Bethany Lutheran School holds a very special place in our life. As a preschool-8th grade alumni, I fondly remember my own experience at Bethany and wanted that for our own children—the joy of going to school each day, the challenging and differentiated instruction, a faith based curriculum, the loving teachers and lifelong friendships. The school really is one giant family and it is the biggest comfort to know that the school is truly an extension of what we teach at home. We have watched both our son and daughter grow leaps and bounds since starting at Bethany last year. Our children are the most important investment we will make in our lives and we are so thankful we decided to invest in Bethany, and for their investment in our children!
A strong sense of family connected in Christ
Last year, our family made the decision that it was time for our two children to leave the public school system. We are incredibly blessed and grateful that God led us to Bethany Lutheran School. From the moment we walked through the doors, we could tell right away that Bethany was special. The strong sense of a school family connected in Christ was exactly what our family needed.
Since we started this school year, our 3rd grade daughter and 6th grade son have flourished. The profound loss of learning during the events of the past few years shattered our daughter’s confidence. Watching her thrive at Bethany with a smile on her face has been emotional for us. We are so thankful for the amazing teachers! The bar is held high academically, and we appreciate the open communication and regular progress updates. It’s a blessing to know that our kids are not only encouraged academically, but also to grow in their relationship with God. The integration of Biblical truth into the classroom is something we deeply value.
The many opportunities for extra curricular activities, athletics, and parent involvement have made us feel welcome as a new family into the community. Our son couldn’t be happier with the amazing experience he’s had so far participating in the Bethany volleyball team. Go Royals!
In a world that often feels turned away from God, we are thankful that our children are in an environment where they are receiving an outstanding Christ-focused education. We look forward to watching them grow in the years to come.
To God be the Glory,
The Daskas Family
October 2023
Bethany is like coming home
Our children go to Bethany Lutheran School for the very same reason my husband and I decided I would stay home to raise our children. Because the alternative just didn't feel natural to us.
Bethany is like coming home, the teachers and staff make it hard to ignore that when leading with respect and love, everyone feels healthy and strong.
My children get hugged, my children get corrected when needed, my children are taught to love God and to understand that alone, we are nowhere near as strong as we are together in faith.
It is a huge financial sacrifice, but there is nothing I see being a bigger return on our investment than Bethany!
Putting God First....
When we toured Bethany I knew we belonged there the minute we met Linda. We joined Bethany this year with a 5th grader and a 2nd grader. My kids love going to school every day. We were scared to be the new kids but the classmates and staff are more than welcoming. The sports and band programs are amazing! My kids especially love their teachers. Everyone works great together and they put God and the kids first. Bethany feels like one big family and I’m thankful we found such a great school.
The best path for her children....
"Having been a public school teacher myself and having our oldest daughter start out in district 203, we had a very hard time deciding what path would suit our family best. We have a strong Christian faith, which ultimately became the most important factor in our decision as God feels more and more absent in the public schools, to us. I am continually blown away by the love and kindness of the staff at Bethany. I truly feel that my kids are in the hands of people that have such a heart, mission and talent to be the best kind of influence and educator for them. My daughters are soaring academically, socially and emotionally. I really appreciate how much I am heard, listened to and treated as a team player in their education. It's hard to explain until you experience it, but it's something pretty darn special that we are so grateful for!"
A Christian Education at Bethany
We chose Bethany for our daughter who is in Kindergarten this year because we felt confident she would receive an education that aligned to our Christian values and beliefs. Bethany has given us complete peace of mind with the curriculum they teach.
Bethany has become an extension of our family. The nurturing and loving environment has made our daughter feel safe and accepted. It’s amazing to see how much she has grown academically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually already this year.
We also appreciate the level of parent-teacher communication. We receive a detailed weekly email that includes what our daughter will work on every week as well as pictures of our daughter in action from the week before. Additionally, we have a folder that comes home daily with hand-written feedback on her work completed at school, items we can be reviewing/practicing at home, and assignments she needs to complete and return to school.
Bethany has also made a program called eSpark available to their kindergartners. This online, self-paced program allows our daughter to get additional and more challenging practice with math and reading skills at home.
Our daughter tells us regularly that she LOVES Bethany. In her words, “I love getting to learn new things, how nice my teachers are and all of the new friends I’ve made.”
Bethany truly is the full package!
The Tomczyk Family
Bringing Jesus into the home...
Our oldest daughter was starting kindergarten, we were in the middle of a pandemic, we weren’t feeling heard at our public school here in Darien, and we had lost touch with God, then that is when we realized that Bethany Lutheran School had been the missing puzzle piece to our family.
Becoming a part of the Bethany family has been the biggest blessing. Making big parental decisions is not always easy, but we have to say that as soon as we toured and met the staff members at BLS, we knew we were home! Bethany came into our lives when we needed it most, and we will continue to thank God for making this all possible.
We are so grateful for the amazing staff members who are always going above and beyond for the well-being of the students. They take time to get to know all the families, run a seamless program, and truly take pride in what Bethany Lutheran School stands for.
