Glade Run announces new name for St. Stephen’s Lutheran Academy
ZELIENOPLE — Glade Run Lutheran Services said it is changing the name of St. Stephen’s Lutheran Academy to Glade Run Academy.
According to the organization, the new name “more accurately represents the diversity of the students we serve and more closely aligns with our agency values of inclusion and excellence” through the K-12 special education service.
Glade Run Lutheran Services is a faith-based organization and nothing about that is going to change, said Steven Green, Glade Run’s CEO and president.
The school, however, does not maintain a strong religious curriculum and the new name will help parents avoid confusion about what kind of program their children are being enrolled in, he said.
“Our students get referred to us by school districts and when they refer to us, usually it’s a special education student struggling in a regular education classroom,” Green said. “They’re confused about what St. Stephen’s is. Sometimes they think it’s a parochial school and think there’s a strong religious curriculum. It creates confusion for schools trying to place children into our education programs. This eliminates confusion for our stakeholders.”
Glade Run Lutheran Services has provided specialized educational services for thousands of K-12 students throughout the region. It is currently contracted with 55 districts in Western Pennsylvania.
The school is licensed by the Department of Education and certified in trauma informed care, positive behavior interventions and supports and therapeutic crisis intervention.
Green said the name change will help things continue to run as “one big happy organization.”
“It’s one of the biggest programs we’ve had, one of strongest programs. Most days, we are at capacity and we’re always looking to increase capacity, but we react to the needs of school districts we contract,” Green said. “Hopefully this connects the organization a little bit for folks.”
The school also has a location in Utica, Venango County.
