Faith Lutheran High Raises $150K, Will Stay Open

CRYSTAL LAKE, IL – The prayers for many at Faith Lutheran High School in Crystal Lake have been answered. In the past month, students, parents and staff at the school faced the momentous task of raising $150,000 to keep their school, located at 174 S. McHenry Avenue, open. They managed to pull together and bring in the funds through car washes, a GoFundMe campaign and requests for funds from area churches, the Northwest Herald reports.

The school faced closing for the upcoming school year but with the funds now in place, the high school's board of delegates voted Thursday to open for the 2018-19 school year, according to the newspaper.

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“We talked to every Lutheran church in the area,” said Gabby German, 17, of Crystal Lake told the Northwest Herald. “We gave it our best effort.”

The funds from the recent campaign are meant to keep the school open for just one more year, according to the GoFundMe page.

"Being open at least one more year would greatly benefit everyone here. It gives us a chance to re-evaluate how we run the building, so that we come even closer together and cut expenses," according to the GoFundMe page. "We can reach out to our feeder schools and build stronger relationships over the year to strengthen our incoming classes. It allows our teachers to continue doing the job they love, in the place they have made their home. It gives the current students the comfort knowing they can be with their family one more year."

School officials told the Northwest Herald the school has faced several years of declining enrollment as well as a sharp decline in its international student enrollment. Due to the drop funds from tuition fees as well as the debt the school took on to "acquire our building and fund operations," the school board made the recommendation in recent weeks to close the school, according to the article.

Families at Faith Lutheran were asked to speak at their churches in recent weeks to try and drum up more support, according to a letter to families, students and teachers posted on the school's website. Member churches include: St. John's in Algonquin, Holy Cross in Cary, Prince of Peace in Crystal Lake, Immanuel in Crystal Lake, St. Peter in Gilberts, St. Paul in Harvard, Trinity in Huntley, St. John in Island Lake, Zion in Marengo, Fellowship of Faith in McHenry, Zion in McHenry, St. John's in Union and St. John's in Woodstock.

Since Faith will remain open, it will mean the 25 seniors at the school will get to graduate with their friends in May, according to the Northwest Herald. The school has fewerthan 100 total students.

“It feels amazing,” Tracy Laws, a former teacher, board member and parent of a graduate, told the Northwest Herald. “The teachers have helped my son, who has special needs. He wouldn’t be where he’s at without them. There’s no bullies here. He came from a school where he was bullied constantly. ... These kids helped him. They became his friend, and they changed his life.”

Moving forward, the hope for the school is to stay open for "as long as it can," science teacher and delegate Laurie Mathiesen told the Northwest Herald.

More via the Northwest Herald

Photo via GoFundMe