• Does my family have to belong to Holy Cross Church to attend the school?

  No, your family does not have to be members of Holy Cross church to attend St. John’s. However, our school (including non-Orthodox students) attend service at Holy Cross at least once a week, and sometimes for other special occasions. If you are not familiar with Orthodox Christianity, we encourage you to visit Holy Cross and schedule a time to meet with our priest.

• Do you offer extra-curricular activities?

  At this time, we are too small to compete in athletics. However, students enrolled at St. John’s are eligible to participate in sports through city leagues and the public schools.

• Does St. John’s provide hot lunch?

  No, St. John’s does not offer a hot lunch option. Students bring their own lunches.

• What is tuition? Are scholarships available?

  Please see our tuition page for more information. Scholarships are available as our budget allows.

• Are parents required to volunteer or help fundraise?

  Yes, parents are asked to volunteer 40 hours a year, regardless of how many children are enrolled at St. John’s. One of the most popular ways of earning volunteer hours is to attend and help chaperone field trips. The school travels to St. John's Monastery in Goldendale, where one of the sisters gives a lesson to the students. Parents are required to drive at least 2-3 times per year, and can count this towards volunteer hours.

• Are students required to wear uniforms?

  Yes, St. John’s requires all students to wear uniforms. Girls must wear a burgundy, navy or light blue collared shirt with a black or khaki skirt that falls below the knee. Boys must wear a burgundy, navy or light blue collared shirt with black or khaki pants. St. John’s offers a uniform closet full of lightly used school clothes, and it is recommended that any new family first look at what is available before buying new clothes.

• Can St. John’s accommodate students with special needs or learning differences?

  We consider students with special needs on a case-by-case basis each year to determine our ability to meet their needs. Generally, though, St. John’s does not have the resources to educate students with significant behavioral or learning needs.

• What benchmarks does the school use to ensure students are receiving quality education?

  One of the wonderful aspects of St. John’s is the freedom our teachers have in educating our students to read well, think well, and be numerate without worrying about “teaching to the test.” We do use the Common Core standards as an assessment tool, but we view those standards simply as a base to what we expect our students to learn by the end of the year. Though we are confident in our students’ achievements and progress, we still administer the ITBS test every spring to have an independent verification of how well our students are progressing. Our school also has a very small teacher-student ratio, which allows the each teacher to fully understand and respond to each student’s strengths and weaknesses through modifying curriculum, providing extra help, and working with parents.

• What is the Orthodox Church? Does my student have to attend Orthodox church services during school if we are not Orthodox?

  For more information on the Orthodox Church and what we believe, please visit our church's website here. We require all students to attend weekly church services, as well as any other services the school may attend during the year.