7 Stories

Tailored Learning at Lewis County Adventist School

Within standards of learning, there is room for personal discovery and growth. Your scholar will explore, discover and apply academic concepts to real life. The curriculum is designed to match values with academic objectives. Our classrooms provide a safe environment to become a life-long learner.

The longer a scholar is enrolled in one of our schools, the better he or she will do academically because knowledge builds on each developmental step.

We strive to provide a low student-teacher ratio to allow for individualized attention and instruction.

One example of tailored learning comes from Lewis County Adventist School. Traditionally the school would take three physical education days and utilize the mountain for a day of skiing. But over the past few years, Principal Karen Carlton noticed a decline in those who wanted to participate. Rather than just let those students spend the day at home, she and her staff come up with the idea of hosting a fun, interactive, and hands on day of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics.

Carlton shares, “We had the opportunity to do three STEAM activity days with Dave Morgan, director of STEAM Education for the Washington Conference in January and February. It was fantastic working with Dave, as he came with great ideas and lesson plans, was well organized and helped us with the rotation schedule to make the activities work for each group of students.

Not only were the activities fun for the students, but Dave provided specific teaching and learning information for the leaders of each group to use. It was like a lesson plan in your email with the work already done for you!”

Seventh-day Adventist education takes learning seriously, and searching for unique ways to engage students is a priority. We don’t just spark imaginations…we ignite them!

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.

Ashlynn, a recent graduate from Auburn Adventist Academy, shares this thought about the friends she made while at both Buena Vista SDA School and Auburn Adventist Academy. She shares:

Auburn definitely was a big part of my life for a long time. I’ve visited back-and-forth with my grandpa every day and I also attended BV. A lot of my classmates were people that have been my classmates since second grade. Some of them stayed my friends most of them just were acquaintances that I knew and would talk to sometimes.

A lot of the friendships that I formed were during freshman and sophomore year and then some junior year. I know most of the people here at Auburn in every class and I enjoy having them as friends.

But my close friends that I kept are definitely always going to be my heart and it’s because of Auburn that I was able to grow those bonds and further my friendships every day. I am very thankful for the opportunities for friendship and bonds in the family that Auburn provided for me.

Lifetime friendships are another valued aspect of a Seventh-day Adventist education.

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.

Character Development: Lesson in the Trees

char·​ac·​ter | \ ˈker-ik-tər one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual

A teacher, feeling concern over the repeated flawed decision process of his student, decided an object lesson would serve better than another lecture. He asked the student to follow him a short way on the school property until they reached the woods. Once there, they stopped at a tall, powerful tree. The teacher asked the student to test it, push it, see if he could move the tree. As hard as he pushed, the tree didn't even so much as tremble.

Next, the teacher took the boy to a tree that had fallen. The tree was similar to the tree they had just visited, clear that it too had once stood proud and strong beneath the deep blue sky. He asked the student to look closer, to determine what had brought this mighty tree crashing to the ground. Upon further inspection, the student revealed his findings. "The tree looks normal on the outside, not a single blemish except for the broken branches. But when I looked into the fail point of the trunk, I discovered that the inside of the tree was......." his voice trailed off so the teacher finished his thought, "Rotted, you discovered the inside of the tree as rotted."

The teacher went on to explain to the young man that he was at a point in his life very similar to the trees. One tree suffered from infection, while the other stood proud and true. When the storm came, with violent winds, crashing thunder, sky illuminating lightning, and drenching rains, when those storms came, the infected tree couldn't resist, couldn't overcome, and as a result of the infection, came crashing to the ground.

In life, there will be storms, violent storms, and the decisions you make today, the care you give to your character at this very moment will determine what will happen in that moment. Will you stand, or will you fall? The decision is yours......

Seventh-day Adventist educators take their role as educators to a completely different level. Character development is an important component of what we are called to do. As the twig is bent, so grows the tree!

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.

In the Giving Garden at Orcas Christian School, you’ll find flourishing greens, 200+ bare apple root stock in the ground, worms, and happy scholars learning about sustainable gardening.

Engaged Service: Community Garden at Orcas Christian School

Seventh-day Adventist education works hard to instill good citizenship into the lives of our students through community service.

Students are encouraged to become active members of the local community through various community service projects showing God’s love to the world. For students at Orcas Christian School, it looks something like this:

What was once a barren and “resource-greedy lawn” is now a lush student-run garden that grows produce for food banks and schools.

The Giving Garden at Orcas Christian School on Orcas Island, Washington, which is run by dozens of volunteer students and community members, is thriving since its summer harvests produced more than 100 pounds of fresh, organic produce for the local food bank.

The Giving Garden is just the first permaculture project built by All Hands on Earth (All Hands), a nonprofit dedicated to building drought-tolerant, sustainable organic food-sheds and teaching local communities the permaculture principles of how to care for the Earth, care for people, and “fair share” (returning surplus to earth and to people).

