Other schools participating include Concordia, Woodburn, Suburban Bethlehem, Lutheran South Unity, St. John in Kendallville, Emmaus, Ascension, St. Paul’s, and Concordia Lutheran High School.

Choice Scholarships—also known as vouchers—enable families that meet financial-eligibility guidelines to choose accredited nonpublic schools for their children. The scholarship amount represents the money allocated by the state to educate a student in a public school.

Families below the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Income Guidelines are eligible to receive a scholarship for 90 percent of state tuition support (based on the funding level in their school district of residence). This income level is around $40,000 for a family of four.

Families below 150 percent of the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Income Guidelines are eligible to receive a voucher for 50 percent of state tuition support. This income level is around $60,000 for a family of four.

Another stipulation is that a student was enrolled in a public school for the previous two semesters before he or she can receive a voucher to attend a nonpublic school. After 7,500 scholarships were available in the state for this school year, 15,000 will be available for 2012–13.

“Most of our schools took a wait-and-see approach to accepting vouchers for the 2011–2012 school year,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “Because there were legal challenges to overcome, the Choice Scholarship Program wasn’t actually a reality until we were well into our enrollment season.

“With the voucher program firmly in place for the 2012–2013 school year, however, we’re encouraging families to investigate this outstanding opportunity to provide their children with a high-quality, Christ-centered education at one of The Lutheran Schools,” Muehl adds.

For more information on how your child can benefit from the Choice Scholarship Program, contact Muehl at (260) 241-4845 or markm@tlspartnership.org.

Here are just a few examples.

One of the most ambitious projects took place at Central Lutheran School in New Haven, where students packed more than 400 shoeboxes with gifts for less fortunate children all over the globe. Central’s effort was part of Operation Christmas Child, a program of Samaritan’s Purse, an international nondenominational evangelical Christian organization.

Students at Emmanuel–St. Michael Lutheran School also participated in Operation Christmas Child, filling more than 100 shoeboxes with gifts.

Students from several schools entertained older adults. In fact, students from St. John Lutheran School in Kendallville presented a condensed version of their Christmas musical program to residents at a local retirement community.

Sponsoring children and families in need was also part of spreading Christmas cheer. For example, students at Concordia Lutheran High School sponsored 39 families through the Christmas Bureau, and Bethlehem Lutheran School in Ossian “adopted” 43 area children from families in need during Emmanuel Project 2011.

“Parents, teachers, administrators—everyone associated with our schools—can take great pride in the way our students give of their time, talent, and treasure to help others, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year,” says Mark Muehl, director of the The Lutheran Schools Partnership.

“But it comes as no surprise,” Muehl adds. “Serving others, being good citizens, making good decisions—these are qualities The Lutheran Schools strive to instill in all their students because of Jesus’ impact in our lives.”

“We want to give the public the opportunity to discover what The Lutheran Schools have to offer—the highest-quality education in a caring, nurturing Christian environment,” says Mark Muehl, director of the The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “And because we have so many schools in the area, there’s probably one close by for parents who want to see how they can provide their children with better educational and extracurricular experiences.

“This is an excellent time for parents to look into Choice Scholarships, or school vouchers, as they’re often called,” Muehl adds. “Six of our schools accepted vouchers this year, and we anticipate that more will accept vouchers in 2012–2013.”

The mission of The Lutheran Schools Partnership is to serve The Lutheran Schools by providing vital services that promote enrollment growth, secure third-source funding, achieve academic excellence, and develop teachers and administrators. The Lutheran Schools comprise preschools, 17 elementary schools, and Concordia Lutheran High School in northeast Indiana.

Four Partnership schools—Ascension Lutheran School, Holy Cross Lutheran School, Lutheran South Unity School, and St. Paul’s Lutheran School—were selected to each receive 10 laptops and a mix of modem connections, including mobile hotspots, USB modems, and portable modems, and a year of Internet service with a total value of more than $40,000.

“We’re ecstatic that four of our Partnership schools will be benefitting from this grant,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Partnership. “Our schools emphasize the need for technology, but the current economic realities are limiting budgets. These computers are coming at a great time.

“The Lutheran Schools Partnership serves 17 northeast Indiana Lutheran elementary schools and Concordia Lutheran High School,” adds Muehl. “The Partnership does not exercise authority in the administration of the partner schools; instead, its fundamental purpose is to raise the profile of Partnership schools by developing a systematic approach to implementing best practices within three Strategic Imperatives: Communication, Academic Excellence, and Advancement. By applying to Mobile Beacon on behalf of our Partner schools, we were able to build a comprehensive request.”

