St. Paul Lutheran School’s Story
Educational diversity and choice is a good thing for students, families and communities. At St. Paul Lutheran School (SPLS) we believe this statement wholeheartedly. Back in 1964, when the people of St. Paul Lutheran Church made the crucial decision to start a grade school program, they would not have used the same terminology. They would have discussed providing a quality education that is based on the Bible and Lutheran Christian values for the families of the congregation.
While they could not have anticipated the drastic changes in the culture, in children and parents and in the place of faith in our world, they knew that there would always be a need for a school like St. Paul Lutheran School (SPLS). When parents have so many choices in public, charter and other non-public schools; SPLS stands apart in its commitment to high educational standards, using a blend of traditional and innovative methods and the thorough integration of scriptural, confessional Christian ideas applied to life.
Since 1964, SPLS has grown dramatically in terms of program offerings, student enrollment (in numbers and diversity), professional staff, the integration of technology and in many other ways. The school has moved from its previous location on South Florida to a 35+ acre campus south of Polk Parkway on Harden Boulevard.
What has remained steadfast is the commitment of the people of St. Paul Lutheran Church to its school and the dedication of the school leadership to providing a unique educational opportunity for the students and families of Lakeland and Polk County.
St. Paul Lutheran School is one of over nine hundred Lutheran elementary schools connected through the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LC-MS), the second largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The LC-MS is known for its strong reliance on the Bible and its historic commitment to education from early childhood through university level.