Wellington private school stays open after plans to close

WELLINGTON, Kan. (KSNW) — Wellington Christian Academy was on the brink of closure after the 2022-23 school year. The school sent a notice to parents and teachers announcing the closure at the end of the year, but many in the community didn’t want to see that happen.

“I was just kind of feeling like, you know, we’re wrapping this thing up, and it’s the end, and it’s been a great 20 years,” Principal John Showman said. “And now we’re very optimistic. And I can’t say enough for our people in our community that have helped to step up, and it’s not an easy time for giving either.”

Now, it is open for the 2023-24 school year.

“We had many people from the community step forward,” Showman said. “We’ve had some donations. We’re in the process of securing other funding that basically people stepped up saying, hey, we want to have Wellington Christian Academy continue. If we were to close it down and start from scratch, we wouldn’t have the quality of education.”

In early 2023, the founders and long-time supporters of the school said they were no longer able to support the school. That, mixed with inflation, created problems for the school.

“We face everything that is affecting everybody, which is really inflation and costs of not only instructional materials, energy, maintenance, and also trying to keep up with the salary and pay scale for our staff,” Showman said.

The community raised enough money to keep the school open another year, but they are still looking for more support and hoping to expand enrollment. This year, they’ve had the largest enrollment yet.

Teacher and parent Trisha Skupa said when they first thought the school was closing, it was confusing.

“It just was like a death in the family to me,” Skupa said. “I was so very sad. For two weeks after, I didn’t know how to react, what to think. The school has been my life. Right out of college, I began teaching here. I have two daughters in this school, and it was heartbreaking a year ago.”

She was determined not to give up.

“It’s just been a really big blessing to see everybody come together and work for the common good of these kids,” Skupa said. “We have over 100 students in this school.”

She says in the past, they haven’t had many fundraisers. Now, that has changed, and they are taking it one year at a time.

“We teach about being servants to others,” Skupa said. “In this world, we need more of that. We need people looking out for each other, helping one another. We teach the fruits of the spirit that we need to show kindness, gentleness, patience with one another. It starts at a young age, and I truly believe that if that carries over, we’ll have the next generation of leaders, and they will be good leaders for us.”

They will be having a chili fundraiser on Feb. 18.