The Lutheran Schools of Washington

There are 24 Lutheran schools in the state of Washington, 22 elementary schools and two high schools belonging to five different Organizations. Seven elementary schools and one high school are members of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Four elementary schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, two are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, five are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod while the remaining six are identified as Lutheran in the state Directory of Schools.

Lutheran schools in America date back to the time of the Revolutionary war when Lutheran immigrants established schools partly to perpetuate their culture and, largely, to assure quality education for their children. That tradition continued into the 19th century particularly with immigrants from Saxony in Germany who had settled in Perry County, Missouri in the middle 1800’s. There they discovered the schools did not meet their expectations so they began a practice of opening schools along with each new parish. That system has grown to include over 2000 elementary schools and high schools in all parts of the world. It also includes a University System with ten campuses from New York on the east coast to Portland, Oregon and Irvine, California in the west.

Lutheran schools are located from Lacey to Everett and from Spokane to Bremerton. They vary in size from under one hundred students to over five hundred. Regardless of size or affiliation, all Lutheran schools are committed to providing a quality education in the context of a caring Christian environment. The mission of these schools begins with a commitment to Christian education based on the Bible, to assisting families in the Christian nurture and training of children, and to equipping students for a life of faithful service in the Christian community and the world. They do this preparing students for life-long learning and by attention to education that is directed to helping students learn and grow in all dimensions: intellectual, spiritual, aesthetic, physical, social and emotional.

For more information about the Lutheran Schools of Washington, contact:

Seattle Lutheran
High School
(206) 937-7722

-submitted by Paul Brott