40th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION - The Lutheran High School of Kansas City
We celebrate quite a few events in our lives. Birthdays, baptisms, confirmations, marriages, anniversaries, retirements, championships, etc. Celebrations are necessary to highlight the activities of God’s people in a lost world. As we all know, we are to be in the world, but not of this world. As we pass through the brevity of this lifetime we are challenged to “go and teach all nations”. So the preparation and fulfillment of life is more than just earning a good living, but rather, living a life. A life in Christ. His words are our words, His example, our example. Let’s celebrate one of the best examples of Christ among us. Let’s celebrate a Lutheran School. And let’s also sustain a Lutheran School for another 40 years. Why, you might ask?
I’m often asked “why Lutheran schools?” An interesting question and a vital one for anyone raising children in the 21st century. A recent study completed by the NAEP, National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as “the Nation’s Report Card”, reported excellent news for our Lutheran school system. This study is the only nationally representative and continuing study of American schools and what our students are learning. The report concluded that in five of eight categories Lutheran schools finished first and in the other three we finished second. The groups studied included the following-- other religious, nonsectarian, Catholic, Lutheran, public, and Conservative Christian. This study would reinforce the ACT scores we have witnessed at LHSKC over the past decade—an average of between 24-26 per graduating senior, or about 20% above national norms. Also, the last three years 25% of our seniors have scored a 30 or higher on the ACT. The quality is here. While we do not define ourselves with numbers, our students are achieving at the highest levels at LHSKC.
The news is GOOD NEWS. In addition to teaching math, reading, science and all other subjects, we have the unique privilege of sharing the most important truth of all: God has won the victory over sin, death and the devil through the redemptive work of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Good News is not only academic, rather it is systemic. That news is-- He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!
There are approximately 85 Lutheran Church Missouri Synod secondary schools located in the U. S. today. There are fewer Lutheran grade schools and high schools than at any time in the past 50 years. This fact illustrates the reality of the challenge of operating a Lutheran school, not only in Kansas City, but all over the country. The fact that LHSKC is alive and well 40 years after its formation is a testament to the Lutheran community of the greater Kansas City area. This is why we celebrate, but we also need to realize the work is far from finished. We cannot rest on our laurels. As our nation changes and grows more diverse there is even a greater need to reach the lost. Lutheran education is one of the instruments we have at our disposal. Praise God for Lutheran Schools.
Dr. Cary Stelmachowicz
