Zion Lutheran School Litchfield, IL

Rev. Fred Bergen started Zion Lutheran School in 1888. Pastor Bergen also served as the first teacher. For 18 years the school was conducted in the church edifice at Madison and Union (the present State Farm office) and for 36 years in the ground floor of the new church built on the same location.

The present church site was dedicated in May 1942. In 1947 a new two room school building was erected west of the church with a third room added in 1951. At present, two of those classrooms are used for preschool, kindergarten and grade one.

In 1962 a planning committee was appointed to define future needs of the church and school. On May 3, 1970, the groundbreaking took place. Much of the construction work was done by members of the congregation on a volunteer basis. The new educational facility and church offices were dedicated on April 30, 1972. Zion was one of the first Lutheran schools in the district to have full air conditioning. The cost of the project was $275,000, a large portion of that amount came from the Margareta Weber estate. Members of the building committee who are still members of Zion today are: Marvin Jubelt, Ed Helgen, Lorman Mansholt, Floyd Weidler, and Wayne Brauer.

Mr. Harold Repp served as teacher and principal from 1932-1971. In 1971, Philip Wenzel was called to serve as principal / teacher. When he left in 1972, Dennis Lahti became principal. In 1973 the kindergarten program was begun with Becky Lahti as the first teacher. William Lubben became principal in 1975. In 1980, Thomas Weiss accepted a call as principal / teacher. He served until August 1999. John Schaff is now serving as principal and part-time 3rd and 4th grade teacher.

The staff has grown from four teachers in 1972 to six full-time, and two part-time teachers in 2004. Enrollment has grown from 33 in grades 2 through 8 in 1937 to 108 in preschool through grade 8 at present.

Zion Lutheran School is accredited by the National Lutheran School Accreditation Commission, and also by the State of Illinois.

We are proud of our church and school. Many of the present students can say their parents and grandparents or even great-grandparents went to Zion Lutheran School. To God be the glory!