Lutheran South's biggest flaw is their discrimination--not just from the students, but from the…read moreteachers and staff. Minority groups that are targeted are: people who struggle with mental illness or invisible disabilities, people of color, anyone within the lgbtq spectrum, and females. I can give a number of examples for each.
Despite what Lutheran South claims, their resources (dubbed "The Resource Room") for those with disabilities is lackluster. It's stated to be a calm environment for the students to get help with assignments, yet it's anything but. Both students and the teachers talk in areas which are supposed to be quiet--an issue for anyone who struggles with attention and feeling overwhelmed--about matters unrelated to the work being done. I remember making up a test in the resource room and I was unable to focus due to two of the staff members loudly talking about their lunch plans right in front of me. This has happened multiple times with differing staff members in the resource room. I've even seen the staff make unrelated conversation with the students during tests in this room.
Freshmen and their families are often not informed of the existence of the resource room. Even when someone learns about it, the process of getting in makes it near impossible and quite overwhelming--a situation which should be avoided considering how the people who need this are more likely to get overwhelmed easier.
This brings me into my next issue: the poor communication. I've seen students come back from the hospital with accommodations needed to keep them alive denied by teachers due to poor communication. This was not a one-time thing. It happened a number of times with multiple teachers. The excuse given by the teachers was "they didn't get the email from the other staff about the accommodation."
On the treatment of students with disabilities, anyone who has disorders regarding sensory sensitivity, severe anxiety around crowds, eating disorders, etc are mistreated and harassed by some staff members. The principal and a few others staff members made passive aggressive comments and harassed multiple students at the school because of their autism, severe anxiety, etc.
Racism is an issue at Lutheran South as well, mainly among freshmen and sophomores. Fortunately, the staff does try to reprimand those who make racist comments. However, I would still be aware of this if you were putting your child into Lutheran South. On the topic of race, the school generally isn't very diverse. I'd say around 20% of the student body are people of color.
LGBTQ individuals are targeted by Lutheran South's teachers and fellow students. If a student is accused of being gay, they are sent to the student counselor by the teacher. Luckily, the counselors are kind and won't punish you for the crime of existence. I remember this happened to two different students back in my freshmen year. A year after that, a freshmen boy was bullied out of the school by both his peers and one of the theology teachers for wearing nail polish. Quite a few teachers have a clear distain for anything related to homosexuality and transgenderism, often spreading misinformation to the students about them. Recently, a teacher inappropriately stated, "Girls used to be anorexic if they're insecure. Now, they're just transgender" to a class during a conversation of transgenderism.
Misogyny is an issue as well. Teenage boys will harass their female peers and get away with it. If a girl and a boy would do the same thing, the girl would get a harsher punishment or blamed for the boy's behavior. However, I'd say that this issue has decreased since the new dean of students came in: Scott Akerson. He's a wonderful and very needed addition to Lutheran South's staff, being one of the few staff members who truly represent Christ.
The last issue I've had at the school is how it handles religion. Generally, the school teaches the students that they are terrible beings who deserve to go to hell all because they exist. The "No True Scotsman" fallacy is used constantly to undermine the faith of anyone who isn't "passionate enough" about Christianity.
Also, I have had the misfortune of witnessing teachers, staff members, and school associates promote odd things with the excuse of religion. This ranges from a teacher defending a Lutheran pastor who was arrested for holding CP because "he will apologize and go to heaven", putting up dozens of mini crosses outside of the school to "represent the babies lost to abortion" during Easter, also during Easter: 3 students in each Athletic performance class had to take turns carrying the weight of the cross using a 300 pound barbell around the school's perimeter, and producing an article that claims that a man's cancer (and his doctor's inability to notice it in time) is punishment for God for being a "lukewarm Christian."
Overall, the school is okayat best. At worst, it's toxic and mistreats the students who go there.
