2025-2026

A Year in Review

"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

Deuteronomy 7:9 | Year Verse

ACT Benchmark Data

Our most recent benchmark ACT data shows Wheaton Academy scoring among the very best public schools in the state of Illinois.

3 National Merit Finalists

Min Min DiGiacoma, Elliot Poland, and Forrest Schauer were selected as a National Merit finalists, placing them in the top 1% of US high school seniors.

Winterim

Winterim 2026 offered over 150 internships, 38 classes, and 11 trips!

Internships

This year, Hannah White launched a new Internship Opportunities page connecting students with 30+ business partners, matching students to experiences aligned with their skills and career goals. Over 80% of students were rated "Excellent" by host organizations, and 72 partners have committed to return.

Selective College Acceptances

Wheaton Academy students earned acceptances at highly selective colleges and universities this year, including Northwestern University, UC Berkley, University of Notre Dame, Cornell University, Boston College, Baylor University, and University of St. Andrews (Scotland).

Best Practices Intensives

This June, the Wheaton Academy Institute will host its Best Practices Intensives conference, a faculty training experience for 300 Christian educators from across the nation. This year's conference is completely sold out, a testament to Wheaton Academy's reputation as a leader in Christian education.

Blue Ribbon Awards

Wheaton Academy has received two prestigious awards recognizing outstanding academic achievement in 2025: the Governor’s Blue Ribbon School Award from the State of Illinois and the CAPE Blue Ribbon School Award.

Math

Wheaton Academy’s Math Team won our second back-to-back ICTM Division 2A State Championship at Illinois State University.

David Rivera: Teacher of the Year

Thank you, David Rivera, for all the ways you go above and beyond to live out the mission of Wheaton Academy!

The Warrior Magazine

Ben Anliker and Ollie Williams launched The Warrior, a student-run magazine, giving students hands-on experience in journalism, editing, photography, writing, and graphic design.

DECA

Seven Wheaton Academy students competed at the Illinois DECA Career Development Conference. Grace Jo and Josie Schuldt placed 1st and 4th in their events, qualifying to compete at DECA Nationals in Atlanta!

HOSA

In its first year, Wheaton Academy's HOSA chapter sent four students to the Illinois HOSA State Leadership Conference, reflecting our growing investment in biomedical science and healthcare career pathways.

Career Panels

This year Wheaton Academy launched an Industry Career Panel Series, welcoming professionals from the medical and business/finance fields to connect students with real-world career paths.

Academy by Design

Academy by Design students are designing a WA Café for the atrium. Students are prototyping drinks and bringing their human-centered design skills to a space that the whole school community will enjoy.

Best Christian Workplace

This year, Wheaton Academy recertified as a “flourishing” Best Christian Workplace, reaching the 89th percentile among Christian schools nationwide. The survey asks our faculty and staff to rate key factors that contribute to a healthy work environment. Teachers reported feeling cared for, invested in, and encouraged to grow in their roles. A clear emphasis on professional development and personal investment is reflected in our flourishing score. The execution of Wheaton’s compensation and rewards model proved to be a key strength, setting a high standard within the Christian school sector.

Gifts to the Warrior Fund make it possible for us to retain, reward, and invest in the Living Curriculum Teachers who, in turn, disciple students and contribute to a flourishing workplace.

The Wheaton Academy mission is not just words—it is a reality. I am consistently amazed at the level of excellence achieved under teachers and coaches, the depth and variety of relationships between classmates and with faculty, and the servant-hearted attitude of so many of the members of the school. For a normal high school, one or two of these attributes might be present; at Wheaton Academy, all three are flourishing. But the foundation that firmly holds them all together is the most beautiful part. Our foundation is to do everything to glorify and worship the Lord.

Elliot

A National Merit Finalist, Elliot competes on the two-time state championship-winning Math Team, plays Varsity Tennis and Golf, and participates in multiple instrumental ensembles.

10 Athletes Signed

Ten senior athletes signed to play in college.

Leading FCA Youth Programs

Student-athletes led FCA Wheaton Christian Grammar School and are involved in coaching and instructing in multiple FCA youth programs.

