King's Schools
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| 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 | Knight |
| Website | http://www.kingsschools.org |
King's Schools is a private Christian school, serving preschool through 12th grade, located in Shoreline, Washington, United States. It is the largest single-campus Christian school in the state, and is part of the CRISTA family of ministries.
History
[edit]King's was founded in 1950 by Mike and Vivian Martin.[1]
Academics and athletics
[edit]98% of King's High School graduates pursue higher education following graduation. The high school offers 11 concurrent college credit courses through a partnership with Northwest University.[citation needed]
The school's cheer team won the 2024 USA Spirit Nationals competition.[2]
Controversy over anti-LGBTQ stance
[edit]In September 2019, it was revealed by the Seattle Times that King's Schools (and their parent organization Crista Ministries) had hardened their stance on acceptance of homosexuality at the school.[3]
Some teachers believe this policy required them to disavow same-sex relationships, both on the job and in their personal lives.[4] 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.[3] Once notified of this policy, some teachers left the school.[5] However, non-disclosure agreements prevented many of them from speaking about the issue and the impact on the school.[6] 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."[6]
As a result of these actions, some families left the school because they did not support or did not want to fund an organization they perceived to be discriminatory.[5] 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.[7] Comments on social media and other platforms indicated an increasing divide between groups supporting King's anti-LGBTQ stance and those opposing it.[8][9] Much of the blame for the new policy was attributed to Jacinta Tegman, the new CEO of Crista Ministries.[6] 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.[10] Tegman's effort, Referendum 65, ultimately failed as she was unable to obtain enough signatures to place it on the ballot.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ "Our History". CRISTA Ministries. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
- ^ Katzman, Gabe (February 21, 2024). "Shoreline high school cheer team wins national competition". KOMO. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c "Teachers are quitting a Christian school which teaches children that homosexuality is 'unnatural'". PinkNews. 2019-09-10. 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)[self-published source] - ^ Faith and Freedom Net. "CRISTA Ministries and King's High School Labeled "Anti-Gay"--Teachers Quit".
- ^ "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.
