MERCED -- St. Luke's Anglican School will celebrate its 45 years as a Merced institution June 1 with a campus party and farewell celebration for students, alumni, parents, teachers and staff.

The school, at 350 W. Yosemite Ave., which now serves only preschoolers and kindergartners, will close for good June 5.

"It's sad that we're closing, but we have so many happy memories to share," said Jani Clarke. She co-founded the school in 1967 with JoAnne Wright, and was its head teacher from 1967-75, and again from 1999-2001,

Reporter Doane Yawger can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or __lt__a href="mailto:dyawger@mercedsunstar.com"__gt__dyawger@mercedsunstar.com__lt__/a__gt__.

Rummaging through old photos to be displayed June 1, Clarke recalled students and parents she had not seen in years but remembered well.

"The school has always had such a good family atmosphere," Clarke said. "I knew the parents well. They were required to be involved, and indeed they were. They helped enormously with the annual auction, and also gave their time and talents on campus."

Clarke said the mission of the school has been to provide a safe and loving environment where children can exceed academically.

"It's a Christian school, but parents of many faiths sent their children here because of the education and care they would receive," she said. "Our teachers have always been excellent. All were credentialed and committed to nurturing the whole child."

Although many students came from privileged homes, St. Luke's offered scholarships to lower- income families, made possible by its annual auction.

Castle Air Force Base also provided students. In its heyday, the school that began with 16 preschool and 11 kindergarten students grew to well beyond 200 pupils, and included a middle school.

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St. Luke's will say goodbye