2026 marked six consecutive years of Upstream Camp—and six years of watching God meet kids in the middle of community, adventure, and creation. There’s something powerful about Laurelwood Academy, Inc., in partnership with Highest Education and generous donors. Getting kids outside, away from screens and schedules, and into a place where they can immerse themselves […]
Families were Enriched for Christ! Upstream Camp is Fun-Fulfilled Discipleship! take a look at the wonderful experiences families made 44 campers attended, 14 volunteer staff contributed, 22 families impacted, 11 parents attended, 3 business owners instructed. Every day was filled with surprise and purpose Each day’s themes were the following: Monday: How to Love God […]
This is why you support Highest Education! For Jennifer and her son, Quentin A home visit told the story Jennifer saw an Upstream Camp Flyer on the bulletin board at a Fred Meyer store. As a special needs family, she wondered if she and her son would be accepted at the camp. Many others had […]
Thank you, donors, for caring about families. Here’s how William extends your care to families. Leah I. “william is relatable, and genuinely wants us all to succeed in our parenting journey” “I believe this type of setting is helpful for parents to make progress and positive changes. Discussions help me process how to implement.” Sarah […]
Ministry Through Parenting The impact of parenting training becomes clear as parents light up, sharing stories of their families changing for the better. Because of our donors, this ministry to families continues to grow and thrive! 10 families are currently entering their fourth week of training! Powered by supporters Whether a gift is large or […]
Parenting Training This Month! Thanks to the support of our donors, we can plan for this upcoming class. Click here to sign up if you are in the Vancouver-Portland area! Making connections in the community Matters William’s largest work is connecting with the community and sharing the opportunities available to help strengthen their families. Here, […]
Winter Outreach Recently I brought the Name of Jesus into a Thai neighborhood in Portland, OR. The mostly buddhist community received me with mixed emotions. A few elderly women who did not speak English opened their apartment doors slightly to inform me they could not communicate. Others, like a Thai boy, received my small gift […]
Diana “Thank you for a wonderful class, I am learning so much!” Crystal “I wish I had these tools 5 years ago! I can see how useful this program will be just from the first two sessions.” “Initially, I was hesitant about taking any kind of parenting class, but with William, it feels more like […]
Upstream Camp 2025 A BIG THANKS to our sponsors for making this ministry sustainable! Let’s keep building faith in families—all year long! Upstream Camp brought together 35 total participants, including 25 campers from 15 family units for a faith-filled outdoor experience. With the support of 10 amazing parent volunteers and 3 dedicated staff members, the […]
When Children Rebel, Sometimes it’s because of a wounded Spirit. What do you need to know to intervene and reconnect with your child? Get the Class Notes basecamp story One summer day, a father said to his twelve-year-old boy, “A week from this Saturday, I’ll take you on a fishing trip.” Excitedly the boy began […]
Be a Hilkiah for your family You’ve chosen to reach for your highest goal as a parent. That’s awesome! Here is a reminder of why parenting with Highest Education matters. 5/5 With William Hurtado Family Training Specialist 25 years experience View Full Profile The SacredScriptures… The Sacred Scriptures clarify your parenting purpose with stories. One story […]
Elisha and his students learned a important lesson one day while they were in the forest. What was it? https://youtu.be/whcAlTpmLHc
Where Parents Are Equipped 2024 Fall Training Success This Fall’s parenting training at River HomeLink in Battle Ground, WA was successful for the parents who attended. It was also instructive in understanding the best approach to reaching parents at the beginning of the school year. Some Parent Quotes One parent said, “I wish I had […]
Why is knowing your parenting Style Important? How you treat your children is a reflection of who you are. Your parenting style reveals your strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your parenting style helps you correct or refine how you bring out the best in your kids. Get the Class Handout basecamp story A Parenting style is […]
What does it mean to love fully? Loving fully may begin by acknowledging and correcting blind spots. Get the lesson notes basecamp story To love your children in the way they deserve, parents must become aware of their blind spots. As a youth leader working with a group of 50 youth in a mid-week youth […]
Have you ever been attacked by wasps? It happened to two dads and their kids. The story is now an illustration of what happens at a bigger, more terrifying scale around the world. https://youtu.be/DNpqnhtKY8g
Family Training Growing Families in Christ is the name of the group Bible study at the Collegedale University Church. The group meets weekly to discuss a Bible study topic. On August 17, the group paused to receive parenting training with William Hurtado. He shared personal stories and biblical perspectives reinforcing parenting principles. All enjoyed the […]
Dan Buettner, Blue Zones founder, is an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist and producer, and New York Times bestselling author. He identified the five original blue zones–the places in the world with the healthiest, longest-living populations, including Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff40YiMmVkU Discussion Questions: What […]
Once upon a time, there was a little boy named David who had a sling. He was an example for us on how to live. Listen to this children’s story and be inspired to be a slinger for Christ! https://youtu.be/3ag-PEKDSJc
Upstream Camp A yearly tradition for families. Kids and adults revel in nature, music, scripture, and community–the good stuff of life! Simple Bliss Photos display only two dimensions of what was a five-dimensional experience. You have to immerse in it to fully enjoy it. The fifth dimension was the Spirit of God with us! What […]
