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The Bear Creek School

Private school · Redmond, King County · grades PK-12 · Christian (classical, non-denominational)

Snapshot

K-12 enrollment
799
SBE-reported, 2024-25
Tuition (top division)
$38,830
2026-27, school-published
Student-teacher ratio
8.3:1
NCES PSS, 2021-22
Teachers (FTE)
81
NCES PSS, 2021-22

Identity and approval

Campus
The Bear Creek School, 8905 208th Ave NE, Redmond 98053
Host public district
Lake Washington School District
Grades
PK-12
Religious affiliation
Christian (classical, non-denominational)
Coed / single-sex
coed
Accreditation
NWAIS
Website
https://www.tbcs.org
WA SBE approval
2026-27 (state-approved private school)
Profit status
Nonprofit

Enrollment

K123456789101112
55665355567266727165566646

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25 school year, as reported to the WA State Board of Education.

Tuition and financial aid

Annual tuition
$38,830 (2026-27)
By division / fees
K-6 $32,120; 7-12 $38,830; preschool $6,560-$13,770. Fees: $300 enrollment, $2,000/family facility fee.
Financial aid
2025-26: over $3.7M in need-based assistance and scholarships to 27% of K-12 students.

Source: the school's own tuition page · aid page, observed 2026-07-03. Tuition changes annually, verify before applying.

Academics

Curriculum
AP (13+ classes, 90%+ pass rate) plus concurrent college credit via Northwest University; classical liberal arts.
College matriculation
Publishes school-profile PDFs with matriculation (Boston College, Brown, Caltech, UC Berkeley among destinations).
Washington private schools are not required to publish state assessment results, and this school's internal test data is not public. Unlike the public-school pages on this site, no score comparison is possible here, treat curriculum labels and matriculation lists as the available evidence.

Student demographics

Asian
19%
Black
0%
Hispanic
1%
White
66%

NCES Private School Universe Survey, 2021-22 (the most recent federal collection). Private-school demographics are reported biennially and lag public-school data.

Competition evidence

Known results compiled from public competition listings (National Merit press lists, tournament PDFs, The Blue Alliance). A missing result is not evidence of absence.

Research dossier

The Bear Creek School

Independent classical Christian school in Redmond · PK–12 · 906 students (WA SBE, 2024-25) · Lake Washington School District host area · NWAIS, Cognia, and ACSI accredited

The verdict

Among the Eastside's elite independents, Bear Creek is the one that isn't really selling pedagogy. It is selling a worldview with top-tier academics attached. The sticker discount is real: $38,830 for grades 7–12 in 2026-27 runs roughly $9,000–$10,000 below what Bush or University Prep charge for high school. The outcomes hold their own too, with four National Merit Semifinalists in 2026 from graduating classes that often number under 70. But the package is indivisible. Weekly chapel is compulsory, three graded credits of Christian Studies are required to graduate, and the school states plainly that math and biology are taught from a biblical frame. Families who want the theology as much as the transcript will find a stable, financially muscular institution run by the same headmaster since 2007. Families who would treat the faith practice as tolerable overhead should believe the school when it signals, at every layer of the handbook, that overhead is not on offer.

Researched 2026-07-04. Citations and claim ledger included in the full dossier.

That is the free excerpt. The full dossier covers what the school's own marketing won't: admissions mechanics and real selectivity, all-in cost and aid behavior, matriculation depth, culture and fit signals, institutional health, every claim cited and dated. Unlock it for $9, or get a $29 Research Pass with 3 dossiers included.

The real comparison is against your public options.

Tuition here runs five figures a year, the question is what it buys over the public schools your address already gives you. A $29 Research Pass unlocks score trends, peer percentiles, competition evidence, gifted-pathway detail, and PTA capacity on every public school in the region, plus 3 full research dossiers for the schools on your shortlist.

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Sources

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