News & Events
LSEM is a blessing in many ways. Specifically, it allowed a perfect storm to take place at Mayer Lutheran High School. When thinking of a perfect storm, pictures of destruction and damage might come to mind, this is a different kind of perfect storm.
There was a freshman who came to Mayer Lutheran in 2013 with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). This meant the public schools had done evaluations and interviews to determine there was an educational need for mandatory intervention. This student was burdened with the labels of Attention Deficit Disorder, Anxiety and Emotional Behavioral Disorder. There were many “goals” written into the IEP about how to address and work through these issues. What this student needed most, though, was not written into the IEP: daily chapel, praise and worship, weekly meetings with a peer devotion group, courses digging into the Christian faith for deeper understanding, faculty prayers, teacher concern for spiritual matters, as well as academics, matters, as well as academics, the feeling of security and belonging in a safe, Christ-focused environment. These are some of the factors which, I believe, led to the “perfect storm.”
About two months ago, the student was due for re-evaluation, which happens every three years. At the conclusion of the lengthy process it was determined that special education services were no longer necessary! One of my best days as a teacher, was when I was able to explain that the label of “special education” had been dropped, removed, wiped away. “I’m normal?” the student asked. My emphatic response was, “Yes, you are!”
What did this perfect storm produce? A student who is diligent with classwork, kind, respectful, funny and inquisitive. One who enjoys chapel, listens and asks questions, growing in faith. The ingredients for this perfect storm? A student and family choosing Mayer Lutheran High School, LSEM providing services and resources through a teacher such as myself and all the intangible qualities of faith in Christ. Jesus looked at them and said… “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26