A Brief History

The school at Bethesda opened in 1980 with an enrollment of eight students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each year a grade was added so that eventually the staff reached the size of three teachers. During the course of the years as circumstances changed, so did the number of, grades, students and staff.

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The facility for the first 11 years was in the Education Building of Bethesda Lutheran Church. Due to growth in 1981, an addition was added to the basic building. In 1992, a completely new educational structure was built as an addition to the existing church structure and serves as the school today.  

 

In 2010 the preschool (ELC) was added, and in 2018 South Dakota Department of Social Services approved a licensed Child Care program.

 

The Bethesda Lutheran School mascot is the Bald Eagle which comes to us from our school Bible verse which is Isaiah 40:31. The school colors are maroon and gold.

 

Bethesda Lutheran School and Early Learning Center is part of a larger body of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Schools consisting of nearly 1,800 early childhood centers, 785 elementary schools, and 96 Lutheran high schools across the nation.