Although Trinity Lutheran School in Danville will close for good in May of next year, Pastor Kent Tibben says students and families will continue to be the focus of teaching about God. “We want to try to continue serving them even though the school is closing,” said the Pastor. It was announced recently that the school on East Main Street will close after 162 years of operation.
Pastor Tibben says the school has accomplished a lot. He noted a third of the baptisms and confirmations at Trinity Lutheran Church have involved people whose contact has been through the school. Now, Pastor Tibben says families whose children attend Trinity Lutheran School face a difficult decision. The school has been offering kindergarten through eighth grade classes in which the academic rigor is centered on Christ, said Tibben during an interview with CIMG News.
Imanuel Lutheran School across town only offers pre-school and early childhood education. Other options for families after Trinity closes next year include Schlarman, First Baptist, or local public schools. Pastor Tibben noted Covington also has a Christian school.
The Pastor says it was “kind of a perfect storm” which led to the tough decision to close Trinity Lutheran School at the end of the current school year. Funding has dropped and so has enrollment. The school now has 32 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. “We found it difficult to build our enrollment while also being difficult to find Lutheran trained educators,” added Tibben. Currently Trinity Lutheran School only has three full-time teachers with multi-grade classrooms.
The school is located next door to Trinity Lutheran Church in Danville.
“While we are reluctantly closing the school, we give thanks to God for what the school has been able to accomplish,” said Pastor Tibben. He added no decisions have been made yet about what will happen to the school building or various materials. He says those discussions are going to continue. And Pastor Tibben adds they want this year to be the best ever with a seamless transition to the future.
