There are many ways in which Lutheran schools are special and a blessing to students and families. Students remember their Lutheran school as a special place when they were growing up, and in some cases, it leads them back to their alma mater to serve. That is the case with four former Lutheran school students who are now administrators at their former schools. Jennifer Lee is the principal at Zion Lutheran School in San Francisco, California, Dale Munsch is the principal at St. Peter Lutheran School in Lodi, California, Joy Dahl is the Preschool Director at St. John’s Lutheran School in Napa, California, and Lihau Lewis the Preschool Director at Emmanuel Lutheran School in Kahului, Hawaii.
During this Lutheran Schools Week, we are highlighting each of these individuals. Here are their stories...
JENNIFER LEE
was born and raised in the very city she now serves. Her parents made a decision back when she was 4 years old that the public school she was set to attend was not a safe place, so they looked around for a private school. They chose to enroll her in the Pre-Kindergarten class at Zion Lutheran School in San Francisco, California which resulted in where she spent her formative elementary years. She attended a well-respected high school and went on to college and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Education and a master’s degree in Educational Administration. As she was looking for a job sharing her resume with various public school districts, the holy spirit prompted her to drop by Zion just to visit. As Jenn describes this and many important points in her life, it was a “God moment.” She found out that Zion was now looking for a teacher to fill the very grade level position she was praying for. It did not take Jenn long to see this is where she wanted to be. God had always placed on her heart to be a teacher. She further stated that she came across an old journal [as an adult] from third grade stating she wanted to be a “Lutheran school teacher” one day but had completely forgotten about that entry. Now she felt this is where God wanted her to be. At the time of returning to Zion as a staff member, Jenn had never been baptized, and so with the encouragement of her former principal, she was baptized at a school chapel service during her first year of teaching. After teaching 5th grade for several years and serving as the assistant principal, she moved up as a middle school teacher. That year she also completed her Colloquy to be a Called Commissioned Minister in the LCMS. She served as an interim principal twice, the second time in 2015. It was at this time that she felt a real call to be a principal. So, in 2016 Jenn was officially extended a Call as the principal of Zion Lutheran School, a position she still holds.
Jenn looks back and sees how instrumental the Lord was in her journey to become a Lutheran school teacher and principal. She is passionate about serving at Zion and the blessing of the teaching ministry. Jenn believes that the value of Lutheran schools is the connection between teachers and students. The relationships that are created are genuine and continue to be important long after a student leaves school. Having the relationships she had with former Zion teachers was and still are important in her life and a key reason for her choice to become a Lutheran teacher. Now as a principal and teacher, she loves to keep connected with her former students. As she encourages students to look at the role of faith in their lives, she can empathize with how her teachers encouraged her faith walk. This story is a great example of how the legacy of Lutheran teaching impacts the students in Lutheran schools “so that the next generation will know” – and maybe become Lutheran teachers themselves!
DALE MUNSCH
was born in South Dakota, but his family moved to Lodi, California when he was 4 years old. The family were members of a Lutheran church in South Dakota, so when they moved to Lodi, they quickly joined and became active members at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Lodi. When Dale turned 5, he joined his three older siblings and was enrolled in kindergarten at St. Peter Lutheran School. He attended St. Peter through 8th grade, graduating in 1976. After attending Lodi High School, Dale attended Delta junior college for one year and then attended Humphreys College in Stockton, California, graduating with an associate’s degree in technology in 1983. After working in the area of technology at a number of businesses, he went back to school and completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 1992. He then worked for Lodi Unified School District for 20 years as a Director of Technology. Dale was always very active in the congregation at St. Peter Lutheran Church serving as an elder, President of the congregation on two separate occasions, coaching at the school, and even completing the Deacon Program through the CNH District’s Mission Training Center (MTC). All three of his children attended St. Peter Lutheran School.
After he retired from Lodi Unified School District in 2017, he was asked to join the staff at St. Peter Lutheran Church as the Operations Manager to help with the business management and HR for the church and school. After retirement, Dale felt a calling to spend the next chapter of his life fulfilling a desire to serve the church that had served him so well. He took the job, but after two years the school was looking for a new principal. Dale felt a desire to serve in leadership and continue a ministry that he felt so strongly about. So, in 2019 he became the principal at St. Peter Lutheran School right as the COVID pandemic hit. Like so many other leaders, he helped the school weather this difficult time with the school coming out stronger as a result. For Dale, the success and viability of the school is important and very personal to him.
St. Peter Lutheran School had a tremendous impact on Dale’s life. He feels strongly that the primary strength of Lutheran schools is the relationship between teachers and students. He felt that his teachers always genuinely wanted to help him and other students in his class. The sense of community that was built by teachers at St. Peter created some strong bonds among the students as well. Dale’s class at St. Peter continued to stay close and connected for a long time after they graduated from the school. This is what motivates him to encourage the teachers and staff at St. Peter to emphasize relationships with students and serving them well. Dale highly values customer service, which he says should be a high priority at a Lutheran school. He also feels that the goal of their school should not only be quality education but also what a student is like when they graduate from St. Peter. The goal should be to help lead students to be caring and loving followers of Christ. Dale strives to continue the positive impact of St. Peter Lutheran School’s ministry that was such a blessing to him.