Since our two kids have been in school, they have brought Jesus back into our house. Nothing warms our hearts more than hearing our kids reflect on their days, but hearing them reminisce about their Jesus time is priceless. It makes the commute and the cost of tuition worth every penny!
We are so blessed to be able to send our children to Bethany Lutheran School. We look forward to the many memories these blossoming friendships will bring for both the kids and us!
There's no place like home.
Home is probably the best word I can think of to describe our feelings towards Bethany Lutheran School. While our enrollment in Bethany's program was not our initially planned path for our daughter's Kindergarten year, within just a few short weeks into the school year, my husband and I sat across the dinner table from one another and breathed a sigh of much needed relief as we engaged in a discussion about the unexpected blessing Bethany had become in our life. The staff and faculty at Bethany truly swept into our world during a confusing time and found a way to make sense of everything for us. This was now where we were supposed to be and is now where we will continue to choose to be moving forward.
Our daughter spends each day with teachers that so obviously care for her growth and development academically, socially, and spiritually. The culture of the school is focused on the best interest of the children's education placing their needs first and foremost in their decision making. This sincere care, I have witnessed in so many facets -- whether it be the administration that has worked tirelessly to navigate these confusing times to provide a safe and high quality educational setting, or the teacher on her way home after a long day only to see her students at the school's jungle gym and chooses to stay longer to watch them play, or the casual but meaningful emails about funny happenings in the classroom, or the open arm hugs my daughter gets as she runs out of school each day -- leave me feeling nothing short of grateful.
What started as an interim decision for our daughter has now truly become the school HOME we are choosing for her moving forward. She will be attending Bethany, yet again, next year to continue her growth and development with these amazing educators. We are so happy that we will now be sending our son to their preschool program as well. I cannot thank God enough for guiding our family to Bethany Lutheran School where the faculty and staff have truly given our children a second place to call home and one that now holds a special place in all of our hearts.
"We have so much to be thankful for...."
“We feel so incredibly blessed that God brought us to Bethany! It might not have happened but for the pandemic. Amazing how His plan comes together. We have so many things to be thankful for this year and finding BLS is definitely at the top of our list! I can’t say enough how blessed we feel and I hope it can help others who might be considering Bethany. I know it's tough making big decisions for your children but the experience has been priceless for us.”
We are on a mission!
I am a long time resident of Naperville and when Bethany Lutheran Church used to be over on Washington Street, I attended Sunday school as well as confirmation class. Later in life I had my beautiful daughter Kenna, Who attended preschool at Bethany. We had moved out of the area but when we came back I really wanted her to be at Bethany. She started second grade there this year and is just loving it. She comes out of school every day skipping which is a sure sign of her happiness ! The school is amazing and the administrator, Linda Fox, is the absolute best. Whenever I have any questions she gets back to me very quickly and we have been very happy with the school. I highly recommend the school to anybody looking for a private, Christian school that will teach your children about God as well as a high level of academics.
Looking forward to many more years with this wonderful new family!
Dear Bethany Lutheran School,
This, our first school year at Bethany Lutheran, has been amazing on many levels, which would not be possible without the true dedication your entire staff have in educating our children. Having a proper in-school environment for the children to learn has been tremendous and has truly been a blessing. The focus on the children’s education with the limited class sizes has also given our children an opportunity they would not otherwise have had, had we continued with the public-school system. Living in Naperville, and as products of the public-school system ourselves, we never fathomed we would be sending our kids to Bethany Lutheran School, but here we are! We love it, our kids love it, and they are always eager to go to school each, and every day. They are not only enjoying it, but they are also thriving, and for that we are truly grateful to you all and look forward to many more years at Bethany Lutheran School.
❤️ The Smith Family
Showered with love from a Bethany Family
Hello Bethany Staff,
I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for the incredible work everyone has put in this year to make our school year successful. It has meant so much us to have been embraced into this wonderful family since we first joined 3 years ago. I can't express how amazing all of you are, and how much you care about all the students and parents that are a part of this family. I really wanted to do something to show some appreciation for all that you do. I know its nothing crazy but I hope you enjoy the food today. I could not have done this without the contributions of [the other parent] who really help pull it all together at the end. I hope to do even more in the future once all this crazy pandemic stuff has ended. I love and thank you all.
❤️
...energy and passion for education and religion...
Becoming part of the Bethany Lutheran School family is truly a blessing for us this year. In-person learning is a priority for our Kindergartener, 1st and 3rd Grader and we are grateful for this school and the dedicated staff. It has turned into so much more than just having a place for our kids to learn. The friendly, caring and respectful environment that everyone has created at BLS is visible on so many levels. My children are happy to go to school each day and come home with smiling faces and stories to share about their fun day of learning. The staff are all so kind and encouraging and I appreciate the way they are shaping these young minds while providing a strong academic curriculum. The energy and passion they have for education and religion shines through their daily lessons with my children as well as in parent emails when providing classroom updates. Our hearts are full, and we thank God each day for the amazing Bethany Lutheran School family. ❤️
We are THRILLED to have this family back home with us!
