Wisdom, eloquence and virtue – these are the aims of a classical education. The patriarchs of western civilization understood that education was more than the acquisition of basic skills and mere competency. The purpose of education was to transform, to elevate, and to refine the mind and the soul. This was the standard, not the exception. At the center of classical education is an emphasis on the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Because these universal values serve as the building blocks of classical learning, the classical arts are timeless and proven, and have been known to produce many eloquent confessors and wise leaders. Our communities today are in dire need of just these sorts of men and women. In an endless pursuit of the latest educational dogma, many schools no longer have the capacity to judge what is Good, True and Beautiful, much less teach it. In forsaking the soul for the mind, they have forgotten how to educate both. Classical Education is a holistic approach to education, and a return to excellence in teaching, curriculum and expectations.

The first “Lutheran” schools were formed for the precise purpose of offering a classical education to a broader segment of the population than had ever been offered before that time. Martin Luther and the early reformers urged the local governments to set up schools patterned after the ancient academies of the Greeks and Romans teaching the seven liberal arts of grammar, dialectic (logic), rhetoric, aesthetics (music), empirics (astronomy), mathematics, and geometry. These schools became the model for the famous German “gymnasium” and the English “public schools” that set the standard for excellence in education well into the twentieth century – a standard severely eroded in recent decades. Yet this rich heritage of classical Lutheran education has not been lost. Immanuel Lutheran School is dedicated to continuing in this great tradition.

Our goal is to help each individual student achieve his or her highest potential. This includes a rigorous curriculum that encourages mastery of material and inspires a love of learning. Immanuel’s students are given NWEA Measurements of Academic Progress assessments. The majority of our students’ standardized test scores are above grade level in all areas – math, reading and language arts.