Community Education

Peninsula School District doesn’t endorse LifeWise Bible study program, superintendent says

Posted on August 20th, 2025 By: Christina T Henry

Peninsula School District is not affiliated with, nor does it endorse, LifeWise Academy, a youth Bible study program new to the Gig Harbor community, Superintendent Krestin Bahr announced at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Bahr’s comments were in response to a flood of inquiries from parents concerned that Bible study instruction was being introduced into local public schools. Not true, said Bahr.

“LifeWise is not a Peninsula School District or a PSD school board-initiated program and is not affiliated with or endorsed by our district in any way,” Bahr said. “LifeWise is a private religious instruction program held off of school property, it is our understanding, with parental permission and without the use of public funds.”

Parents’ concerns

Bahr said the district recognizes individuals’ constitutional right to exercise freedom of religion outside of schools. Citing school board policy 2340, she said, “families may choose to sign their children out of school to attend such programs at their discretion, just as they would for any off-site appointment such as dental, medical or such.”

The Peninsula School Board on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Superintendent Krestin Bahr, left, began the meeting by discussing rumors that the district sanctions participation in a Bible study program called LifeWise.

But parents who spoke at the board meeting after Bahr’s comments remained wary. Parent Shannon Olsen said having some students pulled out during the school day to attend a religious program, even with parental permission, blurs the lines between the separation of church and state in the public-school setting and runs counter to the district’s strategic goal of creating an inclusive environment. She predicts it will create “an unnecessary division among students.”

“Let’s call it what it is, Christian Nationalism and an attack on the public education system as a whole,” Olsen said.

What is LifeWise?

LifeWise is a national nonprofit that aims to provide public school students with access to Bible classes “during school hours,” according to its website. LifeWise is “on a mission to reach all 50 million public school students with the Gospel,” the website states. “Decades ago, our nation systematically removed Bible education from the school day. With LifeWise Academy, your community can bring it back.”

Founder and CEO Joel Penton, in a promotional video on the homepage, says this is possible because the classes happen off school property, are privately funded and students have parental permission for the pull-out.

The organization cites the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Zorach versus Clauson (1952), which determined a New York school district could legally allow students to be released with parental permission for religious classes held off campus during the school day without taxpayer funding. The ruling found that in doing so, the district didn’t violate tenets of the Fourteenth Amendment because it neither prohibited “free exercise” of religion nor made a law “respecting an establishment of religion.”

Program benefits touted

LifeWise claims that participating in the program increases attendance at school and results in fewer in- and out-of-school suspensions.

“Released time religious instruction (RTRI) creates an incredible opportunity for public school students to receive valuable religious and spiritual education during the existing hours provided by their school day,” said Natasha Weiss, program director of LifeWise Academy Gig Harbor, in an email to Gig Harbor Now.

The organization also claims on its website, without immediately clear attribution, that “67% of Americans support teaching public school students Biblical values.”

Local effort underway

According to LifeWise, parents can initiate a program in their community by collecting a petition with at least 50 signatures. The website, under the menu heading “Find Your School,” shows Peninsula School District and Discovery Elementary, grades 1-3.

Although this might lead one to believe the program is held at Discovery, Weiss said it will be offered to Discovery students but held off campus. Local individuals, churches and businesses fund the program at no cost to families.

“We’re excited to see the positive impact LifeWise will have on students, families and schools,” Weiss said. “Our community has already come together to make this possible, and we are confident this collaboration will continue as the program grows.”

PSD declines endorsement

John Yellowlees, PSD academic officer, said representatives of LifeWise reached out to the district in January or February asking to partner with Peninsula schools. On consulting with legal counsel, PSD leaders declined any partnership or affiliation.

“We gathered information, found out a little bit about their group, and we were able to communicate back with them that, of course, we weren’t able to partner in any way, shape or form with their religious organization,” Yellowlees said. “If parents chose to pull their students out of school to be part of this religious instruction, they have every right to do that. But you know, from our perspective, we’re encouraging against that in the sense that we want kids, obviously, to be in our schools all day long and benefit from instruction.”

LifeWise promotion also nixed

The district also declined LifeWise’s request to advertise the program through its Peachjar communications with families because it doesn’t meet PSD’s criteria.

District policy permits student-led religious groups or clubs as long as they don’t interfere with instruction. But the district can’t facilitate a formal religious program that is not student-led.

The district defends individual freedom of religious expression or lack thereof, district officials said. During the Pledge of Allegiance, for example, students individually can add the phrase, “one nation under God,” or not as they choose. Teachers also honor the choices of students who decline to stand or recite the pledge.

Misleading advertising

Yellowlees said LifeWise recently posted information on social media that was confusing at best.

“We’ve had to reach out to them a couple of different times to say what you’ve posted is misleading. Please either change it or take it down,” Yellowlees said. “Because they have been promoting this as ‘LifeWise at Discovery Elementary’ or ‘LifeWise at Peninsula School District,’ when in fact, that’s not the case.”

Yellowlees said Weiss was apologetic and agreed to change the promotional messaging.

Weiss told Gig Harbor Now: “LifeWise Academy Gig Harbor is not affiliated with the school district — we simply exist as an option for families who choose to enroll their children. This program grew out of our own community, as hundreds of parents signed a petition expressing their desire for LifeWise. Because of the overwhelming interest from Discovery Elementary families, we’re excited to begin offering classes to those students and look forward to serving even more in the future.”

Recruitment strategies flagged

Discovery Elementary parents at Tuesday’s board meeting sounded the alarm about LifeWise despite Bahr’s assurance that the correct protocols are in place.

“I’m not at all opposed to religious education or parents taking their children out of school for any religious reason,” said Jennifer Beachler. “I do have a personal objection to any outside organization that would take a group of students out of school during the middle of the school day.”

Beachler and others said the group exodus, presumably during lunch, would strain the school’s already “skeletal” office staff. She and others also worry the LifeWise will ask students to recruit their friends, reportedly for rewards like candy or small toys.

“My understanding they (Lifewise) have had a history of incentivizing students to recruit other students by passing out flyers, wearing red T-shirts and encouraging them to sign up new students and giving them incentives to do so, and that this has been very distracting in other schools,” Baechler said.

LifeWise in its FAQs says students may return to school with small treats to reward work they’ve done during Bible class. The organization does not say anything about rewarding recruitment of other children.

Orthodox Christian beliefs

LifeWise, in its statement of faith, affirms that it “maintains a high view of the authority of Scripture and we align ourselves with historic, orthodox Christian beliefs. We believe the storyline of Scripture that climaxes in the central gospel message, that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead. We believe this gospel is true and essential and announces the way by which sinners are reconciled to God.”

Parent Kira Miller, who identified herself as a Christian, is concerned the program will bring culture wars to the local stage. “I beg the board to please continue limiting LifeWise’s presence in schools to the fullest extent of the law,” she said. “Groups like this, even when given grace and assuming they have the best of intentions, increase conflict between Christians and non-Christians.”

“LifeWise isn’t about politics,” its website states. “And we aren’t connected to any political party, leader or movement. Our mission is to offer Bible education to public school students during school hours. LifeWise is grateful for every opportunity to share our mission, and any collaborations are done without making an endorsement of any particular views or practices.”