Walther Lutheran Academy Press Releases

WALTHER LUTHERAN ACADEMY @FOREST PARK HOLDS OPEN HOUSE (February 6, 2008)

Walther Lutheran Academy @Forest Park will hold an Open House on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. for families with children preschool through 8th grade. Parents and students are invited to tour the school, meet the teachers and enjoy student demonstrations as they learn about educational opportunities at Walther Lutheran Academy. The Academy is located at 305 Circle Avenue in Forest Park and offers the benefits of multiage learning in a caring Christian environment. Educational partnerships with respected academic institutions give the Academy an emphasis on high academic standards and broad-based extracurricular opportunities.

“We are excited about the educational opportunities for our students,” says Principal Stephen Zielke, adding that “they are enhanced through the partnership in education we share with Concordia University Chicago, St. John Lutheran Church of Forest Park, Oak Park Christian Academy, our Golden Teachers group and, of course, our own Walther Lutheran High School.”

As a Concordia University Partner School, Walther Lutheran Academy and its students benefit from the focused attention of teacher training programs at Concordia University Chicago and the excellence of a dedicated staff. “We are blessed at the Academy to have teachers with both experience and expertise in their field,” said Zielke. “Parents and students alike will be impressed with their teachers’ dedication, attention and a contagious enthusiasm for learning,” he added. The school provides classes for ages 3 through 8th grade along with extracurricular activities and extended care from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Walther Lutheran Academy @Forest Park operates on the campus of St. John Lutheran Church of Forest Park, where Lutheran education has been offered to the surrounding community since 1870. Today in the Chicago metro area, Concordia University Chicago has taken the lead in education and teacher training, working with over 3000 graduate students each year. An emphasis on nurturing the social, emotional, intellectual, and physical developmental needs of children is behind the latest innovations in multiage learning. Walther Lutheran Academy @Forest Park applies the success of multiage learning in a positive and healthy educational setting that is available to busy families for up to 12 hours each weekday.

The Academy operates under the umbrella of the Walther Lutheran Association which is the parent organization of Walther Lutheran High School. The college preparatory school in Melrose Park has been a cornerstone of Lutheran Education in the Chicago area since 1954. Walther relies on a strong relationship with elementary and middle schools throughout the region, serving them with a variety of interactive grade school activities of an academic, athletic and social nature and offering a quality, college preparatory secondary education. A favorable teacher-student ratio and an advanced degree faculty have created an atmosphere where excellence is the norm.

Don Gillingham, Executive Director of the Walther Lutheran Association, explains the philosophy that undergirds the Academy. “It is time for educators to look at what we need to do to prepare our kids for the changing competitive world that awaits them. We believe that this includes developing a hunger for the spiritual things and an understanding that being excellent in our approach to the wisdom of the world is a God pleasing thing.”

Together the Walther Lutheran Academy and the Walther Lutheran High School campuses offer superior classroom instruction and extracurricular experience for students from age 3 through 12th grade. In partnership with Concordia University Chicago, the total Lutheran Educational experience is designed to continue into college and beyond. For information about Walther Lutheran Academy @Forest Park call 708.366.2764 or visit Walther.com.

Press Release contact: Lori Solyom, Public Information Coordinator