History
Lancaster Mennonite School is now one campus, but was previously composed of multiple campuses, founded as separate schools. Locust Grove Mennonite School was founded in 1939, and New Danville Mennonite School in 1940, to offer grades one through eight. The Lancaster Conference of the Mennonite Church began the development of a Christian high school, Lancaster Mennonite 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, which originally provided first through tenth grade. Although each school was founded independently, the schools shared a common mission, values, and constituency, and eventually decided to work together as a comprehensive PreK-12 system under the name of Lancaster Mennonite School. New Danville merged with Lancaster in 2001, followed by Locust Grove in 2003 and Kraybill in 2006. Hershey Christian School was acquired in February, 2015. In February 2021, Lancaster Mennonite announced it would be merging all campuses into one unified campus at the 2167 Lincoln Highway location.Key dates
;1939: Locust Grove Mennonite School (now Locust Grove Campus) was founded. ;1940: New Danville Mennonite School (now New Danville Campus) was founded. ;1942: Lancaster Mennonite School was founded. ;1949: Kraybill Mennonite School (now Kraybill Campus) was founded in the Kraybill Meetinghouse with grades 1-10 in cooperation with Lancaster Mennonite School. ;1965: LMS built a junior high building on the Kraybill Campus. ;1970: Lancaster Mennonite School was renamed 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 merged to form Lancaster Mennonite School, one K-12 school with two campuses. ;2003-04: Locust Grove Mennonite School (PreK-8) merged with Lancaster Mennonite School and became the Locust Grove Campus. ;2006-07: Kraybill Mennonite School (K-8) merged with Lancaster Mennonite School and became the Kraybill Campus (PreK-8). ;2014-15: Hershey Christian School (K-12) was acquired. ;2018-19: The Hershey Campus adds prekindergarten to become a PreK-12 campus ;2019: The Hershey Campus was sold tFacilities
The Lancaster Campus has two residence halls for boarding students that together house about 60 out-of-state and international students attending Lancaster Mennonite High School. Millstream Hall, completed in February, 2015, holds the majority of students, with some choosing the older Graybill Hall. The G. Parke Book Building, renovated in 2004, is home to specialized agriculture and technology classrooms. The Calvin and Janet High Fine Arts Center contains an 1,168-seat auditorium, music rooms and art rooms. A two-story building provides classroom space for the middle school on the lower level and the high school on the upper level, along with the Alumni Dining Hall and library. In 2008, the Rutt Academic Center was added, including classrooms for mathematics, business classes, sciences, and family and consumer sciences. The building also houses a welcome center and administrative offices for the Lancaster Mennonite School System. In 2021, the Rutt Academic Center will be converted into an elementary building, with one Spanish-Immersion track and one English track. For athletics, the Lancaster Campus has two gymnasiums, an artificial-turf soccer and field hockey field and stadium, a lighted baseball stadium, softball diamonds, and tennis courts. The school completed a new eight-lane track and field facility in the fall of 2009.Athletics
The Lancaster Mennonite High School sports program competes in the Lancaster-Lebanon League (local public school league) and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The following high school sports are offered by Lancaster Mennonite High School: ; Fall: boys' and girls' cross country, girls' field hockey, golf, boys' and girls' soccer, girls' volleyball, girls' tennis ; Winter: girls' basketball, boys' basketball, chess team, quiz bowl ; Spring: baseball, softball, boys' tennis, boys' volleyball, track & field Lancaster Mennonite's most successful athletic program is the boys' soccer team. Since 1986, they have won eight PIAA District 3 titles and eight Lancaster-Lebanon League titles. In 2011, they won their first PIAA State Championship. In 2012, 2014 and 2017 the Blazers returned to the PIAA state title game but came up short on all three occasions. Boys basketball has also been a state-level contender: in 2016-17, the LMH boys' basketball team placed second in District III and advanced to the state quarterfinals; in 2017-18 they were fourth in the district and advanced to the PIAA semifinals. At the elementary level, Lancaster Mennonite School formed Lancaster Mennonite Youth Athletics (LMYA) as an alternative to community leagues for basketball, soccer and field hockey, softball and basketball.Music
Lancaster Mennonite High School offers concert band, jazz band, orchestra and various choral groups. Concert Choir, Vocal Ensemble, and Campus Chorale perform concerts at the school and in local congregations. Through another partnership program, students who desire a special music focus can take classes inSpiritual life
School literature maintains that spiritual life involves every activity of the school, including student and teacher behavior in and out of the classroom. The school offers many specific and intentional activities to highlight the spiritual dimension of life. Elementary students receive daily Bible instruction and attend a weekly chapel service at their level of understanding. MIddle school students have BIble class, a weekly chapel service, and have extended times for focusing on their relationship with God. All high school students attend chapel services three times a week, and take a theology or Bible class each year. The school expects all teachers to integrate a Christian perspective into all subject areas. According to the school's admissions office, students need not subscribe to a particular creed or doctrinal statement. The school's official hiring policies do not require faculty to attend a Mennonite congregation, but they must agree with the Shared Convictions of Global Anabaptists and the school’s mission statement and philosophy of education. This document emphasizes a personal relationship with God through Christ, salvation through faith, and a commitment to following Christ's example and teachings. School promotional literature states that following Christ involves having his global perspective and commitment to justice for all people in addition to personal morality.Academics
Originally, the promotional literature of the schools that today form Lancaster Mennonite School indicated an objective of academic parity with the best local public schools, but with a spiritual dimension. More recently, promotional literature has stressed "educational excellence." Lancaster Mennonite's curriculum focuses on: faith formation, fine arts, STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math), world languages, and outdoor education. The school's Guidance Office prepares an annual Academic Profile document that accompanies transcripts sent to colleges. According to this document, the average standardized test scores of Lancaster Mennonite School students are consistently superior to local and state averages for public and church-related schools. The reportedControversy
In 2011, assistant principal Steven J. Geyer was charged with eleven counts of sexual offense including five counts of felony and misdemeanor assault, three counts of felony unlawful contact with a minor and three counts of felony corruption of minors at the Locust Grove Campus. Geyer sexually assaulted three South Korean exchange students ages 12 to 16 from 2009 to 2011 in a camper in his East Lancaster home. At his sentencing a prosecutor likened him to a "sex trafficker" and assistant DA Karen Mansfield stated "He specifically brought these boys to his home for sexual abuse and torture.". Mansfield explained that he chose the South Korean international students because he knew that it would be shameful for them to come forward with the abuse and he targeted them because he knew their culture.Publications
''Silhouette'' is a student literary magazine that publishes the creative work of students. ''Laurel Wreath'' is the yearbook for Lancaster Mennonite High School. The school also publishes ''Bridges'' magazine for alumni, school families and others interested in the school.Alumni of the Year
2021 - Harold Mast, class of 1965, Ruth Mast, class of 1966. Bonnie Croyle class of 2011 2020 - Karen Sensenig, class of 1972 2019 - Glen Lapp, class of 1987, Dean Mast, class of 1984, Jan Mast, class of 1985 2018 - Sara Wenger Shenk, class of 1971, Derick Brubaker, class of 1991 2017 - Karl D. Stotlzfus, class of 1958, Barbara Beiler Stoltzfus, class of 1959,Notable alumni
*References
Further reading
* Kraybill, Donald B. ''Passing on the Faith: The Story of a Mennonite School''. Good Books, 1991.External links