Celebrating 80 Years of Legacy: Preserving Core Values and Embracing a Bright Future

The 2025-26 school year is underway, and with it, we begin celebrating the school’s 80th year!  Over the last eight decades, God has kept His hand on Berean Academy, nurturing it from its founding in 1946 with an enrollment of fifteen high school students and two buildings purchased at an auction in Oil Hill, to its current state with an enrollment of 331 students in grades K-12, with two gymnasiums, a cafeteria, an office building, 40 classrooms, a library and an industrial arts building. God has indeed blessed the school since its founding in many and profound ways. 

We sadly said goodbye to Susan Evans, Jacky Wuthrich, Kenny Davis, Bethany Bowen, Chris Zimmerman, Candice Oehlert, and Karsen Dennett, but welcomed the following new faculty, staff, and coaches this year: April Brown (5th Grade); Mackenzie Unruh (Secondary Language and Jr. High Girls Bible); Kiley Miller (Elementary Librarian); Kyleigh Hayworth (Kindergarten Teacher Aide); Sarah Friesen (Admissions Director); Jacki Quiring (Paraprofessional); Megan Potter (Food Services); Jerry Eichelberger (North Newton/Wichita bus driver); Robert Gilmore (HS Assistant Soccer Coach); Noreen Templin (Scholars Bowl Coach); and Tyffany Wendling (Food Services). 

In addition to the new employees, the following current faculty and staff members made a move: Joni Walter left Food Services to become our school nurse; Nita Newby moved from 2nd grade to 5th grade; Emily Koontz moved from 3rd grade to 1st grade; Sarah Sweazy moved from Kindergarten to 3rd grade; and Olivia Good moved from 1st grade to teach English for grades 6-8.

We are excited to see what God has in store for us this year. In August, during our back-to-school in-service meetings, I challenged the staff to celebrate the school’s past by preserving our core values, while simultaneously seeking new ways to move the school forward. We are blessed to have a rich history, but I believe the school’s best years are still ahead. Our theme verse for this year is 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”