Why Our Savior’s? 
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Our Savior’s Lutheran Church has provided and supported a Christ-centered school for almost 50 years. Why is providing a Christian school so important? What makes Our Savior’s different from any other school? What makes Our Savior’s a
“School of Choice”?
Read this story from one of our school families below. You will see why Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and School is such an integral part of our lives and the community.
Attending Our Savior’s Lutheran School makes a difference in a child’s life.
It is 5:30 a.m. on a cold January Tuesday morning. A hot breakfast fuels the start of the day. Today, our son will begin the day at our school of choice earlier than usual with a trumpet lesson. His music teacher has adjusted her schedule for his lessons to accommodate his need to focus on academics through the school day. He is working on a solo for two upcoming contests; one local and the other regional. He participated in three school band concerts during the first half of the school year.
It is still dark as we begin the 30 mile trip to Our Savior’s Lutheran School. The time on our fifty minute journey is filled with study, memory work, reading, and sometimes, a handheld video game. On this day, he reads a book in the glow of a flashlight. As the car crunches to a halt in the snowy parking lot, he packs up his book and hurries into the school so he can help the ‘before care’ manager prior to his trumpet lesson.
After his lesson, our son will report to his homeroom. The day will progress much like any student’s in central Illinois; math, science lab, social studies, language arts, physical education, computer lab, art, and music. Teachers will use various types of new technology equipment to deliver curriculum. There will be one significant difference; he will have ‘life lessons’ woven into all of his subjects and as stand alone curriculum. He will study integrity, respect, loyalty, honesty, courage, love, and compassion for others. He will learn through text and practical application how to serve his community.
At the end of the school day, as other students leave to go home, or participate in a school sport, our son will enjoy his weekly chess club meeting. The club has used DVD curriculum to study the nuances of chess, coupled with hands-on practice, in preparation for competition with another school. After the club has finished for the day, he will check into ‘after care’ until he is picked up.
Education lasts a lifetime. Like many parents, we wanted to give our son the most complete, high- quality education available. When considering where that would be, we set three criteria that would give him the learning and character he would need to be a successful man.
Our first priority was a school that was Christ-centered. We believe that a person who strives to live a Christ-like life will be one who has integrity, respect, loyalty, honesty, courage, love, and compassion for others. Our view of a complete education is one that has the love and salvation of Christ at its core. Having a religion class and weekly chapel was not enough. We wanted a school that demonstrated Christ in word and deed also. We observed the teachers and staff at Our Savior’s and noted they personally applied this in their lessons and lives.
Within this first priority, we wanted to be sure that Our Savior’s Church was supportive of the school. It was very evident that the church body was both spiritually and physically committed to the school. School programs and activities are attended and supported by the congregants. School choirs periodically participate in church services. We were once awed at a service in which a lower grade choir was partnered with the church’s choir. They had practiced independent of each other, but no one would have ever known that. It was one of the most moving, beautiful pieces we ever heard. In addition to spiritual support, the church has sacrificed as a whole to provide the facilities and equipment needed to deliver quality education.
The second priority was academic excellence. We desired a school that offered all standard subjects and was committed to delivering high quality education. This needed to include the use of current inter-active technology to deliver lessons and for the students to learn to use. We noted that Our Savior’s had current technology in every classroom and the computer lab. The science lab was well equipped, as was the gymnasium. The tools for excellence were there. Was the commitment?
Our Savior’s is completely committed to academic excellence. Most of teachers have master’s degrees, and almost all have been trained in gifted and differentiated teaching techniques. As a whole, the depth of experience is phenomenal. There are thirty-year teachers still delivering education with enthusiasm. Staff attends conferences and seminars to stay current. Some have even done this in addition to what the school sponsors. All of them could be working in the public school system for higher salaries and better benefits. These factors combine to a result of academic excellence. Our Savior’s achieved a #2 rating among all the public elementary/middle schools in Springfield in 2009-2010.
The third and last priority was that we wanted a school where the students were seen as individuals. We didn’t want our son to be lost in a classroom of 40 students. Our Savior’s generally maintains class sizes of roughly 20 or less. The opportunity to learn through participation is routinely available. Teachers readily identify student’s struggling to absorb a concept. Teachers get to know each student’s strengths and weaknesses and adapt to build on, or develop the child successes. Teachers communicate with parents readily in person or via email. They are genuinely concerned about providing each child a quality education.
Our Savior’s met our priority needs and became our school of choice. We are not Lutheran, although our church’s beliefs are very similar. Our son is receiving the complete education we desired for him and we gladly travel the 30 miles to school every morning.
After our son had been at Our Savior’s for several years, we received a bonus. You see, our son learns and processes differently than most students. He has learning disabilities that require every ounce of his energy and meager focus every minute of every school day. In the lower grades, the disabilities were not as evident. As he progressed through the grades, his teachers noticed his difficulties. We had also developed concern by that point. That is when we discovered the ’team’ at Our Savior’s.
Our Savior’s has a special education teacher on staff. Students struggling with reading, math, or other skills have the opportunity of instruction geared to address their needs. Our son benefited from this program, but needed more. By this time, we were laboring through the process of diagnosis with several doctors. It was daunting to think about how we would communicate and address issues with his teachers. Our Savior’s staff erased those concerns. The special education teacher stepped up as a liaison for us and his teachers. She applied various learning accommodations and methods to help our son absorb curriculum despite the distraction and complication of his disabilities. His teachers worked with her to incorporate his accommodations. The special education teacher always made herself available to us routinely. We met numerous times with her and other teachers as roadblocks appeared.
A team approach was applied and our son has benefited greatly. This was nailed down for us completely in one of many meetings the special education teacher set up. We expected to meet with her and another teacher to discuss specific difficulties our son was having. Instead, we walked into a meeting with three teachers and the principal. Each teacher presented learning problems our son was having in their class and offered potential remedies. The principal offered various options also. By the end of the meeting, all of the teachers and principal had collectively identified several remedies that could be applied in all of our son’s classes. The tone throughout the meeting was how our son could be helped so he could learn what the other students were learning despite his challenges. Three teachers and the principal sat down with us for an hour with concern for our son and his education. That is why Our Savior’s will remain our school of choice, and why we would recommend it to any parent searching for a school with a Christ-centered, committed to academic excellence school with a genuine desire to provide each child with a complete education.
By an anonymous school family