I have been a Bethany member since 2006 and my husband since early childhood. We made the decision long ago that we would raise our children in the church. Our daughters, now 15 and 10, had attended Bethany for Pre-K up to 3rd grade before transferring to our district’s public school. We continued with extracurricular activities at Bethany, youth groups, confirmation, and weekly church attendance. While no longer a Bethany school member, there was always something missing though for our younger daughter which we could never figure out. Her education seemed all right in public school, but she was becoming increasingly unhappy. My normally cheerful girl was barely cracking a smile when she returned home each day. This had gone on for a year or so before we made the decision to begin homeschooling. Shortly after this decision, Covid-19 reared its ugly head and the world joined us at home.
There was still something missing and my children were suffering because of it. During the summer, Linda Fox had reached out to me about a position available in the Kindergarten room as a Teacher’s Aide. I was elated that Bethany was planning on safely reopening their school and begin in-person learning in the Fall. Then it hit me. We were missing out on the community and Christian education we were receiving at Bethany in previous years. The smaller (socially distant) class sizes and personal attention to each student works so well for our family. My daughter needed the extra support as well as the less overwhelming social situations that she was trying to navigate through public school. Most of all, the Christ centered education is invaluable.
We’re now 25 days into the school year and the difference in my daughter is incredible. She is excited to go to school every day. Her smiles at the end of the day are worth every penny. Thank you for the nudge back to Bethany Lutheran School, Mrs. Fox!
Sincerely,
Erin Gavin
Instructional Aide, Kindergarten
Alice Gavin
5th Grade
Bethany is truly a special place-
“It’s a rare occurrence when we can get more than 2-3 of us together at once, but today worked for 5 of us! Class of 2015 Bethany moms, whose boys are all in their 1st year at college. Good to catch up and share memories too. Sharing love and laughter in Christian fellowship! Bethany is truly a special place, and the people we know from Bethany have a special place in our hearts! The Holy Spirit holds us together - Sisters in Christ.”
A loving testimonial from a parent new to Bethany
“This is our first year at Bethany. We came from district 203 schools. We’re so happy we made the switch to Bethany! My children are loving school and thriving in all subjects. The class sizes are ideal and the teachers/staff are so caring and attentive. I love this school!”
Precious words from a 1st grade parent
"My son is so happy in 1st grade at Bethany. Mrs. Schultz has done an amazing job with him. He looks forward to school everyday and says daily how much he enjoys it. His reading has improved miraculously. He even looks forward to math homework. He also talks about the words he learned in Spanish class with enthusiasm. His creative and curious spirit continues to grow at Bethany. In addition, he also loves to learn about God at Bethany. I can already see a loving connection between him and God growing, as well as a foundation of faith. It is also a comfort to know that our family and child are being prayed for by the loving staff and teachers at Bethany."
Bethany has been a priceless gift
"We enrolled our Kindergartner at Bethany Lutheran this fall and could not be more pleased with the experience. Thomas shared on the way to school after the first few weeks, "Mom, I love my new school". Our first priority was placing Thomas in a school where Christ would be taught and the central piece of his education. We also love that the kindergartners have two recess periods and loads of specials throughout the week. The administrators and teachers send personal updates about how students are doing. Every day Thomas is shown the love of Christ through Bethany Lutheran School; that is a priceless gift."
Kindergarten is SUCH an important year in the lives of kids! This sweet testimonial is proof that our Kindergarten is truly just the beginning of a one-of-a-kind school experience. We're so thankful for Thomas and his family, our Bethany Family, and our Kindergarten!
Recognizing the value of a Christian Education
“We moved into the area from out of state and knew we wanted to find a Lutheran school that would also be our new church family. Bethany was very similar to what we were accustomed to and has not disappointed us.
We see the value of our children getting a Christian education. They come home singing songs about Jesus and recite their prayers for our meals. Our children aren’t going to be forced to learn about and accept the anti-Christian movement that is sweeping our nation and becoming part of the public school curriculum. Rather we are able to personally teach our children about these types of movements with Biblical support. Similarly, our children won’t get confused with the teachings of evolution. We also like our children learning about the Lutheran faith and what it means to be Lutheran.
We will continue to invest in our children’s Christian education to ensure they are taught what we believe in and not led astray by the worldly views and teachings.”
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
A sweet sweet testimonial from one of our Bethany Parents
Bethany offers so much more than just Preschool through 8th grade. Children are excited to join choir at age 5 which reinforces social emotional skills, networking with older students and taking pride in performing what they have learned. Art class isn’t just a weekly class, but rather an activity interwoven with what the children are learning in their daily studies. Along with a structured daily curriculum, children are exposed to sports and fitness and enjoy the new playground and beautiful tree lined property Bethany has to offer. Periodically, parents are able to attend classes, such as Music, and observe how the children learn and participate in music appreciation. Bethany’s family of teachers and staff are outside welcoming parents and children into school daily and also outside during the dismissal process. We appreciate the expertise and leadership of the Bethany team. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Bethany offers this village under one safe, nurturing, Christian roof.
