Impact
Our Impact
Our mission is to touch the lives of children and families through a high-quality, faith-based elementary school experience.
LESA’s impact with need-based tuition assistance program provides meaningful scholarships to children of all faiths who attend Lutheran elementary schools. Today, 1 in 7 Lutheran elementary school students in the greater St. Louis area receives tuition assistance from LESA.
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
LESA works collaboratively with member schools to provide programs and resources that serve teachers and students. Our impact includes:
- professional development for 500 teachers and 35 administrators
- mentoring materials for new teachers and administrators
- STEM support through our Pre-K-8 LEGO kit lending program
- curriculum guides that integrate our Christian faith into every aspect of instruction
- accreditation support to schools renewing National Lutheran School Accreditation
- cost-savings through the Spire Natural Gas Aggregation program and other partnerships
- funding & resource coordination for standardized testing and school counseling services
“Our teachers go above and beyond. They’re always learning new things and bringing them back to the kids, and coming in and challenging them in new ways.”
Danni Eikenhorst, Parent
LESA Serves
- 34 Lutheran schools
- 8,300 students
- 500 faculty members
Scholarship Impact
To date, LESA has awarded more than $6.1 million in need-based tuition assistance to children of all faiths in the St. Louis Metro Area.
- 15% live at or below Federal Poverty Level
- 23% attend urban ministry schools
- 48% are of minority ethnicity
- 56% are non-Lutheran
- 5% no church affiliation
“Christian education makes a great difference in a society that seems to be headed in the wrong direction. I wanted my grandchildren to know God and be grounded in Christian values.”
Unity Lutheran School Grandparent
LESA At A Glance
- 100% of LESA member schools are nationally accredited
- $6.1 million in Building Blocks Scholarships
- 3,548 hours of STEM & LEGO Education learning for 473 students
- 3,493 students impacted by funding for standardized testing
- 28,600 hours of professional development since 2004
- $278,000 invested in ongoing learning opportunities for teachers & principals
- $273,000 in mental health services & counseling funds for students
- $451,000 in cost-savings for member schools from the Spire Natural Gas Aggregation program, the Colonial Williamsburg Summer Teacher Institute, and professional development grants
Latest news
Thinking of the Future
Endowments to Benefit Lutheran Education The Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA) offers the opportunity for donors to establish an endowment to fund Lutheran education in the St. Louis metropolitan area. These funds ...
Read MoreOther Stories
Thinking of the Future
Endowments to Benefit Lutheran Education The Lutheran Elementary School Association (LESA) offers ...
Read MoreTEACHING ACADEMICS IS NOT ENOUGH
LUTHERAN SCHOOLS: BECAUSE TEACHING ACADEMICS IS NOT ENOUGH The Summer 2021 Tokyo ...
Read MoreThe Marilyn K. Brickler Scholarship Endowment Fund
(November 1, 2021) St. Louis, MO – The St. Louis-based Lutheran Elementary ...
Read More
Brew in the Lou Raises Record-Breaking $158,000 for Lutheran Education and Still Growing!
St. Louis, MO (Oct. 20, 2021) The St. Louis-based Lutheran Elementary School Association ...
Read More