Naperville

A truly touching testimonial written by a Bethany parent

When our family moved to Naperville from out-of-state, our assigned schools were rated 10 by Great Schools. My husband and I believed we were making a good decision by sending our child to the neighborhood elementary school.

The school calendar began, and his report cards were great. I noticed there was very little homework, though. When there was, he would just race through it: "to get it over with as fast as I can". With little exception, he didn't seem interested in what he was learning. 

He was crowded at his desk and said it was hard for him to get seated. He was being bullied on the bus, and he wasn't the only one. Hearing how his day went was literally breaking my heart. Towards the end of the year it was evident, through an email survey, that celebrating / re-naming Christian traditions was being addressed by the District. Our neighborhood school wasn't what we had hoped it would be, but what could we do?

We were told about Bethany and encouraged to explore it by another family. After meeting with the Admissions Director, Linda Fox, it was clear that this was a place that truly cared about its students, its Faith, and its families. It wasn't "just a school"; it was something much bigger than that.

We were very hesitant to introduce the idea of another school to our son. He had already been through a big move and he had made some friends. Linda was extremely helpful to my husband and me as we weighed our decision. She patiently answered all of our questions with knowledge and kindness.

Bethany staff, families & students gave us such an amazingly warm welcome. They made our hesitant child (& his nervous parents) feel at home, even before his first day! We had never before seen our son so excited about starting a new school year.

Recently, we had a school absence and he told me: "I hate being sick because I just love being there so much", and upon his return: "There was a huge pile of work on my desk today. I really want to get it done." He has more homework now, and he loves to show me all the different things he is learning: "Hey, did you know this?", and "but...did you know that you can also do it this way?" If the contrast isn't enough to convince you that he loves Bethany, or how his perspective on learning has changed, this is his personal testimonial:

"It is WAY, way, WAY, way, WAY better than any other school I've been to. I actually get to learn about God, which is really fun. Annnndddd..... my classmates are kind, friendly, helpful, and they try to be fair. At recess we play all-class kickball & football. I'm better at playing those now because my classmates have been teaching me how to be better at them. Everything is better. Math, English, Science, and Social Studies. Reading is kind of fun! I love P.E., Band, Music and Chapel."

BY THE POWER OF GOD’S SPIRIT, THE MISSION OF BETHANY LUTHERAN SCHOOL

IS TO TRAIN, EQUIP, AND SUPPORT WITNESSES FOR HIS KINGDOM.