As a bonus, Holy Cross was selected to receive a new school-security monitoring system. “After the regular school day, the Holy Cross campus is used for many activities when close supervision isn’t always there, and the addition of cameras will greatly enhance that supervision,” says Muehl.

“Broadband creates tremendous opportunities for schools and students alike,” says Katherine Messier, director of broadband services for Mobile Beacon. “In fact, the Federal Communications Commission noted that broadband has greater potential to transform education than any other technological innovation in our lifetime.

“Our grant donation programs were designed to help schools use broadband to meet targeted needs, such as increasing security and providing additional learning opportunities to disadvantaged or at-risk students who may not have access to computers or the Internet at home,” Messier adds. “Our hope is that this grant enables schools to immediately start using this technology to serve their most at-need students.”

For more information, contact The Lutheran Schools Partnership at (260) 241-4845 or info@tlspartnership.org, or visit the website at thelutheranschools.org.

For more information about Mobile Beacon, visit mobilebeacon.org.

“This enrollment growth is very encouraging,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “Attracting more students and families to our schools and all they have to offer is something we’ve put much effort into over the last several months.”

The largest increase is at Concordia Lutheran High School, where an additional 37 students have enrolled. Next comes Central Lutheran School in New Haven with 30 new students. The largest growth by percentage came at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Ossian, where there’s a 50-percent jump from 42 to 63 students.

“This is the first significant enrollment growth for our Lutheran schools since at least 2005–2006,” Muehl adds. “We actually had a decrease in 2010-2011, but this year’s increase brought us back to the previous level. Much of this year’s growth was through the new statewide voucher program. Many parents saw the voucher program as a way for their children to gain a quality private-school education—and they chose The Lutheran Schools for that.

“We hope that at this time next year, we’ll be celebrating further growth at all The Lutheran Schools,” Muehl adds.

Program Summary

The Choice Scholarship Program provides scholarships to eligible students by utilizing a portion of the state funds allocated for that child to follow them to the non-public school of their choice. There is a cap on the number of scholarships provided; this year 7,500 scholarships (that is, vouchers) are available and next year 15,000 will be available.

Student Eligibility and Scholarship Amounts

• Students must have been in a public school for the two semesters prior to the semester they receive the scholarship.
• Please note that Kindergarten cannot count as the prior two semesters, but students who have received a scholarship through a Scholarship Tax Credit Program (a.k.a. “SGO” or Scholarship Granting Organization-more on these in an article next month) in a prior year are also eligible for the Voucher program without being a public school the year prior.
• Families below the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Income Guidelines are eligible to receive a voucher/scholarship for 90% of state tuition support (based on the funding level in their school district of residence). This income level is around $40,000 for a family of four.
• Families below 150% of the Federal Free and Reduced Lunch Income Guidelines are eligible to receive a voucher for 50% of state tuition support (based on the funding level in their school district of residence). This income level is around $60,000 for a family of four.
• The Scholarship amount will be the lesser of tuition and fees or (the applicable percentage of) the state tuition support in the district of residence. However the cap for grades 1-8 is $4,500.

Non-Public School Eligibility and Participation

• Participating non-public schools must be accredited by the state or another regional accreditation agency recognized by the state board and administer the ISTEP
• Participating non-public schools must not discriminate in admissions based on race, color, or national origin
• Participating non-public schools must conduct a lottery if the number of applicants meeting admissions criteria exceeds the number of slots available for students receiving scholarships
• PL 221 accountability (school grading system) applies and any school who is consistently in lowest categories will become ineligible to receive scholarship funds
• Participating non-public schools must meet certain curricular standards which are consistent with state-accreditation in addition to not advocating for any government overthrow
• Annual teacher performance evaluation plans must also be implemented.

What is the Level of Participation of Lutheran Schools this Year?

Most of our Lutheran schools are having a “wait and see” attitude toward the Voucher program this year. Two major stumbling blocks for many of our schools in choosing to be involved this year are the timing of the application processes for schools and families (applications were just completed on July 8th) and some anxiety of the amount of government intervention in the local school (reporting to the state).

This being said, some of our schools are seeing this law as an opportunity- an opportunity to reach out to a segment of the community that otherwise may have not considered enrollment in a Lutheran school. The fact is that Lutheran schools have a unique opportunity to proclaim the Gospel message and a family who has gone through the application process with a Lutheran school and would benefit from the school’s program can now get assistance through the state of Indiana.

Stay tuned to hear how this program will impact our schools and how families are utilizing the program! Should you have any other questions, please feel free to contact Mark Muehl, Director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership, at 260-241-4845, or email The Partnership at info@tlspartnership.org.

