esm lutheran school

What esm lutheran school does

Emmanuel-St. Michael Lutheran School (ESM) is a private, non-profit Lutheran Christian school serving preschool through 8th grade in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Founded in 1953 as an interparish ministry cooperatively supported by Emmanuel Lutheran Church (established 1867) and St. Michael Lutheran Church (established 1953), the school operates across two campuses: the Getz Road Campus on the property of St. Michael Lutheran Church (Preschool and Grades K-3) and the Union Street Campus on the property of Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Preschool and Grades 4-8). ESM's mission is to nurture children in Christian faith within the context of sound academic instruction, with average faculty tenure of 16 years and a 20:1 student-teacher ratio supporting individualized instruction.

ESM's core products are its three academic tiers (Preschool for ages 3-5 using a Highscope/One in Christ/Indiana Early Learning Foundations curriculum, Elementary K-3, and Middle School 4-8), augmented by athletics, fine arts (music, theater, band, orchestra), weekly chapel, extended care, and student support services including counseling and a registered nurse. Underlying technology is conventional third-party educational infrastructure: Sycamore Education for school management and admissions, Renaissance Learning's HomeConnect and Accelerated Reader for literacy, Google Workspace for Education and Google Sites-based grade-level dashboards, Clever for SSO, and SchoolNow for the website/calendar. There is no proprietary technology platform; all systems are vendor-supplied.

ESM generates revenue from tuition across multiple schedule tiers (part-day, school-day, extended-day) at both campuses, plus a diversified fundraising and financial-aid stack: the Indiana School Choice Scholarship, Lutheran Scholarship Granting Organization of Indiana (SGO) tax-credit scholarships, an Annual Fund Drive / Eagle Fund / Eagles Rise Fundraiser / ESM Endowment, Thrivent Choice, and the SCRIP gift card program. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer enrollment augmented by community-led referrals through the two sponsoring congregations, with priority enrollment for church members. Marketing is multi-channel (website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Eagle Eye newsletter, open houses, campus visits) and reliant on word-of-mouth within the Fort Wayne Lutheran community. Leadership is split between Principal Dr. Ben Stellwagen and the senior pastors of the two sponsoring churches, with no traditional corporate ownership or investor structure.

Name

esm lutheran school

Legal name

Emmanuel - St. Michael Lutheran School

Website

https://esmeagles.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Emmanuel-St. Michael Lutheran School is a private, non-profit Lutheran K-8 school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, operating two campuses (Preschool and K-3 on Getz Road; Preschool and 4-8 on Union Street) as an interparish ministry of Emmanuel and St. Michael Lutheran Churches, serving Fort Wayne families through tuition, scholarships, and congregational support.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private K-8 Christian Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

Keywords

• Private christian education
• Lutheran elementary school
• Preschool education
• Faith-based learning
• K-8 education

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Wayne

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition: Tuition-based revenue from preschool through 8th grade programs. Multiple program options including part-day, school-day, and extended-day schedules at two campuses.
2. Indiana School Choice Scholarship: State-funded scholarships through Indiana's School Choice Scholarship program applied towards tuition costs for eligible students.
3. Tax-Credit Scholarships: Tax-credit scholarships through Lutheran Scholarship Granting Organization of Indiana (SGO) for qualifying families.
4. Donations and Annual Fund: Donations through Annual Fund Drive, Eagle Fund, Eagles Rise Fundraiser, ESM Endowment, and Thrivent Choice program supporting technology, student furniture, and instructional equipment.
5. SCRIP Program: Scrip gift card program allowing families to raise funds for tuition through purchase programs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Emmanuel-St. Michael Lutheran School (ESM) provides Christ-centered Lutheran Christian education from Preschool through 8th grade at two Fort Wayne, Indiana campuses. The school delivers classroom-based academic instruction integrating Lutheran faith formation, supplemented by athletics, fine arts, weekly chapel services, extended care, and student support services. Tuition is the primary revenue source, with financial assistance available through Indiana School Choice Scholarships and Lutheran SGO tax-credit scholarships.

