Yes! There is plenty of room for growth in our student body numbers on our unified campus. Almost all of our grade levels have room to accept new students without any changes to our current facilities. The initial design of the Rutt Academic Center included plans for a future project that, with a minor addition to the current structure, would add 6 new classrooms, creating space to enroll between 125-150 additional students.
The 95-acre campus also has sufficient room to build and expand our current facilities if growth or curriculum priorities would necessitate that.
- Enriches academic programming – While academics at LM have always been strong and coordinated across the campuses and grade levels, the unification has allowed us to refocus on 5 curriculum priorities that meet the desires of LM families and take advantage of our resources and faculty strengths. These 5 curriculum priorities are faith integration, fine arts, STEAM, world language, and outdoor education. Having teachers of every grade level on one campus will also allow for collaboration between faculty and increased integration across grade levels.
- Deepens community – In a PreK-12 school environment, there are many new opportunities for cross-grade interactions between students. Tutoring, reading buddies, and mentoring groups all strengthen peer relationships and benefit students at all grade levels. These relationships give students a sense of belonging as part of this school community. Additionally, having all students on one campus increases the opportunity for teachers to interact with and build relationships with students over a long period of time, increasing their impact and strengthening both the academic learning and the sense of community.
- Stewards resources – The space on the Lancaster campus was not being utilized to its capacity and had room for the Elementary students to relocate without significant changes to the buildings. In the meantime, the cost of maintaining two additional buildings and properties was increasing. The move to unify helps LM to make better use of our 95-acre campus and to eliminate some of the expenses related to operating three separate campuses.
- Strengthens financial position – Through the successful completion of the Light the Future campaign, approximately $6 million will be added to the school’s endowment through the sale of the Locust Grove and New Danville campuses. This strengthens the school’s financial position for the future by providing ongoing funding that sustains and allows for growth in academic programing and ongoing commitment to financial aid.
Light the Future seeks to raise $7 million. These funds will be used to help LM:
Light the Future seeks to raise $7 million. These funds will be used to help LM:
- Renovate and construct new spaces that ensure a conducive learning environment for students of every age. A special focus is being placed on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) classrooms as STEAM is one of our top curriculum priorities.
- Utilize spaces more efficiently to most effectively capitalize on classroom and faculty resources and offer a wide variety of courses.
- Increase security and accessibility of campus through the addition of fencing around the academic center which allows entrance only through one of the offices which will be centralized at the front of campus. New transportation routes will also be constructed to allow for natural traffic flow on campus.
The silent phase of the campaign began in May of 2022. We anticipate bringing the campaign to completion by the end of 2023.
The Finance Committee at Lancaster Mennonite determined that it was appropriate to allocate $3 million dollars from the sales of these campuses toward the unification expenses. The remaining funds will be put into the endowment which funds ongoing academic programming and offsets tuition increases.
Pledges to the Light the Future campaign can be fulfilled over three years. Pledge forms are available for you to indicate your intentions.
There are many ways to give a gift that will benefit Lancaster Mennonite students. Cash gifts are a simple way to make a gift today. There are many giving tools that can help you support the campaign while also providing you with specific tax or other benefits including IRA distributions, gifts of stock or real estate, annuities, trusts, or bequests through a will. If you have questions about what gift meets your needs while benefiting the school, please contact us.
In collaboration with the Board of Directors, the Superintendent, and an experienced campaign consultant, the Advancement staff at Lancaster Mennonite is giving leadership to the strategy, implementation, and oversight of the campaign. Additionally, the Campaign Leadership Committee, a group of volunteer donors will support the staff and share in this work.
Lancaster Mennonite is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. EIN 23-6396950. A tax professional can provide guidance on individual tax situations.