Updated 8/9/11: We are pleased to announce the following schools will participate in the voucher program: St John Kendallville, Emmaus, Woodburn, LSUS, CLHS

Over the past year, students at the 18 elementary schools in northeast Indiana served by The Lutheran Schools Partnership joined forces to raise $13,841.30 to help support Bethania Kids, a Christian mission in India.

“This is just a small portion of the various ways students of our elementary schools and Concordia Lutheran High School flex their faith muscles in gratitude to Christ for His lavish love on us,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “In Matthew 25:40, we’re told that whatever we do for those in need, for those most vulnerable, we do for Him.

“Jesus’ words to us are reminders that care for our neighbors—wherever they may be—is an outgrowth of the faith given to each of us,” Muehl says. “Important to the growth of each student within The Lutheran Schools Partnership are opportunities for them to express their faith and provide tangible means of service.”

Located in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andra Pradesh in southeastern India, Bethania Ministries is currently involved in three strategic interventions that benefit children:

• To provide loving, nourishing homes for orphans in Bethania Kids Homes. The goal is to educate children who are orphaned, abandoned, and abused; to give them a chance to better themselves in life; and to learn about the love of God.

• To care for children with cerebral palsy and other disabilities in nonresidential and residential Bethania Rehabilitation Centers for the Disabled. C.S.I. Rehabilitation Centre in Kodaikanal ministers to children stricken with cerebral palsy, polio, and mental disabilities. Speech, hearing, and visual impairments are also addressed.

• To provide immunizations, basic care, and education through day care and after-school care for impoverished children in Bethania Kids Centers. All the children in these care centers come from poverty-stricken families with both parents working as day laborers. Without the centers, these kids would be roaming the streets with no adult supervision, getting into trouble and forming bad habits.

Although always sensitive to the beliefs and practices of the people in the region, Bethania Kids offers Christian discipleship and an opportunity to come into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you’d like to join the students of The Lutheran Schools Partnership in this important ministry, go to http://bethaniakids.org.

This summer, The Lutheran Schools Partnership will provide fun and exciting learning opportunities to nearly 100 students in grades three through eight during four STEAM camps at two area Lutheran schools. STEAM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

Offered from June 27 through July 1, the half-day camps will feature a CSI-themed, kid-friendly version of crime-scene investigation.

Students in grades three through five (apprentices) will analyze fingerprints and soil samples, explore voice prints and blood spatter patterns, and use online tools for data collection.

Students in grades six through eight (lead investigators) will extract DNA, attempt ink chromatography, conduct handwriting analysis and flame tests, and create online databases for the clues found.

The camps are open to all area students, but enrollment is limited to 24 students in each of the four camps. Both morning and afternoon camps will take place at Suburban Bethlehem Lutheran School, 6318 West California Road, and at Emmaus Lutheran School, 8626 Covington Road.

“We’re really looking forward to these camps,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “We know the kids will have a blast while gaining significant knowledge.”

For more information and to register for the STEAM camps, go to www.cuw.edu/STEAM, or call Muehl at (260) 241-4845.

The STEAM camps are a collaboration joining The Lutheran Schools Partnership and Concordia University–Wisconsin. Lead teachers from the two hosting schools will visit the university for training before the camps.

“Concordia University–Wisconsin has offered these camps in Milwaukee and Chicago, and they’re eagerly looking forward to their success here in Fort Wayne,” Muehl says.“ Concordia University played a big role in our annual IMPACT teacher-training week last year, and we’ve developed a very productive relationship with the university.”

The STEAM camps are being made possible through a $12,700 grant recently received from the Talent Initiative, which is striving to further project-based leaning (PBL) and science, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in northeast Indiana.

The Lutheran Schools Partnership received $12,700 to host four STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) camps for a total of 96 students this summer at two area Lutheran schools.

Concordia Lutheran High School received $16,000 to train teachers in PBL and STEM at Trine University over two years.

“We’re grateful to the Talent Initiative for these grants, which give us the opportunity to not only broaden our students’ horizons, but also to provide important continuing education to our teachers,” says Mark Muehl, director of The Lutheran Schools Partnership. “What will be accomplished through these grants will further enhance the outstanding learning environment already found at our area Lutheran schools.”

The Talent Initiative, established by a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., is a 10-county regional program in northeast Indiana focused on accelerating educational and training initiatives in STEM. The primary goals of the Talent Initiative are to increase the base of highly skilled workers to meet the needs of the defense, aerospace, and advanced-manufacturing industries, while increasing job quality and reversing the current decline in regional per capita income.