Golf Simulator

A new golf simulator, made possible by the Warrior Fund, gave our golf teams the ability to train year-round regardless of weather.

NCSAA National Recognition

Mason Brooke '27 was named the NCSAA Boys' Fall Varsity Soccer Large School National Player of the Year — the association's highest individual honor — after recording 27 goals and 20 assists and leading the Warriors to a 20–4–1 season.

Team Travel

Warrior teams continue to use team travel as a cultural component of Wheaton Academy athletics. This Winterim, the Boys Basketball team traveled to Houston. Baseball headed to Florida and Lacrosse to Indiana over Spring Break, while Girls Soccer and Boys Lacrosse traveled to Michigan for out-of-state competition.

Notable Athletic Successes

The 2025-26 athletic year featured an IHSA Boys Lacrosse State Championship, a Boys Golf third-place state finish, eight individual state titles, fifteen teams advancing in post-season competition, and ten programs earning Chicagoland Christian Conference championships.

FALL

Boys Soccer: Conference Champions; 17–3–1 record; Regional Champions and Sectional Finalists.

Boys Golf: 3rd place at IHSA State Tournament. Owen Coniaris placed 5th in state, Nick Ratini 7th. Conference Campions.

Girls Golf: All-Conference: Eva Marquez and Anne Fellows. Conference Champions

Girls Tennis: Conference Champions; 16–3–2 record. Lizzie Scheidt: Sectional Champion, Top 12 in state (First Singles). Rachel Hayes and Claudia Gula qualified for state in 2nd doubles.

Girls Cross Country: Conference Champions; 4th at IHSA State Finals.

Boys Cross Country: Luke Osterholm advanced to Sectionals.

Girls Volleyball: Qualified for IHSA Sectionals.

WINTER

Wrestling: Lincoln Hoger ’26 set a new career wins record (173) and placed 4th at State. Tyler Jones ’26 placed 5th at State with total career win of 143. Cate Diehl ’29 made history as an individual wrestler at Wheaton Academy, placing 3rd at the IHSA Girls State Tournament as a freshman.

Boys Basketball: Claimed a Regional Championship and were Sectional Finalists.

Girls Basketball:
Advanced to the Regional Semi-Finals.

Cheer
Continues to grow in both numbers and competitive strength, narrowly missing qualification for the state series this season.

SPRING

Lacrosse: Sectional Champions, Super-Sectional Champions, and IHSA State Champions (second state title in program history).

Baseball: Conference Champions; finished with a 29–9 record. Regional Champions and advanced to the IHSA Sectional Semifinals.

Boys Tennis: Conference Champions. Both first and second doubles teams qualified for the IHSA State Tournament.

Girls Track & Field: Advanced nine athletes to the IHSA State Finals. Maggie Clousing, Adeline Farrell, Kaiah Pyykkonen, and Sydnie Becker earned All-State honors as members of the 4×800-meter relay team, placing 6th in the Class 2A State Finals. Sydnie Becker also qualified for the state finals in the 800-meter run, finishing 12th in the state.

Boys Track & Field: Advanced seven athletes to the IHSA State Finals. Senior Griff Schlenbecker earned All-State honors in the high jump, finishing 7th in the state.

Boys Volleyball: Conference Champions and advanced to the Regional Finals.

Girls Soccer: Conference Champions, Regional Champions, and advanced to the IHSA Sectional Finals.

Softball: Vivian Brummel and Emily From were named All-Conference selections. Qualified for the IHSA Sectionals.

Everyone here at Wheaton Academy— from teachers to sports teams, to people in administration—they all emphasize doing everything to give God the glory. My soccer coaches encourage me to rely on the Lord and His plan through everything that the world throws at me. They have loved me through my ups and downs and have always supported me when I need it the most.

Annika

Annika has been a four-year member of the Varsity Girls Soccer team and will continue her athletic career playing Soccer at Wheaton College.