Final Day Celebration 01 Long Jump Supergirl! 02 Long Jump Superboy! 03 Races, then Leapfrog! 04 Hello from the Columbia River! 05 Let’s keep supporting each other as we build our homes! © 2024 All Rights Reserved. Facebook-f
Serving with satisfaction “If I am honest, getting my hands into clean dirt, physical exertion, and seeing nature’s beauty restored, is something I really enjoy! This week’s co-op service project was spring cleaning at our resident camp. Thank you co-op friends for making Optimist Camp more beautiful!” – William Hurtado © 2021 All Rights Reserved. […]
Step into the GARDEN2 For the second Spring garden service day, co-op students and parents painted garden stakes to be used in The Center community garden. The Center garden feeds hundreds of low-income individuals every year. This year, the garden will also be a part of the Master Gardener’s garden tour, where the vegetable stakes […]
Step into the Garden Spring gardening for the Highest Education co-op started! Why? Because “a garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all, it teaches entire trust.” — Gertrude Jekyll © 2021 All Rights Reserved. Facebook-f Twitter
Even queen elizabeth ii needed an hour outside every day. Thankful for green spaces we can use. a little bouncing action about to Happen! side of the house pow-wow Like trees give their lives to humanity, parents give their lives to their children. Childern (and chickens) know the benefits of “free roaming.” Museum of creation! […]
Parenting Training Results Parents gave positive feedback after a parenting seminar at River HomeLink, a Battle Ground public school near Vancouver, WA. Here is what they said. “William was an effective communicator and faciliator for the Love and Logic course. He contributed insightful perspectives throughout the course and encouraged great conversations in the class.” ― […]
Friends Helping Friends One of our precious families–the Ben & Christina George family–is moving away from our location. To bless them, our educational co-op did a service project at their house, to help them around the yard as they prepared their house for the market. Each family unit in our co-op shares a special gift. […]
William took a chicken to church…why and what lesson can it teach us? Watch the story below! https://youtu.be/C5c3ry3IoTU
Rivers are rich with symbolism Living next to rivers–and the Highest Education co-op spending time around them–brings out object lessons worth sharing. Below are nature’s elements we interacted with, giving us the opportunity to be inside of God’s creative expression. flow experience what we saw and heard 01 trees “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in […]
• Frisbee Games Day • outdoor movement & strategy ◦ Classic Frisbee Toss-and-Catch ◦ Ultimate Frisbee ◦ Frisbee Relay Race at our home base Optimist Camp in Battle Ground, WA, is our outdoor classroom home base. Next to the river and with large green spaces, we can be physically active and enjoy God’s creation. Highest […]
Wow! in the pacific northwest lies “the navel of the world.” learn more about beacon rock Born to explore Highest Education co-op families went to Beacon Rock for an adventure and outdoor day. It was all of it! 848 feet above sea level, we checked out the views with the soaring birds. Learn about our […]
Learning to speak the truth Hello, my name is… Recently co-op families came together to practice speech composition and delivery by describing items they brought from home. The premise behind the event was bigger than just learning to speak in public. Yes, students need to learn to speak publicly–with good articulation, cohesive eye and body […]
William and the children enjoy spending time with Matvey, who teaches them how to say a meaningful phrase in Russian. https://youtu.be/_vmp-kj2Aks
life happening in the darkness For the second time during this academic year, the co-op adventured to the Jane Webber Arboretum on the Columbia River waterfront. We set out to discover “life in the darkness of winter.” So much is moving and growing during the darker winter months. The caretaker, John, led us on a […]
A friend named Moses helps share his story and delights the audience with simple and beautiful music. Click the book cover below to purchase Moses’s children’s book.
Join the co-op Choose God’s love. The co-op met on Valentine’s day to share god’s love through music. People received valentines flowers as a gesture of love. Participants added to the sound of worship through shared instruments kids playing and adults singing made the Vancouver mall alive with praise! Ben & Christina Led in the […]
A person breathes approximately 20,000 times in one day So much active learning took place on the recent science learning day. The topic was the importance of air to our bodies. Learn More Students Performed STEM activities Using simple replications to explore how we breathe. Our 2 Lungs hold about 600 million Alveoli When you […]
A yearly tradition to enjoy time at the ice-rink continues! Families gathered and memories were made.
This is a classic story that shares the Gospel of salvation through Christ. Who are you in the story? What events have happened to you that have led you to fully understand John 3:16? https://youtu.be/xcGd-mcwrQg
We went swimming and visited a restaurant chain owned by the same family who built the swimming pool. Thank you George Propstra and family!
When the co-op group visited an assisted living facility, the smiles and appreciation in the faces of residents was simply sweet.
Group time with friends in nature’s playground brings life and abundance to students.
It’s so easy to take the blessings given to us and go do what we want to do–forgetting to thank the giver. Has this ever happened to you? https://youtu.be/EkFssTCQ_AI
We met at the Gow-Lee’s residence for the science learning day. The indoor set-up was a change of scenery from our recent outdoor adventures.
If it were possible, would you want to capture beauty forever? What is truly beautiful? What is truly worthy of praise?
It’s so much fun to build things with building blocks! Watch this fun children’s story that brings our a life lesson from those wooden blocks!
Despite rain, co-op participants lit their camp fires. Not even heavy rain could stop them!
How Can Something Be So Deliciously Good and a the Same Time be So Terribly Bad?