This year, Westlake Lutheran Academy’s first graduating class has climbed to sophomores as the academy continues its high school expansion, Head of School Stacey Walter said.
What’s happening?
Since 2016, the school has enrolled students up to eighth grade. Before that, it was elementary-only. In the past, students—some of whom had started at Westlake as preschoolers—would leave for high school.
With no other Lutheran schools in the area, Walter said students would attend other Christian academies with a longer commute or switch to public school. But back when the middle school was opened in 2016, parents had been promised a high school, too.
Since there was a high demand, Walter started planning for the high school expansion in 2023. Last school year, Westlake enrolled its first high school students as freshmen. In 2027, those students will have their own building, currently under construction on campus.
The high school building will be home to indoor and outdoor collaborative work spaces, a state-of-the-art science lab and a multipurpose space for events.
Why it matters
Middle and high school Principal Tim Gast said the school is growing rapidly, which he attributed to a combination of population growth in the Katy-Fulshear area and the increased accessibility of private schools through the Texas Education Freedom Accounts program.
“The community continues to grow more and more, and parents continue to value options when trying to figure out what is best for their kids,” Gast said. “Parents have decided to take advantage of TEFA to be able to find something that they feel is a better fit for their kid’s educational experience.”
As part of that experience, Gast and Walter said Westlake puts emphasis on preparing students for a variety of future careers. Parents and community members come in to answer questions and introduce students to their fields.
“By the time they are juniors, they should hopefully have a pretty good idea of what kind of careers they want to explore,” Walter said. “They know what universities or trade schools, or whatever it might be, might help support that.”
The impact
Gast said the growth of the school is integral to its mission as part of the Lutheran church.
“What I like to tell people is, schools are supposed to be excellent in academics,” he said. “If you’re a school, you should be striving for that but two of our other core values would be loving relationships and walking with Jesus. The educational journey is a partnership, and part of that partnership is developing relationships with the student and their family. You’re doing life together.”
