Immanuel Lutheran School, Wentzville | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

My child has attended ILS for the last few years. My satisfaction has gone down over time, enough to where I think this will be the last year I will have my child enrolled. This is a thorough review, but it is important for every parent to understand. My big concerns here:

– Computer Equipment: They use CHROME BOOKS for their students!! This is not a typo. I am a career executive and can tell you that this is not a good way to prepare these young students. Quality schools will typically use Macs at this level. In this day, it is critical to prepare these kids for the real world and what they will be faced with later on in life, which will be using Windows and Apple technology… MS Office, etc.

An argument can be made that the school uses Chrome Books because they are cheap… DIRT cheap. For the amount that I pay this school in tuition (and the fact that they are soliciting for donations at every moment for some ’cause’) I would expect them to use Windows or Mac technology to prepare them. This to me is unacceptable.

– Staff: This one is a hot-button for me. Like any business, you are going to encounter friendly staff, and maybe some with a little more ‘challenging’ personalities. That is certainly the case here, but unfortunately this school has a few that really need to be corrected. Without naming names, I can tell you that I (and other parents I have spoken with) really take issue with:

– Kindergarten Teacher: This one is ridiculous – Aside from the extremely winey voice, she is constantly yelling at the kids. I mean, you can hear this woman in other classrooms and at a distance…. Really yelling at them. This is WAY out of line and is a terrible representation of a schools brand. Thank God my child doesnt have to deal with this anymore. I didnt find out the true extent of this womans vile behavior until later on. Otherwise I would have had an immediate discussion with the management. Apparently this is a daily occurrence – This needs to be dealt with!! This teacher is in the wrong profession and should not be allowed to teach our kids that her daily tirades are okay… they are NOT.

– A 3rd Grade Teacher: This one doesnt yell so much as she is just plain unfriendly – “Snooty” if you will. My child did not excel in this class at, all. Many kids do not – From what I have seen and heard. I have to hear my child (and other kids) laugh about her spending the better part of the day digging down her own shirt. Seriously? Save it for the car ride home!!! Creativity was at an all time low as well for my child while in her class. I dont know how to put it – No enthusiasm here – Does not spark excitement or creativity with the students and cannot even give a simple hello (etc) to parents most of the time – It was depressing just seeing her. I cant imagine spending ever single day in class with this woman. Too bad they dont seem to realize that the high cost of our tuition is one element that pays this persons salary.

– Traffic: Keep in mind that if you decide to enroll your child here, you are going to have to learn to deal with a lot of traffic congestion. It gets downright dangerous here because of the long line of cars waiting to pull in and out of here. Once you are on the property it is still highly congested and downright dangerous for kids and parents who are getting in and out of their cars. On top of that there is usually a very long line to drop off kids in the mornings and it is not run efficiently at all. Takes forever and kids end up getting tardies because of staff inefficiency to move a car line along. One staff member even thinks it is a good idea to stand to the side and direct traffic at the cars that are stuck in line. She angrily motions to move ahead to people that are stuck in traffic and are already smart enough to know which way is forward. STOP THAT!!!

As you can tell, I am not pleased. I think it is important to express some of the issues so parents can make a wise choice when it comes to enrollment.

I have two boys in this school, and we love it! The teachers are so caring, and go above and beyond. The faith and values taught are a wonderful addition to education. My boys have been to public school and to Andrews Academy, and ILS is a perfect in-between for us (not as small classes as Andrews, but that makes ILS big enough to have sports teams and more friendships).

Just a note on the Chromebook complaint from another review. We use all android devices in our home, so we were thrilled to have the school use android devices. Much better for us! I’m so glad we didn’t have to buy overpriced Macbooks for them, whew!

Another reply to the parking lot complaint in another review: The parking/car line does get packed, but I would never call it unsafe. On the contrary, the teachers and staff are extremely watchful and make sure safety is always the top priority. And I have never been to any school where the pick up and drop off times weren’t busy…how could they NOT be busy? So that’s just a part of any school without buses. I have no issues at alll! In fact, I love that we don’t have to get out of the car to sign in/sign out if we do the car line. It’s convenient for us!

We will miss this school when it’s time for high school.!

We send both of our daughters to Immanuel Lutheran in Wentzville and have since their beginning years of preschool. They are currently in 4th and 7th grade respectively. I would not change a thing about their experience . They have exceeded our expectation.

The classroom sizes and the education, friendships and faith that my girls have experienced have gone above and beyond what we had ever hoped for. I will continue to recommend this wonderful school to anyone looking for a good foundation for their children to grow.

Carrie Notheis