{"id":1019,"date":"2026-06-10T19:56:41","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/?p=1019"},"modified":"2026-06-15T19:58:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T19:58:32","slug":"shepherd-found-a-way-and-so-did-they","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/2026\/06\/10\/shepherd-found-a-way-and-so-did-they\/","title":{"rendered":"Shepherd Found a Way\u2014and So Did They"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This year\u2019s 5th graders began their journey at Shepherd during the uncertainty of a global pandemic, when stores were closed, gatherings were limited, and families and schools searched for a way forward. But Shepherd believed then what we still believe now: students need to learn, families need community, and children need a safe and loving place to belong. So, Shepherd found a way.<br><br>These 5th graders began kindergarten in masks, on unusual schedules, with cleaning days in the middle of the week, and with changes over and over again as their school years began. The changes were not easy. But today, they are young leaders, problem-solvers, and soon-to-be middle school students. Their growth has been remarkable.<br><br>What\u2019s truly special about this class of graduating 5th graders is that <strong>half of our 18 graduates have been enrolled at Shepherd Community Academy since Pre-K, starting in our K3 &amp; K4 classes.<\/strong> That\u2019s over 7 years of consistent, caring relationships\u2014years of being loved, seen, and knowing their potential, as well as receiving wrap-around care, nutritious meals, and a safe environment to grow. They have excelled academically with exceptional test scores while overcoming adversity and uncertainty.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t just take our word for it. We asked our 5th Grade Graduates to share with us about their time at Shepherd Community Academy, their future aspirations, advice for the next generation of students, and what hope means to them. Here are just a few of our favorite responses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u201cHope means finding people who help you in times that you need them.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Adrian.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cBecause of Shepherd, I feel better. I feel like I am getting smarter at everything.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Bryntyn<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd has made me, and my family\u2019s lives better and easier.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Camila<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd has made me good, brave, kind, and better.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Danny<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd has taught me a lot about God. People are nice here [at Shepherd], and it is fun.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Dylan<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cWhen I am older, I want to be a doctor.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Emmanuel<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cI would tell younger Academy students to do hard things.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Erick<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd has helped me learn important things without the pressure. And I\u2019ve learned to be honest, even when it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Genesis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cWhen I grow up, I want to be a teacher or work at Shepherd.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Hope<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd made me who I am today.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Isaac<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201c[At Shepherd] I have learned that there will always be problems, but they can be fixed.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Johnny<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cHope means trusting that something will happen, having faith, and is a gift that God gives us.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Judith<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd Community Academy taught me how to speak English!\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Keysers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cWhen I grow up, I want to be a marine biologist.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Leile<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cShepherd is a great school with very kind teachers who will help you with a lot.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Kylani<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cBecause of Shepherd, I have all my friends. I will miss my friends, the food, and the teachers here.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Leo<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019ve seen myself grow academically mostly in reading, writing, and math.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Nehemiah<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cI want to be an archaeologist or a space explorer when I grow up.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Vanessa<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><br>As our fifth graders enter middle school, we know they will face change. We will continue to walk alongside them, just as God does for us. We trust in the unchanging God who goes with them, we pray they bring good change into every hallway and conversation\u2014solving problems, building relationships, staying curious, deepening faith, and sharing Christ\u2019s hope, kindness, courage, and love.<br><br>Today and every day, we celebrate what God is doing in our students&#8217; lives, made possible by the generous support of our donors, volunteers, and partners. We are thankful, blessed, and cheering on these students and the bright future God has in store for them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This year\u2019s 5th graders began their journey at Shepherd during the uncertainty of a global pandemic, when stores were closed, gatherings were limited, and families and schools searched for a way forward. But Shepherd believed then what we still believe now: students need to learn, families need community, and children need a safe and loving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-shepherd-community-academy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upliftindy.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}