Two Lutheran schools in Perry County merge

FROHNA, Mo. -- Education in East Perry County is not just about learning math and science, to read and write and to prepare for college or life.

The children in the schools in the Lutheran communities of Altenburg, Frohna and Farrar are invaluable to the continued existence of churches in an area of Southeast Missouri rich in history and tradition, school officials say.

To ensure that existence, this year two schools associated with three churches have merged.

United in Christ Lutheran School welcomed 103 children in preschool through eighth grade on its first day Thursday on Concordia-Trinity Lutheran Church's campus in Frohna. The student population is made up of former students of Concordia-Trinity Lutheran School and Salem Lutheran School in Farrar. Salem Lutheran School and a second location of Concordia-Trinity Lutheran School in Altenburg closed at the end of the last school year in anticipation of the merger. Both schools were facing limited resources for upkeep on school buildings and had a small number of students.

The possibility of merging the schools had been talked about for several years, according to staff at the new school and pastors in the congregations. But no one knew if it was possible, nor did anyone expect it to happen so quickly.

Third-grader Joel Koenig, left, and fourth-grader Emma Roth play on the swings during recess Thursday, Aug. 18, 2011 on the first day of classes at United in Christ Lutheran School in Frohna, Mo. (Fred Lynch)

"I've never been involved in anything in my entire life that fell together the way this did, and I've spent 20 years as a pastor," said the Rev. Roger Abernathy of Salem Lutheran Church. "It doesn't seem like too long ago we were just talking about it, and here we are in under a year and the doors are open."

A committee made up of pastors, teachers, principals and congregational members of Trinity Lutheran Church, Concordia Lutheran Church and Salem Lutheran Church met regularly since early 2010 to work on the school merger. In August 2010, all three congregations voted separately to pass a constitution and bylaws, and later approved funding the cost of consolidating into one school.

The rationale for the new school was to form one stronger school but make it possible for each congregation to have ownership, according to Pat Petzoldt, who serves on the school board.

"We felt like on our own we couldn't continue much longer, and we certainly did not want Lutheran education to come to an end in East Perry County," Abernathy said.

Since the building on the Concordia Lutheran campus was not large enough to house the combined number of students, two classrooms, two storage rooms and two bathrooms were constructed as an addition. Volunteers from the congregations and the community did most of the work on the addition, aside from raising the steel structure and pouring concrete. Work on the addition began in April and was completed in less than three months.

According to Cheryl Honoree, principal of United in Christ, the life of the school is especially important in the community because it allows residents to keep their children in a local school and emphasizes their Lutheran heritage while still keeping the children in their individual churches.

"If they stay members of those churches, they stay in the community," she said. "It's about community security."

Most students will likely attend Saxony Lutheran High School or Perryville High School after leaving United in Christ.

The school follows a curriculum series from Concordia Publishing House as a basis for its curriculum, which has been referenced to Missouri state standards to assure educational standards are met and exceeded. The school also uses a religion curriculum called "Learn By Heart," which uses Luther's Catechism, verses from Scripture and hymns.

The school has seven full-time staff members. Preschool and kindergarten classes have their own teachers, while first through eighth grades are combined in one classroom and share a teacher. A nine-person part-time staff includes pastors from the three congregations who teach religion classes.

Children who are members of one of the three congregations are not charged to attend; costs are covered by the congregations. Tuition is charged for children who are not members.

eragan@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

10172 Route C, Frohna, MO