Lincoln Lutheran is launching a new scholarship program to attract more students, especially those who face financial barriers to private education or come from outside the Lutheran community.
The Rising Scholars fund will provide several full-ride scholarships and up to 50 partial scholarships to new students entering grades 6-12. Funding will come from private donors with plans to sustain the program annually, said Executive Director Scott Ernstmeyer.
The exact number of scholarships awarded will depend on the number of applicants.
Annual tuition at Lincoln Lutheran is $8,050 for sixth grade, $9,150 for seventh and eighth grade, and $10,850 for high school. Rates are less for families belonging to an associated Lutheran church.
For many families, the cost of private education can be a barrier, Ernstmeyer said, and the pandemic only underscored that.
"We have seen financial need go up for families in the last couple of years, I think in part due to inflation, in part due to post-pandemic challenges," he said. "We have families that never even inquire because they don't think there's any possibility of being in the running for an opportunity to be here."
There are 312 students at Lincoln Lutheran this fall. At associated elementary schools, enrollment is about 500 students, which is up 11% over the past five years.
Lutheran schools in Lincoln have seen increasing interest from those outside the Lutheran community, too. Ernstmeyer said roughly one-third of students of Lutheran elementary schools do not attend an associated church.
"I think families are just looking for something different, and maybe a smaller school environment," Ernstmeyer said.
The program's landing page — — will go live Thursday, said Benjamin Smith, director of enrollment.
Interested students must submit an essay, video and enrollment form by Dec. 1. Applicants will be interviewed in January with recipients named in February.
Top Journal Star Photos for August
LINCOLN, NEB. - 08/07/2022 - Arianna points to a rocket pop on a ice cream truck at Holmes Lake Park, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2022. NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
Parade watchers race to collect candy thrown during the Wilber Czech Festival on Saturday.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Grammy award winning American blues singer Bonnie Raitt performs at the Pinewood Bowl on Tuesday.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Saltdogs third baseman Ryan Long (left) beats the tag as Gary SouthShore second baseman Michael Woodworth drops the ball on Monday at Haymarket Park.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Fair attendees ride a motorcycle-themed merry-go-round during the Lancaster County Super Fair on Sunday.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
A 26-year-old man told the Lincoln Police Department he was "beaten, burned with a blowtorch and branded" with the word "thief" after he was ambushed by two men amid a drug deal at a warehouse near Interstate 80 and 56th Street, Investigator Christopher Schamber said in an arrest affidavit.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Layla Karee (left) comforts Shireen Jardo Alhanto who begins to sob while speaking of her family both missing and deceased during a ceremony to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the Yazidi genocide on Wednesday in Malcolm. Alhanto lost two brothers, and 15 members of her family are still missing.Â
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson claps hands during practice Monday at Hawks Championship Center.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Nebraska Wesleyan athletic training student Sabrina Ochterbeck is placed in an ice bath by athletic trainers (from left) Terry Adair of Bryan Health, Tyler Rediger of Lincoln Southeast, Bryan Butler of Lincoln Northeast and Charity Rainey of Lincoln High on Friday. With fall practice set to begin Monday, athletic trainers reviewed how to prevent and treat heat illnesses.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Artist Toan Vuong is shown on his front porch with his compositions created using date stamps. Vuong will participate in Porch-Art-Palooza, a sprawling art sale on 30 front porches in the Near South, Everett and South Salt Creek neighborhoods, on Sunday.Â
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Luca Yeager slams down his mug after downing Kool-Aid in a quickest drinking contest, during the Kool-Aid Days Festival, at the Adams County Fair grounds on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in Hastings. Thousands of “kids†of all ages gather to celebrate the invention of Kool-Aid®, Nebraska’s Official Soft Drink, by Edwin Perkins in 1927.
KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star
Lincoln Northwest High School students, including Noah Foreman (from right), Brohdy Ferguson and Delaney Ahl check out the cafeteria area Monday, Aug. 15, 2022.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
Nebraska volleyball head coach John Cook observes the team's first practice of the season Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, at the Devaney Sports Center.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
Drew Carlson celebrates after winning a competition during the Cornhusker Marching Band Exhibition at Memorial Stadium, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022.
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
Alex Kuepper rests in the shade after finishing the 150-mile race during the Gravel Worlds on Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, in Lincoln.
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
Nebraska's Red team reacts after scoring a point during the Red-White Scrimmage Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022, at the Devaney Sports Center.