Studio 22

WATV and Sports Broadcasting students produced over 20 episodes of WATV and 30 livestream athletic broadcasts this year. Looking ahead, new curricular pathways will expand the video program in 2026–2027.

Performing Arts Tours

Our Concert Choir and Instrumental Program both toured nationally!

Les Misérables

Academy Theatre took on one of the most ambitious musicals in the theatrical canon this year: a sung-through production of Les Misérables exploring themes of grace, sacrifice, and redemption that mirror the gospel.

Artfest

Our visual arts program hosted Artfest, an art show featuring work from students across the Chicagoland Christian Conference.

ILMEA

Four Wheaton Academy students earned All-State recognition from ILMEA this year: Adelyn Cathey '27 and Claire Jeong '28 (All-State Orchestra), Bryan Edmonstone '26 (Honors Choir), and Toby Morden '26 (Honors Band).

"One of the ways I feel most connected to God is through music. I have found Christ through the choir program where we sing valuable truths about the Gospel and Christ’s love. On tour, I saw how these truths personally blessed our audiences."

Min Min

A National Merit Finalist, Min Min competes on the Math and Robotics teams and sings in Choir. She also serves on evangelism teams engaging in local outreach and international missions.

Spiritual Life Week: Zach Cunningham

Wheaton Academy's 2026 Spiritual Life Week centered on the theme Salt and Light from Matthew 5:13–16. Guest speaker Zach Cunningham, lead pastor of King's Church in Denton, Texas, challenged students to consider how following Jesus should set their lives apart.

Expository Preaching

Students from the Expository Preaching class delivered chapel messages.

Evangelism Team

A group of students from Wheaton Academy and Wheaton North gather regularly to share the good news of Jesus at Woodfield Mall. Another team of students spent Winterim in Scotland, where they were trained in street evangelism.

Senior Trip

Senior Trip 2026 brought the Class of 2026 to Real Life Camp in Vero Beach, Florida for a week of reflection, and worship. Sessions centered on God's faithfulness, navigating seasons of transition, and a redeemed vision of success.

Service

Meet some of our long-term service partners:

Students tutor local elementary school students through Puente Del Pueblo every Friday.
Students organized on campus events supporting World Relief
Each month, students serve at By the Hand and Moving Everest in Austin.
Students offer music and encouragement at Windsor Park throughout the school year.

Student-Led Prayer

Throughout the year, students gathered on Monday mornings at 7:30 for a time of prayer over their community, their families, the global Church, and one another.

Honoring Steve Bult

This May, Wheaton Academy celebrated Head of School Steve Bult as he concludes 20 years of leadership at Wheaton Academy.

Celebrating Wheaton Academy's 172nd Birthday

Birthday gifts to the Warrior Fund helped us continue to maximize transformational learning experiences.

Welcoming Mike Rogers

This summer, Wheaton Academy welcomes Michael Rogers as its 40th Head of School. Mike is the founder and Executive Director of Moving Everest Charter School in Chicago, where he grew the school from 180 students to a thriving K-8 institution of 750 over more than a decade. An experienced school builder with deep roots in Christian education, Mike was unanimously selected by the Board of Trustees following a comprehensive and prayerful search. We are grateful for the Lord’s guidance in this process and excited for the future he will help build at Wheaton Academy.

Celebrating The Class of 2026

As we celebrate the achievements of the Class of 2026, we thank God for his faithfulness to these students over the last four years.

Strategic Plan: Year Three

We are concluding Year Three of our Five Year Strategic Plan. This year, WA laid the groundwork for its first Classical Cohort, launching in 2027. A dual credit task force produced a guide to help families understand and maximize college credit opportunities. And the Warrior Fund set a higher giving goal of $1.75 million, continuing to support excellent and accessible educational opportunities for students. See how these initiatives and others are advancing our strategic goals!

The Warrior Fund

Because tuition only covers a portion of the cost of a Wheaton Academy student’s experience, your gift to the Warrior Fund is vital! Your generosity sustains expansive and transformative opportunities, so that we are able to remain fully committed to educating the whole person—heart, mind, soul, and strength (Luke 10:27).