All Hands founder Alex Tamayo Wolf remarks about the Giving Garden: “In just four months, we have turned a resource-greedy lawn into a no-till permaculture-based garden that feeds the community and benefits the earth. I want it to be a model to inspire others to act.”

All Hands’ mission is to empower people in diverse communities to address the challenges such as water shortages and waste issues—by turning their underutilized lands into permaculture plots.

The fresh organic produce that is grown during the winter season is donated to the local food bank. When students return to class throughout the other growing seasons, the produce is used in the school cafeteria or preserved for use during the winter school year, with the surplus donated to the local food bank.

“We kids grew it ourselves,” a third grader named Grace proudly told Good News Network. “You can eat everything in there. Stuff that I never heard of.”

 “I like the kale,” remarked Ben, a second grader. His mother, who was standing nearby, added excitedly, “And he never liked kale before! He really likes it now.”

 “Activism doesn’t need to be a large-scale undertaking, or act of extremism,” explains Wolf. “It can be as simple as planting a tree or a garden; it doesn’t have to be a big thing. Thinking too big stops a lot of people from acting. Simply growing your own food reduces transportation carbon footprint, improves the local ecology, your health, and feeds people. You can act without being an ‘activist’. Small change multiplied by big numbers can have a substantial impact.”

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.

Impactful Teachers: A Profile from Cedarbrook Adventist Christian School

Our teachers understand their mission to offer redemptive education to help students make good every day decisions now that will impact the future. Our educators are highly qualified with dual certification for public and private education. Educators regularly participate in professional development and continuing education to keep their skills on the cutting edge.

Our team of educators goes beyond teaching content to nurture, care and pray for students in their whole person growth journey. One of those teachers is Greg Reseck who teaches in a small one-room school in Port Hadlock.

As the Covid-19 crisis gripped the world, Greg’s first thought went to his students. In this moment of crisis, he knew that his students’ emotional and social wellbeing was far more important than stacks of worksheets. Greg decided to do something that simply is out of the norm in our day and age: he wrote, wrote, each one of his students a personal letter.

The process took hours to complete, but he knew it was his responsibility as a key influencer in their lives to let them know everything was going to work out and it was going to be OK. In the process he introduced them to the art of writing a letter, addressing an envelope, and mailing the letter. Greg shares, “I am discovering that it takes a long time to write my students each a full page personal letter! Then their assignment will be to write me back!"

(Mr. Reseck also arranged for a Facebook Live session so his students could watch the much anticipated annual release of salmon they had raised.)

These students may never remember the English, math, or spelling assignments Mr. Reseck gave them, but they will forever remember the he, like so many of our teachers, poured themselves into making them feel like they were on top of the world!

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.

The Family Atmosphere Advantage

Education is a partnership between students, parents, teachers, and God. Working together provides a vibrant learning community with strong relationships, similar goals, and a shared journey. Schools are intentionally structured small to foster a sense of family and belonging.

One long time educator shares, "Show me a successful student and I'll show you a team of parents, educators, Pathfinder leaders, Sabbath School teachers, and church members that poured themselves into every facet of learning for that child; especially an active and involved parent."

The simple fact is that involved parents make a huge difference in the success of their child.

Parents appreciate the stable learning community of Adventist schools and the stronger relationships they are able to develop with their child’s teacher. Families are encouraged to be part of the learning atmosphere with parental involvement in the classroom, on the school board, at school social activities, and in the homework process.

There are more opportunities for parents to be involved whether it is volunteering in the classroom, assisting with a field trip, or serving on the local school board.

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.

Whole Person Growth

It all started in 1853 when Martha Byington opened the first known church school for Sabbatarian Adventists in Buck's Bridge, New York. She wanted to offer a higher standard of education to scholars. Her vision for value-based education grew exponentially!

Today you'll find Adventist schools in nearly 150 countries, 85,000 teachers, 1.5 million students, 7,500 schools — the Adventist school system is one of the largest Christian educational systems in the world! Here in western Washington, you’ll find 19 Adventist school campuses where your student can experience whole person growth.

Whole person growth in education offers students ample opportunities to encounter Christ, explore the big questions of life, and develop a biblical foundation for making every day choices that will impact eternity.

Ultimately, Adventist Education is redemptive, taking every stage of a young person’s mind, body and spirit development into consideration in learning, interaction, and discipline. We want our children to thrive in the kingdom of God!

The stories that have been shared here are only the tip of the iceberg. In all 19 of our schools in western Washington, lives are being changed. Students are being instilled with a sense that they have been redeemed by the blood of a risen savior, and even more important, called by name to serve him (Isaiah 43:1). With this knowledge students are fully given the opportunity to determine how best to answer that call.

The mission of Seventh-day Adventist education in the Washington Conference is to enable scholars to develop a life of faith in God, and to use their knowledge, skills, and understandings to serve God and humanity.