March 2021
By Jenny Scott
The Northern Illinois District has seen God at work throughout this challenging past year. NID schools are experiencing a thriving increase in enrollment, with some schools growing from thirty to as many as sixty new students.
“Nighty-eight percent of our schools opened in person or with hybrid models in August,” said Lois Stewart, Mission Facilitator for Schools. “They’ve done a fantastic job of providing healthy, safe protocols.”
As Mission Facilitator, Lois visits classrooms, plans workshops, leads chapel services when invited, and assists schools when they’re looking to call principals or teachers. In short, she supports commissioned workers in any way that they need.
There are forty-five elementary schools in the district that serve students from Pre-K thru eighth grade, forty-five free-standing preschools/early childhood centers, and two high schools in the Northern Illinois District. Altogether, these schools have seen reenrollment rates of seventy-five to ninety percent for the coming 2021-2022 school year.
“We gained quite a few students because parents were looking for in-person learning. From what I’m hearing, families are very, very happy that they chose to put their children in our schools,” said Lois.
She also pointed out that many of the new students came from families that were not connected to a church. “The teachers have done a wonderful job of sharing Jesus along with our regular academics. We’ve had quite a few baptisms as a result and some families have actually joined the church after becoming connected with our schools.”
WELLNESS: Promoting and encouraging health and vitality in congregations, schools, ministries, professional workers and lay-leaders.