King's Schools
| King's Schools | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
Shoreline , WA United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private Christian |
| Motto | Inspiring hearts and equipping minds to serve God for His glory. |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Christian |
| Established | 1950 |
| Color(s) | Red and White |
| Mascot | Knights |
| Website | http://www.kingsschools.org |
King's Schools is a private Christian school, Preschool through 12th grade, located in Shoreline, Washington. 98% of the graduates of King's High School go on to higher education.
History
King's was founded in 1950 by Mike and Vivian Martin.[1] Originally called "King's Garden", the school's roots were in weekly Bible studies and fellowship meetings in the Martin's home.
Controversy over Anti-LGBTQ stance
In September 2019, it was revealed through multiple media sources around the globe that King's Schools (and their parent organization Crista Ministries), had hardened their stance on acceptance of homosexuality at the school.[2][3][4][5]
This policy required teachers to disavow same-sex relationships, both on the job and in their personal lives.[6] It further required that they teach that homosexuality is “a result of the failure to worship God,” a belief that has little to no biblical support.[2] Once notified of this policy, numerous teachers left of their own accord and more were forced out of the school.[7] However, non-disclosure agreements prevented many of those teachers from speaking about the issue and the true impact on the school.[3] Megan Troutman, an English teacher who left as a result of the new policy, noted that she "cannot, in good faith or conscience, teach in a place that creates policies that negatively impact an entire section of the student population...I could not be complicit in a policy that could harm or ostracize any student.” [3]
As a result of these actions, many families left the school because they did not support or did not want to fund a discriminatory organization.[7] It was expected that many more teachers and families would follow suit, raising questions about the direction that doctrinal direction that King's School would take, with many concerned over extreme right-wing influences.[8] Comments on social media and other platforms indicated an increasing divide between groups supporting King's anti-LGBTQ stance and those opposing it.[9][10] Much of the blame for the new policy was attributed to Jacinta Tegman, the new CEO of Crista Ministries.[3] Tegman was formerly the executive director of "Sound the Alarm," which sought to use political action to repeal gay marriage as well as legal protections for LGBTQ citizens.[11] Tegman's effort, Referendum 65, ultimately failed as she was unable to obtain enough signatures to place it on the ballot.[12]
References
- ^ "Our History". CRISTA Ministries. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
- ^ a b "Teachers quit in protest over what they consider anti-gay policy at Christian school in Shoreline". The Seattle Times. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ a b c d "Teachers quit over anti-gay policy at Christian high school". HeraldNet.com. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ "Teachers are quitting a Christian school which teaches children that homosexuality is 'unnatural'". PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. 2019-09-10. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ US News. "Teachers Resign Over Policy Considered Anti-Gay".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Seattle-area teachers resign over policy considered anti-gay". KOMO. Associated Press. 2019-09-09. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ a b Grande, Alison (2019-09-10). "Teachers, students leave King's Schools over anti-gay religious beliefs". KIRO. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Bollinger, Alex (2019-09-09). "This Christian school is getting more anti-LGBTQ. So teachers are quitting". www.lgbtqnation.com. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Facebook. "King's Schools is Anti-Lgbt+". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
{{cite web}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Faith and Freedom Net. "CRISTA Ministries and King's High School Labeled "Anti-Gay"--Teachers Quit".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Local News | Effort to repeal state gay-rights law gathers momentum from pulpit | Seattle Times Newspaper". community.seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- ^ Washington Secretary of State. "History of Referendum Measures". www.sos.wa.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
