The story of
Cedar Tree began in 1997 at the Hazel Dell Evangelical Free Church,
located in Vancouver, WA. The pastor and a group of families, from a
variety of local congregations, gathered together to seek answers to
a growing list of questions regarding the education of their children.
Their questioning led them to study the Scriptures, affirming their
belief that both the responsibility and authority for educating children
is given by God to the parents. It also led them to the seminal work
of Dorothy Sayers, a contemporary of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein,
regarding the potential characteristics of any attempt to resurrect
the classical model of education in the twentieth century. Entitled
“The Lost Tools of Learning”, this article led them to further
study, and to the writings of Douglas Wilson, founder of Logos School,
in Moscow, Idaho. Sensing the need to begin the work, the newly organized
Cedar Tree School Board chose initially to organize Cedar Tree as a
home school cooperative. This was done, and in 1999, Cedar Tree officially
opened with just over 30 students.
Today, after nine years of operation, Cedar Tree Christian Classical School has grown to over 100 students in grades K-10. Located in a rapidly growing suburb of Clark County, Washington, Cedar Tree serves more than 56 families from over 24 local congregations. Despite growth and changes, the Board and staff of Cedar Tree continue to focus on the primary mission: to assist parents in meeting their God-given responsibility to teach their children God’s truth and equip them for the challenges of living effectively in the world. To this end, may God continue to grant us His blessing, wisdom, and endurance.
Revised December 2007