Product overview

Emmanuel-St. Michael Lutheran School (ESM) is a private Christian school offering a unified educational program from Preschool through 8th grade across two campuses. The core offering consists of three main academic programs: the Preschool Program for children ages 3-5, Elementary Education (Grades K-3) at the Getz Road Campus, and Middle School Education (Grades 4-8) at the Union Street Campus. These are complemented by enrichment modules including Athletics, Fine Arts (music, theater, band, orchestra), weekly Chapel Services, Extended Care before/after school, and Student Support Services. The school also provides financial assistance through Scholarship Programs and utilizes a play-based curriculum framework for preschool students. All programs are integrated with educational technology platforms including Renaissance Learning, Sycamore Education, and Google Workspace for comprehensive student management and learning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Preschool Program (PS)

Quantifiable outcome

• Average faculty experience of 16 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Emmanuel Lutheran ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsoring church partner providing spiritual leadership, congregational support, and facilities. Established in 1867, Emmanuel Lutheran Church is located at 917 W. Jefferson Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN. The church provides pastoral leadership including Senior Pastor Rev. Thomas Eggold and Associate Pastor Rev. Daniel Sheafer.
• St. Michael Lutheran ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsoring church partner providing spiritual leadership, congregational support, and facilities. Established in 1953, St. Michael Lutheran Church is located at 2131 Getz Road, Fort Wayne, IN. The church provides pastoral leadership including Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Dennis Goff and Missional Pastor Rev. Shawn Davis.
• Lutheran Scholarship Granting Organization of Indiana (SGO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManages SGO Tax Credit program for nearly 50 non-public schools in Indiana. Provides tax-credit scholarships to eligible ESM families to help offset tuition costs.
• Indiana School Choice Scholarship ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-funded scholarship program administered through the Indiana Department of Education providing scholarships to eligible students attending participating non-public schools including ESM.
• Concordia Lutheran High SchoolminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal Lutheran high school partner. ESM students have pathway to attend CLHS. Shared traditions include orchestra and band rehearsals held at CLHS facilities. Many ESM alumni continue to CLHS.
• Lutheran Schools PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional organization supporting Lutheran schools in the Fort Wayne area, providing resources, networking, and professional development opportunities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Concordia Lutheran High School: Fort Wayne-based Lutheran high school that serves as the primary high school feeder for ESM graduates. Operates within the same Lutheran educational ecosystem in Fort Wayne, sharing traditions, faculty, and congregational overlap; explicitly referenced as a pathway partner.
• Blackhawk Christian School: Fort Wayne-based private Christian K-12 school offering faith-based education. Directly competes for tuition-paying Christian education families in the same Fort Wayne market and is referenced in ESM staff backgrounds.
• Suburban Bethlehem Lutheran School: Fort Wayne-area Lutheran K-8 school, part of the same Lutheran Schools Partnership network. Directly competes with ESM for Lutheran families in the Fort Wayne metro and shares the same faith-based value proposition.
• Hope Lutheran School: Fort Wayne Lutheran K-8 school affiliated with a partnering congregation within the same Lutheran Schools Partnership ecosystem. Competes for the same Lutheran family demographic and access to School Choice scholarships.
• St. Paul Lutheran School (Fort Wayne): Fort Wayne-based Lutheran K-8 school operating with similar congregational support model and participating in the same Lutheran Schools Partnership and SGO scholarship network. Direct competitor for Lutheran families in the Fort Wayne area.
• Zion Lutheran School (Fort Wayne): Another Lutheran K-8 school in the Fort Wayne metro within the same Indiana Lutheran school network. Offers similar preschool-through-middle-school faith-based programming and competes for the same School Choice and SGO scholarship families.
• Anthony Wayne Area Lutheran Schools: Multi-campus Lutheran school system in the greater Fort Wayne area serving K-8 students. Operates with a similar church-affiliated, multi-campus model and competes for the same Lutheran family demographic in northeast Indiana.

Others

• Lutheran Schools Partnership: Regional support organization that supports Lutheran schools in the Fort Wayne area, providing resources, networking, and professional development. ESM is explicitly a member and uses it as a coordinating network for scholarship and program efforts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/ESMLutheranSchool
• Facebookfacebook.com/esmlutheran
• Instagraminstagram.com/esmlutheran

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about esm lutheran school