To the Association:
God has taken Berean Academy through another important year. We are grateful and humbled that God uses us to participate in His kingdom work. As our society increasingly questions the Bible as authoritative in our lives, God is using Berean Academy to foster a biblical worldview in our students. The faculty and staff at Berean Academy consider it a great joy to represent Jesus Christ to the students every day.
We carried the theme of thanksgiving and praise from the school’s 75th Anniversary Celebration last summer into the 2021-2022 school year with Psalm 145:3-4: “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.” I am often encouraged by the continued acts of God’s faithfulness through His people in the Berean community.
We also praise the Lord for an enrollment of 322 to start the 2021-2022 school year. This was an increase of 21 students from the previous year. We had 149 elementary students, 53 junior high students, and 120 senior high students. We thank the Lord for each student and family that those numbers represent and the dedicated staff of 50 that served them.
On May 14, the 24 members of the Class of 2022 graduated from Berean Academy. Mr. Josh Brinkerhoff, our athletic director, was the keynote speaker. Please continue to pray for our seniors as they seek to faithfully follow and serve the Lord in the years ahead.
School Improvements
The old cafeteria was converted into two elementary classrooms for the new school year.
The high school gym floor was refinished with a new warrior-head logo center court.
The track shed was resided and painted.
The playground equipment received a facelift with the replacement of worn, plastic pieces.
This has been another very successful year for Berean’s academic, athletic, and fine arts programs. We are grateful to the Lord for the students and teachers/sponsors/coaches who work so hard to excel for His glory. It is impossible to outline everything that happens over the course of a year at Berean, but I have provided some highlights.
Academics
Our Terra Nova achievement test scores were very good, with our students in grades 1-9 scoring in the 76th percentile in Language and Math and the 80th percentile in reading. The average ACT score of our graduating seniors was 24.5, well above the state average of 20.4.
Sports
The girls’ cross country team took 2nd place in the Heart of America League (HOA) and returned to state.
The boys’ cross-country team excelled again this year, took 1st place in the HOA, and finished in 2nd place at state.
After another outstanding regular season, the girls’ varsity basketball team made another trip to the state tournament, where they took 4th place.
The Berean scholars bowl team finished in 2nd place in the HOA League.
The Berean golf team earned a 2nd place finish in the HOA League.
The girls’ track team won HOA League and placed 4th at state; The boys’ track team was second in the HOA League and also took 4th place at state. Andrew Harder took 1st place in the 3200 and the 1600. Lillie Veer took 3rd place in the javelin, and Sophie Dugger took 3rd place in the pole vault.
Arts
On November 12 and 13, the seniors presented Jungle Book by Joseph Robinette. The play was co-directed and produced by Kim Klein and Deanna Nuce and offered an interesting twist on a familiar story. The play was a resounding success with parents and students alike.
Four students were selected for the district and state KMEA band (Eli Nord, Tayana Nord, Rachel Widler, Sara Stucky).
The SH band was asked to participate in a Side by Side Concert with Friends University.
Two students participated in the district KMEA honor choir and the KMEA All-State treble choir (Kaitlynn Schanbacher, Kate Roseberry).
The annual Praise and Celebration Banquet brought together 507 Berean friends and family. Dr. Robert Clark of Cedarville University (and former Berean Bible teacher) was our Keynote speaker for the evening. In addition, Mark Anderson (35), Lewis Wiebe (30), Ruth Boettcher (20), Jacky Wuthrich (20), Jennine Busenitz (10), Sarah Spencer (10), and Brad Stephens (10) were recognized for their years of service. This year’s P&C Banquet raised over $193,000 towards the FEG Fund.
The 2021-2022 school year completed Berean’s 76th year of operation and again demonstrated God’s continued faithfulness to our school. Thank you for your ongoing prayer and financial support of the ministry of Berean Academy.
In Christ,
The Administration