Tree of Life Christian School

I respect this student’s view and opinion, this student lived this experience therefore it is valid for her. I am sorry to hear that she felt as though she was pressured in some way. In any group setting there will be “clicks” or those who will place labels on others and try to put those they meet into a neat box in order to deal with them; that is unfortunate. There are fundamental truths in Christianity and those do not vary. She could stand on that truth and her love for God and not feel bothered by any chatter. My child has attended TOL for six years and it has been a WONDERFUL experience. If there is a problem it is more than likely with an individual rather than the entire school. People do not cease to be people because they are Christians. We all have to make a daily effort to maintain a Christ like attitude. The competitive educational curriculum and the rooted belief in incorporating God into the student’s day is a worthy and valuable opportunity. That investment should not be trivialized by the nature of dealing with man. There will be disagreements, these are our opportunities to then trust God and fall upon his wisdom and help to press beyond the issue. With regard to the 4.0 and 4.5 – keep in mind that the education is gained and the same curriculum of excellence is being taught. You have the same knowledge it is not tallied the same way. There is more involved in the selection process than that. Trust God to show Himself strong for you. His Grace will cover any “deficiency”. *Not a reason not to attend. In my opinion, Tree of Life Christian School is a Great School. I praise and thank God that my child is thriving there! God Bless. more

I attended Tree of Life for high school. Given my experience, I would never send my child there. There is a definite split in the school - people who belong to the denomination that sponsers the school (Church of Christ), and everyone else. I was in the "everyone else" group, and it was a noticeable difference. There was definite pressure to conform to the beliefs of the Church of Christ. While I personally was never one to give in to peer pressure, it still made me uncomfortable nonetheless. Another downside is that they only offered 2 AP classes at the time, and these classes took place at the exact same time. That meant that you could only take one AP class, even if you wanted to take two. Also, unlike other schools, taking an AP course does not increase your GPA. That means that you are not on an even playing field since most other schools do go above 4.0 to account for AP classes. That is the kind of thing that makes a difference when you're applying for college. How can I compete against people who can earn a 4.5 when my school won't go above 4.0? I made a lot of great friends at Tree, so I don't necessarily regret my time there. I just feel that high school is difficult enough without having to feel pressure from your teachers about very specific facets of Christianity. more