New Fund Will Allow More Students to Attend EAA

School and supporters team up to help low-income families with tuition

This year, our school is home to seven new students because of our new Enrollment Growth Fund. Created last year by our marketing committee and financed by several local business people, the fund provides supplemental money for parents who believe strongly in a Christian education for their children but can’t afford full tuition.

The idea, said Wayne Herling, one of the program’s originators and primary contributors, is for the fund to become self-replicating – that is, parents pay what they’re able to each month, with that money being used to help future students.

“This way, they can know that other individuals will be helped in the same manner they were helped,” said Herling, a member of the school’s finance and marketing committees and the father of two students at the academy.

The fund began this year with $16,000. The goal is to start each year with about $30,000, Herling said, adding that as more donors are lined up, the finance committee will look at establishing an endowment fund that will provide tuition assistance through interest earned.

Herling has found individuals and businesses that are willing to contribute up to $20,000 to this fund, if matching monies can be secured.

A large fund could provide money not only for tuition, Herling pointed out, but also for necessities such as technology and other educational tools. Herling had the advantage of an Adventist education and is ready to bring that same blessing to others.

“If it’s possible for me to help someone, then that’s great,” he said. “Hopefully that spirit of helping will allow those we help to gain that insight themselves to contribute.”

The school expects to glean most of its new students through their contact with pastors from the region’s 14 constituent churches. The pastors will nominate for assistance families that are dedicated to providing for their children a school environment that embraces prayer, the sharing of faith, and a solid Christian curriculum.

Offering this opportunity to those who really want it but find the cost prohibitive is an exciting mission that is sure to produce measurable results over the years, said principal Jerry Gilkeson.

“As the cost of living goes up, the cost of Christian education becomes less affordable to parents on limited incomes,” he explained. “But providing this kind of education is part of our church’s philosophy. That’s why we’re doing this.”

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