Superintendent's Message

A MESSAGE FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT & CEO

I have always loved Psalm 136. If you’re not familiar with it, I invite you to take a few minutes to read it over. It is a retelling of God’s saving work in bringing the people of Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan. But it is far more than just a historical retelling. After each act of God, the Psalmist includes the phrase “His faithful love endures forever.” By the end of the poem, the reader has seen “His faithful love endures forever” twenty-six times! You can imagine the people using it as a liturgy of praise, reminding themselves that God’s faithful love is what has provided for them-and then it points them forward, knowing that the same faithful love of God will continue to provide for them in the days to come.

For nearly 75 years, the schools of the Cleveland Lutheran High School Association have seen and felt the faithful, enduring love of our God. It can be seen in how He brought the Lutheran community together to establish the downtown school and in the Lutheran Veterans who helped provide the space for it. He was faithful in providing great land in Cleveland Heights and Rocky River when the State of Ohio wanted the downtown land. Through incredible highs and real lows over the ensuing decades, God’s faithfulness has allowed us to provide excellent educational opportunities to students while pointing those students to their faithful Savior.

The 2020-2021 school year was among the most challenging that our schools have ever seen. Yet despite all of the challenges that COVID-19 brought to us, our schools managed to finish the year in a stronger position than they were in before COVID existed-His faithful love endures forever. Lutheran West was the first high school to open for in-person education in Northeast Ohio this past fall. His faithful love endures forever. All of our students had the ability to attend school in person or to attend live online each day throughout the school year. His faithful love endures forever. At a time when many teachers around the country fought to avoid in-person education, our teachers pushed themselves to learn new technology so that they could teach students in person and remotely at the same time. His faithful love endures forever. We put on two full musical productions at Lutheran West and streamed them around the world. His faithful love endures forever. All 24 sports teams of the CLHSA had full seasons in which students participated, with Lutheran East winning a state championship in Boys’ Basketball and having a Track & Field athlete winning an individual state championship. His faithful love endures forever. After a year without formal commencement ceremonies, our schools were both able to hold graduations in person with hundreds of family members there to support our amazing young men and women. His faithful love endures forever.

My hope is that, as you turn the pages of this 2021 Annual Report, you see God’s faithful love at work in the lives of our students. The communities that surround both of our schools are full of alumni, volunteers, and donors who give of their time, their treasure, and their efforts in ways that allow our students to grow and flourish. I pray that in these stories, you see how your support is changing lives through Christian education. The schools of the CLHSA finished the 2020-2021 school year incredibly blessed and we are poised to continue our growth in the years to come. Thank you for your support which helps to make our ministry successful. His faithful love endures forever!

CHRIS STEINMANN '00

SUPERINTENDENT & CEO