Their answer became Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.
Founded in 1916 as part of a Christian revival movement, Hillcrest was established to integrate rigorous academics and Christian faith into a single educational experience. That purpose still shapes the school today through a model that remains uncommon: a classical Christian education delivered within an international boarding community. Students engage directly with foundational texts, debate ideas, ask difficult questions, and learn to explain why they believe what they believe. Just as importantly, they live those lessons alongside peers from around the world, extending learning beyond the classroom into daily community life.
“We really just teach kids how to think and how to defend what they believe,” says Luke Fiskness, president and head of school.
Faith Shaping the Way Students Think
Hillcrest sees the high school years as the stage when students move from accumulating knowledge toward reasoning through ideas and articulating what they believe and why.
Students work with original sources rather than relying only on interpretations of them. In omnibus courses combining English, history, and Bible, they may read Augustine while studying the early church or encounter Martin Luther and John Calvin through their own writings.
Debate and reasoning matter as much as reading. Students are encouraged to understand the “why” behind an idea and consider what Hillcrest describes as the good, the true, and the beautiful. Christian belief is woven throughout the curriculum and daily school life. Most faculty hold master’s degrees or higher in the subjects they teach, and many have served at Hillcrest for more than a decade. With a student-teacher ratio of 12:1, that expertise becomes personal.
Learning to Live in Community
Boarding turns Hillcrest’s educational philosophy into an everyday experience.
Students live alongside peers from the United States and other countries. Hillcrest sees the international community as part of the education itself, widening students’ understanding of faith and service.
Residential life gives students independence without making them navigate it alone. Former boarding students consistently tell the school that the experience left them better prepared to approach college as adults. Hillcrest also emphasizes that students should be known, safe, and able to belong. Residence halls are staffed around the clock, with a school nurse and licensed counselor adding to the network of support.
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We teach kids how to think and how to defend what they believe.
Small family groups pair four or five students with a residential life staff member and spend time in local host homes. Teachers remain available after classes for academic help or conversation, while parents receive weekly residential updates and detailed quarterly reports. Parents consistently tell Hillcrest that students mature through the experience and find belonging, identity, and purpose. That sense of belonging reaches beyond campus, with local families, churches and businesses welcoming international boarding students into community life.
Finding the Gifts Students May Not See Yet
Being known also means having someone notice potential before a student recognizes it.
Fiskness recalls an international student who arrived at Hillcrest struggling with identity, direction and family relationships. Over two years, the student rebuilt those relationships, developed a clearer sense of faith and purpose, and eventually entered university intending to pursue mission work. The same individualized attention helps students discover strengths they may not recognize in themselves. Faculty and staff guide them toward opportunities suited to their abilities, from rigorous coursework and the arts to trades, theology, and leadership.
Students leave Hillcrest prepared to approach the world with the same habits the school develops throughout their education, thinking carefully, living their faith with conviction, and understanding how their gifts can serve a larger purpose. Education Insider’s recognition of Hillcrest Lutheran Academy as the Top Christian Boarding High School 2026 reflects that longstanding commitment to educating the whole student.
