Beumer Randy Ferber Amber (Warren) Medrano ‘05 Dr. Matt Nissing ‘92 Ryan Bredow ‘98 Tim Brackman ‘85 Gretchen (Staude) Jameson ‘93 Erin (Pauk) Luttschwager ‘03 Jeff and Sandy Von Deylen
BUILDING OUR FUTURE We are growing! One of the biggest highlights of the 2017-2018 academic year was the planning and implementation of a major building project. The last time construction crews were on site at 5100 Mexico Road was from 2004-2006 when the current stadium and athletic field complex was completed. For the past five years, enrollment at LHS has increased by 20%, and upward enrollment trends are expected to continue. Since the current campus has a building capacity of 400, the Board of Directors realized the need to look to the future and meet the high demand for quality Christian education in the greater St. Charles region. Increasing our space and making campus improvements gives LHS the opportunity to reach more students with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In 2015, the Board set four critical targets and established a planning/building committee to assess future needs. In the Fall of 2017, the Board conducted a feasibility study and determined that there was overwhelming support to move forward with a campus expansion and renovation project that will increase building capacity to 550 and provide necessary improvements that will meet the demands of 21st century students. The Board engaged the services of The Steier Group, and the role of Dr. Doug Kuhlmann, Activities Director, was expanded to include development. LHS also implemented the use of Raiser’s Edge, a comprehensive fundraising and relationship management system. In March 2018 LHS launched the Reach Up, Reach In, Reach Out Campaign with the goal of raising $2.5 million. By June the goal was accomplished, and the groundbreaking ceremony took place on June 14. Construction continues to progress, and walls will soon go up. Thanks to the generous support of many families, alumni, and friends, we will not only see the campus grow and change, but we will see our Cougar Family grow as we welcome more students and families to Lutheran High School!
A LOOK AHEAD The 2018-2019 academic year begins with 383 students, the largest enrollment in school history with our largest-ever class of freshmen--117 students! As the student body grows, the number of faculty also increases. Three additional faculty members were added to the staff this year. The walls of the new gymasium will be erected in October. We will launch the second phase of the Reach Campaign to meet the
Challenge Goal of an additional $1.5 million. Reaching this goal allows us to move forward with campus improvements, which includes renovating the current gym to a commons area, refurbishing classrooms and hallways, expanding the Student Services area, adding a multi-use conference room, and enhancing technology. Building project completion is tentatively scheduled for the middle of 2019!
As part of the Strategic Plan, the Board of Directors of Lutheran High School have identified four critical targets. These targets provide a foundation that we believe will guide LHS to even greater service and ministry opportunities. The Plan is a living document and may be updated and amended as needed. View the entire Strategic Plan on our website.
CRITICAL TARGET 1:
Lutheran High School will enroll 400 students by June 2019.
CRITICAL TARGET 2:
2018-2019 EVENTS Fall Theatre October 5-6, 2018 Homecoming October 12, 2018 Sapphire Affair Auction November 3, 2018 Christmas Concert December 16, 2018 Cabaret Night February 9, 2019 Winter Theatre March 1-2, 2019 Trivia Night TBD Spring Theatre May 3-4, 2019
The average ACT score of Lutheran High School’s class of 2019 will be 26.
Spring Concert May 5, 2019
CRITICAL TARGET 3:
Graduation May 26, 2019
Lutheran High School will update the funding model to ensure a cost manageable by the Association by June 2019.
CRITICAL TARGET 4:
Lutheran High School will improve the campus to provide an innovative environment by June 2019.
Golf Outing June 22, 2019 Check our website for event details
LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL 5100 Mexico Road, Saint Peters, MO 63376 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
LUTHERAN COUGARS Homecoming
FRIDAY • OCTOBER 12 • 2018 Soccer Cougars vs. Father Tolton Regional High School — 3:00 pm Football Cougars vs. St. Clair High School — 7:00 pm Alumni receive free admission to the games! We invite you to join us for the Cougar Family BBQ 5:00-6:30 pm Burgers, hotdogs, chips, desserts and drinks will be served Sponsored by the LHS Booster Club Visit lutheranhighstcharles.com for more details