LMS System
History
The four campuses of Lancaster Mennonite School have a rich history. All were founded in response to a call for Christian education from within the Mennonite Church to give parents an alternative to public schools where students could be taught in a Christ-centered environment. This movement led to the founding of Locust Grove Mennonite School in 1939 and New Danville Mennonite School in 1940. The Lancaster Conference of the Mennonite Church took a bit more time to meet a bigger challenge: the development of a Christian high school on the site of the former Yeates School in 1942. To better serve families in northwest Lancaster County, Lancaster Mennonite School then helped to start Kraybill Mennonite School in 1949.
Whereas each school initially served mainly Mennonite students, persons from many denominations increasingly became part of the student body. Each campus eventually served a diversity of Christian families who appreciated an excellent education in a Christ-centered atmosphere that emphasized personal faith and discipleship. LMS is committed to its core values growing out of Anabaptist Christian faith and to being a warmly ecumenical school.
Although each school was founded independently to meet the challenges of the 20th century, the challenges of the 21st century brought them together to be one comprehensive PreK-12 school with four campuses. Sharing a common mission, values, and constituency, the schools decided to work together as a system for the common good. New Danville merged with Lancaster in 2001, followed by Locust Grove in 2003 and Kraybill in 2006. Each campus has its own unique history and flavor but shares the same distinctives: Christ-centered, educational excellence, faith-infused opportunities, caring community, and peace and service.
The schools have developed a carefully-planned PreK-12 educational
program to carry out their goals of social, spiritual and academic development
that also includes wellness and physical activity as well as interscholastic
athletics and other co-curricular activities. This holistic approach
builds on the past as we prepare students for the tests of today and
tomorrow.
Key Dates
- 1939: Locust Grove Mennonite School (now Locust Grove Campus) founded
- 1940: New Danville Mennonite School (now New Danville Campus) founded
- 1942: Lancaster Mennonite School founded
- 1949: Kraybill Mennonite School (now Kraybill Campus) founded in the Kraybill Meetinghouse with grades 1-10 in cooperation with Lancaster Mennonite School
- 1965: LMS builds a junior high building on the Kraybill campus
- 1970: Lancaster Mennonite School re-named Lancaster Mennonite High School to emphasize that it offered grades 9-12.
- 2000-01: Middle school (grades 6-8) started on the Lancaster Campus
- 2001-02: New Danville Mennonite School (K-8) merges to form Lancaster Mennonite School, one K-12 school with two campuses
- 2003-04: Locust Grove Mennonite School (PreK-8) merges with Lancaster Mennonite School and becomes the Locust Grove Campus
- 2006-07: Kraybill Mennonite School (K-8) merges with Lancaster Mennonite School and becomes the Kraybill Campus
- 2007-08: New Danville Campus drops middle school (grades 6-8) to concentrate on the development of early childhood and elementary education