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
The Urban Development Department is applying for grants to demolish Pershing as well as the old Lincoln Police Department building at 233 S. 10th St.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star file photo
Breckyn Erks observes a Lincoln Pius X football practice while hanging upside-down Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at Pius X High School.
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
Work to demolish the home at 2636 Woodscrest Ave. began in earnest on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022, to make way for a new home, which owners say will fit into the character of the historic neighborhood.
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
Anti-abortion demonstrators pray outside the Planned Parenthood clinic near 48th Street and Old Cheney Road on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. A Planned Parenthood official said protest activity outside the clinic has surged since the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade.
KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star
Tramesha Cruse poses for a photo at her restaurant, Lila Mae's Southern Kitchen and Lounge, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
A dog swims in the water during Dog Splash at Star City Shores sponsored by the Lincoln Parks Foundation and the Greater Lincoln Obedience Club on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022.
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
A kayaker paddles on Holmes Lake on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
Nebraska's Jordan Zade (37) walks off the field after San Diego State scored in the final minute of the game, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, at Hibner Stadium.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
CeCe Mlady (left), 4, and her sister Grace Mlady, 10, cheer as they try to get the attention of Husker players throwing gifts to the stand before a soccer game between Nebraska and San Diego State on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, at Hibner Stadium.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
Lincoln Northeast's Micah Quirie kicks a field goal as teammate Trevor Vocasek holds the ball during practice Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022.
JUSTIN WAN Journal Star
Lincoln Lutheran players gather around the hydration station during practice Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, at Lincoln Lutheran High School.
KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star
The Nebraska State Capitol on Wednesday, {monthameap} 24, 2022, in Lincoln, NE. KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
KENNETH FERRIERA Journal Star
WarHorse Gaming hopes to open the state's first licensed casino at Lincoln Race Course in September. Crews continue work to convert the horse race simulcasting space to a temporary gaming floor with 433 slot machines.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
LINCOLN, NEB. - 08/26/2022 - Marcee Metzger of Voices of Hope poses for a portrait at the group's office, Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
NOAH RIFFE Journal Star
Nebraska's Hayden Kubik (top, first right) celebrates with her team after scoring the match-ending point of a 3-0 win against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi on Friday at the Devaney Sports Center.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Mike Comstock picks up his daughter, Brooklynn Comstock, at the end of the first day of school at Robinson Elementary on Monday. The new school in northeast Lincoln opened two weeks late because of construction issues.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Friday's game between Lincoln Northwest and Ralston is seen through temporary fencing at Union Bank Stadium. It was the inaugural game at the stadium.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Kearney's Sawyer Schilke carries the ball as he narrowly avoids a tackle by Lincoln East's Connor Shelton on Thursday at Seacrest Field.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
The family of Hulda Roper, including step-grandson Craig Roper (from left) and stepson Charlie Roper, talk with Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins and Cedars president and CEO Jim Blue as the youth service organization names its conference room after Hulda Roper, the city's first female police officer.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Sen. Ben Sasse (from left), Rep. Don Bacon, Rep. Adrian Smith and Rep. Mike Flood attend the annual federal legislative summit on Thursday at Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum.
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Mike Meyerle (left) and Steph Meyerle of Beatrice watch Nebraska play Northwestern on Saturday at McKinney's Irish Pub.Â
JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Wahoo coach Trina Christen hugs Jaiden Swanson the Warriors defeated Beatrice in eight innings Tuesday in Beatrice.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star
Lincoln Pius X players run through a banner before taking on Scottsbluff on Friday at Aldrich Field.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Lincoln East's Kooper Barnes dances with her teammates before the Spartans took on Norris in the LPS Classic on Saturday at Doris Bair Softball Complex.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Lincoln Southeast's Gunnar Gottula flips his hair back after taking off his helmet in the fourth quarter against Elkhorn South on Aug. 26 at Seacrest Field.
KENNETH FERRIERA, Journal Star file photo
Lincoln Lutheran's Elecea Saathoff (3) tips the ball past Waverly defenders Thursday at Lincoln Lutheran High School.
NOAH RIFFE, Journal Star
Editor's note: We have detected a technical issue that is preventing some users from being able to log in to comment. We are working to have the issue resolved shortly. Thank you for your patience.
Contact the writer at zhammack@journalstar.com or 402-473-7225. On Twitter @HammackLJS
Want to see more like this?
Get our local education coverage delivered directly to your inbox.