Pilgrim Lutheran School celebrates more than its name change since accreditation

Pilgrim Lutheran School, 6717 W. Center St., may have reopened in August 2012 after a six-year hiatus, but it is hardly the "Pilgrim of the older days," said Pamela Amling, principal.

The school recently finished a $1.3 million three-phase remodel that gutted and reconstructed every single classroom and added a middle school wing.

It also announced its accreditation in time for Lutheran Schools Week, which kicked off Monday, Jan. 26. The school was accredited in October 2014. Pilgrim Lutheran School is a choice school through the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 2664 N. 68th St., used to operate the school for 80 years, but declining enrollment forced its doors to close temporarily in 2008.

"We're thrilled that it reopened," said Paul Peckman, pastor of Pilgrim Lutheran Church. "It's made a major difference in the life of our congregation."

Peckman, who is retiring this summer after 38 years, said he is "pleased that things rebounded in these last few years."

When the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program expanded in 2011 to allow any school to participate in the program, Pilgrim Lutheran Church approached the Lutheran Urban Mission Initiative, LUMIN, to help reopen the school to the community.

To help with its accreditation, Pilgrim was opened as a second campus of LUMIN's flagship school, Concordia University School-Granville Campus, and was temporarily known as Concordia University School-Pilgrim Campus.

Since accreditation, Pilgrim Lutheran School has returned to its original namesake.

The 'blessing' of choice

As a choice school, city of Milwaukee residents in a qualifying income bracket can enroll their child at Pilgrim for free. The school is open to Wauwatosans, but they have to pay tuition.

Amling said the "blessing of choice" is that with more students comes more financial resources.

In August 2012, Pilgrim opened with 65 scholars, or students, K4 through fourth grade. Today, Pilgrim enrolls 192 scholars, grades K4 through seventh grade. Next year it will add an eighth-grade class.

"Every year we add one grade to be very intentional," said Amling, who joined mid-year in 2012-13. "It's been really positive."

Referring to children as "scholars" at Pilgrim is part a method from "Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College," a book by Doug Lemov that has gained national attention in recent years. Amling described the method as creating a "joy factor" in the classroom with learning that is "exciting and joyful."

"I hardly spend time with students in a negative way because the teaching is so engaging," she said.

Pilgrim academics teach one grade level higher than a scholar's enrolled grade. The goal is for students or scholars to be accepted into a high-performing high school.

Amling said the school is attractive to parents who are seeking that Christian component in a school and want their child "built up."

"If students get a really strong foundation, there's really nothing they can't do," Amling said. "They can talk about Jesus all day long and pray."

While Pilgrim's name no longer includes Concordia University, the school does still benefit from the college's resources, such as student teachers. Retired adults from Pilgrim Lutheran Church also volunteer their time to tutor students.

Peckman said Pilgrim students will also sing in the church worship service a couple of times per year.

"We're a part of this amazing group. We have social workers, art and music as part of this bigger (LUMIN) network," Amling said. "It's a nice support base."