JOY DAHL
was born and raised in Napa, California. Her parents were not Christians until shortly after Joy was born. Her mom’s cousin passed away, and it was the spark that led her and her husband to Christ. When Joy was about to start preschool, her parents were looking for a Christian school and found St. John’s Lutheran School. They enrolled Joy and her siblings at the school although they had no connection to the church or school (here is a link to a story about the Perez family). Joy attended St. John’s from preschool through 8th grade. After she graduated from Vintage High School in 2001, Joy attended University of California Davis and Napa Valley College before graduating from Sonoma State University with a degree in Sociology in 2007. Her goal was to be a social worker and work with women and children. For a while, she worked at her father’s electrical contracting business, but in 2009 she started substitute teaching at St. John’s Preschool. That led to the school hiring her to be a preschool teacher in 2012. During this time, Joy wanted her two sons to be baptized at St. John’s and become a member. In April of 2016, her six- and eight-year-old son along with her husband, Kevin, were baptized, and she completed the pastor’s classes to become a member of St. John’s Lutheran Church. After five years as a teacher, she was asked to be the assistant director for the preschool. After the director at the time retired in 2021, Joy was hired as the preschool director. Beside her teaching and director duties, Joy has been involved in coaching middle school basketball, leading VBS each summer, and serving as a confirmation guide since 2019. In 2022, she was encouraged by the school to get a Colloquy, which would make her a Commissioned Minister and rostered worker in the LCMS. Although she was very interested in pursuing this goal, since she did not have an education degree, she was not eligible. With the efforts of the school administrator, the pastor, and the CNH District Office, she was given a special waiver and proceeded to complete her Colloquy in 2023. For Joy, the Colloquy process was so valuable as it pulled together the many lessons she had learned as a St. John’s student and helped her have a clearer understanding of Lutheran doctrine and practice.
Joy feels so blessed to have attended St. John’s Lutheran School as a student and to teach and work there as well. As a student, Joy credits the committed and loving teachers that she had, stating that many of them became integral part of her family’s lives. She remembers a loving, tight-knit community that was exemplified by close relationships among students, their families, and with the teachers. Even as a student, she knew that teachers and others in the school community were praying for each other on a regular basis. This was just part of the environment she can remember experiencing. She felt very fortunate that her class at St. John’s was very close, and she is still connected with most of them almost 30 years later. As a teacher, she credits the examples and close relationships of the teaching staff who participate in annual retreats and daily devotions. She was blessed to be mentored by her mother, who was also a preschool teacher at St. John’s for many years.
Joy feels strongly that the goal of Lutheran schools, especially preschools is to help guide students so that by the time they leave, they know Jesus loves them as a personal Savior. She further strives to make students so excited about their faith that they go home and tell their parents what they are learning and share with them the songs they sing, especially if they are in a non-Christian home. Joy and her preschool staff get excited when parents come to them and ask questions about what their child is learning and how they can get a list of the songs they sing. She feels that Lutheran schools bring so much value and so many blessings to non-Christian households. Even for Christian homes, Joy knows from experience just how much a Lutheran school can enrich a family’s walk of faith!
LIHAU LEWIS
was born and raised on Maui in Hawaii. Her family were members at Emmanuel Lutheran Church where she was baptized and confirmed. Lihau’s father worked for Maui Land & Pineapple Co. and her mom has been the kindergarten teacher at Emmanuel for over 30 years. Lihau attended Emmanuel Lutheran School from Kindergarten through 6th grade (which was the highest grade at the time). She then attended public middle and high school on Maui, graduating in 2005. After graduation, Lihau attended Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. However, after just one year, she was homesick and decided to transfer to Concordia University Nebraska where her sister was also a student. Lihau graduated from Concordia University Nebraska in 2010 with a BA in Elementary Education with an Art emphasis. After college, she was married to JaMaine Lewis and moved to Phoenix, Arizona taking a Call to Christ the Redeemer as a 3/4th grade teacher. After a couple of years, she and her husband moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she taught 3rd and 6th grade for one year. In 2013, she stepped down from teaching after her son was born. In 2018, the Preschool Director at Emmanuel Maui was retiring and they asked Lihau to take the Call as the Director at Emmanuel. She has been in that position since 2019, and in 2023 started to also teach 2nd grade.
Lihau feels that Emmanuel had an impact on her in a variety of ways. Emmanuel was a small school and a tight knit community. She said that her experience in that community helped her to know who she was as a strong Christian, which helped her as she entered public middle and high school. Her teachers had a deep influence on her and were models and examples for her as a person and also a teacher. She still uses some of their teacher units and lessons in her own teaching. It has been interesting and fun teaching with former teachers today. One of the longtime teachers that she now teaches with is her mom. This took some adjustment, but they now work well together, and she is very appreciative of the things her mom has taught her. Lihau enjoys what she does. She loves working with kids and watching them grow and develop over the years. One of the unique aspects of her preschool is the fact that for over 50 years, the church and school staff have to weekly convert the sanctuary at Emmanuel into preschool rooms and back again. The sanctuary building was actually originally designed with this purpose in mind. It takes the teachers about 20 minutes to make this conversion each week. Emmanuel’s preschool has an enrollment of 33 served by six dedicated teachers and staff. Besides teaching 2nd grade and serving as the Preschool Director, Lihau also coaches volleyball at the school, a sport she played growing up and in which she still has a passion.
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