King's Schools

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
King's was founded in 1950 by Mike and Vivian Martin. Originally called "King's Garden", the school's roots were in weekly Bible studies and fellowship meetings in the Martins' home.

Academics and athletics
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.

In the past 20 years, King's High School boys' and girls' teams have won 51 state championships, most in the state of Washington. King's High School has been awarded the WIAA 1A Scholastic Cup 11 times during that span.

The school's cheer team won the 2024 USA Spirit Nationals competition.

Controversy over anti-LGBTQ stance
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.

Some teachers believe this policy required them to disavow same-sex relationships, both on the job and in their personal lives. 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. Once notified of this policy, some teachers left the school. However, non-disclosure agreements prevented many of them from speaking about the issue and the impact on the school. 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."

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. 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. Comments on social media and other platforms indicated an increasing divide between groups supporting King's anti-LGBTQ stance and those opposing it. Much of the blame for the new policy was attributed to Jacinta Tegman, the new CEO of Crista Ministries. 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. Tegman's effort, Referendum 65, ultimately failed as she was unable to obtain enough signatures to place it on the ballot.