The Prep School That Never Was: A History of Nebraska Lutheran Academy

Abstract

"For more than two decades, the Nebraska District pursued the establishment of Nebraska Lutheran Academy, a synodical preparatory school intended to train future pastors and teachers. From the initial memorial presented at the 1946 Nebraska District Pastoral Conference to the final rescinding of synod resolutions in 1969, the project was repeatedly brought before synod conventions. In 1953, the synod pledged to establish the academy “as soon as the Synod declares that monies for it are available,” authorized the purchase of thirty-three acres in Grand Island, Nebraska, for $21,000, approved the name Nebraska Lutheran Academy, and elected a Board of Regents. Yet no cornerstone was ever laid. A lack of financial resources, the pressing needs of Northwestern College and Dr. Martin Luther College, a shortage of called workers, and the 1962 educational consultant’s recommendation against additional marginal preparatory schools repeatedly postponed the work. By 1969, the synod gratefully accepted the Nebraska District’s request to dissolve the Board of Regents and rescind prior commitments while retaining only the 1953 conditional resolution. Though the dream of a synod-administered academy died, the Lord answered the district’s longing for Lutheran secondary education through the 1974 purchase and opening of Nebraska Evangelical Lutheran High School in Waco, Nebraska."