The St. John’s Lutheran Church and School on Oct. 18 celebrated the opening of its Early Childhood Center, 3517 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
Approximately 500 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 14,277-square-foot addition that includes classrooms and a multipurpose room that is also a storm shelter. The ceremony included tours of the addition, bounce houses and a barbecue lunch.
“It is just an incredible accumulation of a lot of time, planning and a lot of dedicated servants to make this a reality,” said Michael Dean, St. John’s executive director. “It is just overwhelming joy.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held 11 months to the day after the church and school held a groundbreaking ceremony for the addition. The addition was designed by Mission Architects, and BSI Constructors built the Early Childhood Center.
“It is incredible,” said the Rev. Jeremy Schultz, who is St. John’s pastor. “I have never been part of something like this that has happened so quickly. Who has ever heard of a building being completed like this in 11 months? I can’t say enough about our partners, Mission Architect, BSI and so many more. Obviously, none of it would have been possible without the blessing of the Lord.”
Schultz said the addition cost just more than $7 million to build. He said St. John’s received more than $4 million in donations, and the church and school will have some short-term debt to pay for the Early Childhood Center.
“We hope to knock that out as the Lord graciously allows us to,” he said of the debt.
The addition
The Early Childhood Center was built to the north of the existing school.
The addition has eight classrooms with two for kindergarten classes and six for preschool classes.
By moving the early childhood classes, St. John’s converted six classrooms in its existing school to be used by first through eighth grade students. All of the existing school’s classrooms were renovated, and the school’s restrooms were remodeled, and the science lab was updated.
“I am so thankful and blessed for what has been produced by BSI Constructors and Mission Architects,” said Brenda Spieler, St. John’s head of school. “They have done an amazing job. It frees up a lot of our congestion and space issues. It gives us more flexibility.”
Spieler said St. John’s has 102 preschool students and 209 kindergarten through eighth grade students this school year.
“I think it is an awesome addition,” said Adam Ernst, whose son, Cameron, 5, and daughter, Baylee, 4, attend school at St. John’s. “I feel like they were getting filled up, and this gives them space to grow.”
Adam’s wife, Courtney Ernst, said it was exciting to watch the addition be constructed. Adam and Courtney also have a 17-year-old son, Skyler, who attends Windsor High School.
“I think this sets the teachers up for success,” Courtney said. “It sets the school up for success.”
Julie Round and her husband, Mitchell, have two children attending St. John’s. She said their sons, Carson, 5, is in kindergarten, and Grant, 2, is in preschool.
Julie said Carson provided her with updates about the construction over the last 11 months.
“He came home every day telling me about the construction because he loves construction vehicles,” Julie said. “He would come home and say, ‘Mom, I got to see an excavator. I got to see a bulldozer.’ It was neat to watch him watch everything. It is a blessing to get this extra space for them to play and learn.”
Moving in
Dean said students and staff started using the addition on Oct. 12. He said the excitement about the Early Childhood Center started on Oct. 8-9 when furniture and supplies were moved into the classrooms.
“We had seventh and eighth graders carrying all of the stuff from the school rooms,” he said. “They were so excited for the little ones. All of their teachers took their class through the new wing, and they were saying, ‘This is great, this is great.’ They see the multipurpose room where there is a cafeteria, and they will be doing all kinds of activities. It was just unbelievable excitement from everyone.”
Sara Wilken, who is in her fourth year teaching preschool at St. John’s, said one of the best parts about the Early Childhood Center is that the preschool through kindergarten classrooms are on the same floor.
“Before we had them upstairs and downstairs, now we are all together,” said Wilken, who also is a member of the church and has three children attending the school. “I feel like as a parent that it is comforting and relieves a lot of stress to see they are going right here. It can be hard for kids to move to a different floor. I feel this will be more comforting as they move to the other grades because it is not such a big change. It is just a beautiful space. It is so warm and inviting.”
Spieler said the addition will allow more students to enroll at St. John’s. She said the school plans to add a second preschool class for 2-year-olds next year.
According to St. John’s website, sjlarnold.org, the school’s preschool enrollment has increased by 24 percent, and enrollment for kindergarten through eighth grade has increased by 46 percent in the last five years.
Spieler said the 311 total students attending St. John’s is a historic high.
“It is so exciting that we got to show off what God has done here with all of the hands that helped produce this,” Spieler said. “The best part is the space. We have classrooms that are appropriate for our preschool families.”
Still growing
Dean said St. John’s is planning for a second phase to its expansion.
When the Early Childhood Center addition was first announced, St. John’s officials said a two-story addition connecting the church to the school was to be built during the second phase.
St. John’s scaled back its expansion plans from including two phases to focus on the first phase, the Early Childhood Center.
“We will need to take our breath a little bit,” Dean said. “We are talking about what it will take to do the second phase. We have to settle in and make sure we can handle the cost of phase one.”
Dean said St. John’s officials also are talking about a third expansion phase.
He said the church and school may turn what was the Keller farm, 3590 St. John’s Church Road, into an athletic complex for the school and community.
St. John’s purchased 4.12 acres from the Keller Family Trust in May 2019 for $1.3 million. The land, which had been farmed by the Keller family since 1921, is next to the church and school campus.
“We would love to put a community soccer field there that not only our school could use but also the community,” Dean said. “We are planning and dreaming about phases two and three.”