Pioneer Campus - Puyallup Elementary Updates

April 21, 2025 Update

Update from Today’s Examiner Hearing – City of Puyallup

We’re grateful to share a positive update following today’s meeting with the City of Puyallup regarding the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for CCS:

Strong Community Support: We had an incredible turnout, with over 70 members of the CCS community present (in-person and online) in support. Your presence made a powerful impact—thank you!

Minimal Opposition: While opposition was minimal, the concerns shared were primarily focused on traffic congestion and its impact on surrounding neighborhoods. This presents a valuable opportunity for us as a community to demonstrate continued care and consideration. We encourage everyone traveling to and from Pioneer Campus to remain mindful, drive safely, and be courteous—both on the roads and within our parking lot.

Next Steps – Traffic 

1. Data Needed: The examiner has requested quantifiable traffic data to help measure and evaluate potential improvements. CCS representatives will be working in partnership with the City of Puyallup’s traffic engineer to gather and submit this data. The deadline to submit is Monday, April 28, by end of day.
2. Review Period: Once the data is submitted, the examiner will have 10 business days to review and make a ruling.   
3. Appeal Window: After the examiner issues a decision, there will be a 15-day appeal period during which any party may appeal the ruling.
4. What’s Next: If no appeals are filed during that 15-day window, the CUP will be granted, and we will be cleared to begin groundwork for the portable classrooms.

We remain hopeful for approval and that the process ahead will move forward smoothly, without further delays. Please continue to pray for clarity, favor, and for the timeline to stay on track.

Thank you again for your continued support!
 

April 10, 2025 Update

Progress at the Pioneer Campus is underway! The electricians have been working on the underground electrical installations and electrical panels in preparation for the new portables. These portables have arrived in Seattle and are currently awaiting the completion of permits and site work before they can be relocated to our campus.

Hearing Examiner Meeting on April 21, at 11:00 a.m., in Puyallup City Hall at Council Chambers:

We have been told having strong representation at the meeting is beneficial for moving the project forward without further delays. For those who live in a one-mile radius of Pioneer Campus, this is especially important, as your presence and input may carry more weight, given the direct impact on your neighborhood.

We have also received a Zoom link for our meeting. If you are unable to attend in-person, please log on! See below for the details.

When: Monday, April 21, 2025 11:00 AM-1:00 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada).

Where: https://puyallupwa-gov.zoom.us/j/87274828077?pwd=49QyoNR8QbR6DB9wMKv8GJoujKUjqR.1

Topic: Hearing Examiner Public Hearing - PLCUP20240037

Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android:

https://puyallupwa-gov.zoom.us/j/87274828077?pwd=49QyoNR8QbR6DB9wMKv8GJoujKUjqR.1

Passcode:718876

Phone one-tap:

+12532158782,,87274828077#,,,,*718876# US (Tacoma)  

+13462487799,,87274828077#,,,,*718876# US (Houston)

As always, we invite you to pray for this process as April 21 draws closer. We would ask that you pray intentionally during the meeting time that God’s hand will be upon the proceedings and that we will glorify Him. Together we trust in God’s perfect timing and plan for the Pioneer Campus. 

March 25, 2025 update

We are thrilled to share an exciting update with you all—our hearing has been officially scheduled with the hearing examiner! Mark your calendars for Monday, April 21, at 11:00 a.m., as we take this important step forward.

This is a significant milestone in our journey, and we are filled with gratitude and joy. God's faithfulness continues to guide us every step of the way, and we know this is just the beginning of what He has in store.

In the coming weeks, we will provide more details on how you can be a part of this process. Until then, we invite you to join us in lifting up our thanks to the Lord for this opportunity and praying for His continued favor as the hearing date approaches.

Thank you for your support, prayers, and partnership in this journey. Together, we trust in God's perfect timing and plan!

March 21, 2025 update

Thank you to those who were able to attend the Pioneer Campus Informational Meeting. For those who were unable to attend, we are happy to share the recording of the meeting below. 
 

Key time stamps:
Project History: 1:40
Portable Condition & Future Location: 17:57
Plan for 2025/2026 (Student Impact/Benefits, Sports Impact, Parking lot): 45:00
Budget Transparency & Tuition: 1:20:00

There were a few questions we didn't have time to answer or needed to offer clarification on. We would like to address them here:

Q: Bathrooms for grades 3–6: How will safety be ensured as they cross the street to get to the bathrooms? Will there be staff monitoring?

A: Students will not have to cross the parking lot to get to the bathrooms. There is a bathroom in each portable area, one for K–2 and one for 3–6. Students will not walk across the parking lot without supervision. 

Q: What’s the security plan for the portables right by the road? Are the in and out gates going to be locked during school hours?

A: There will be a fence around the portables on the front side of the property, and the portables will be set back off the street with fencing that encloses the entire section with self-closing, child-resistant pedestrian gates on the north and south sides. This will significantly limit the possibility of students entering the street or parking lot and will allow our staff to contain the area. 
A: There will be several security cameras that the security team and front office staff will be monitoring. 
A: No, the in/out gate will need to remain unlocked during school hours. However, students will not be crossing the parking lot without supervision.

Q: Where will students eat lunch? Will there be a hot lunch program?

A: Students will continue to eat lunch in their classrooms. McAlder and Frederickson operate in the same way. We will continue to do pizza Wednesdays periodically, and we would like to add another option if possible.

Q: Have you all considered purchasing a lot within Tehaleh and building a campus there?

A:We are partnering with Friends of Cascade, LLC, which focuses on expanding our current footprint around Pioneer Campus. Tehaleh would be a great location for a future campus!
 

February 28, 2025 update

To keep everyone updated, this is a brief note to confirm that there have been no changes. We anticipate having more details available by the informational meeting on Tuesday, March 18. 

Please continue to pray for the hearing date to be scheduled soon. Additionally, we hope that the remaining permitting process will proceed smoothly and within a timeframe that allows us to break ground by spring break.
 

February 10, 2025 update

We are pleased to let you know that all processes and materials required for the community hearing to be scheduled have been completed and submitted. We anticipate being placed on the hearing examiner’s schedule very soon, which is an item we can all be praying over together. We are also excited to invite you to an upcoming informational meeting about the ongoing construction at the Pioneer Campus. As the project progresses, we want to ensure that you are being informed every step of the way. 
 

Meeting Details:

• Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
• Time: 6:30 p.m.
• Location: Cascade Christian High School, Forum Deo Gloria (PAC) 
   

During the meeting, we will provide an update on the current status of the project, share key milestones, and outline the next steps. To ensure the meeting is as informative as possible, we encourage you to submit any questions you have in advance. While we may not have answers to everything right away, we will address as many questions as we can during the meeting. Please use this link to RSVP and submit questions.

We want to acknowledge the challenges and unique set of circumstances at the Pioneer Campus this school year, and we deeply appreciate your patience and understanding during the process. Your continued support is invaluable as we work toward the completion of this project.  

This meeting will be a wonderful opportunity for us to gather, discuss the progress, and share in the excitement of what’s to come. Thank you for being part of this community—we are better together. We look forward to seeing you there! 

January 17, 2025 update

We are excited to share an update on the permitting process at the Pioneer Campus with you. Please see the video for a full explanation of the current situation and to hear from Dr. Friesen and our Pioneer Campus principals.

Summary: 

• The project was initially divided into two permits:
        o Permit #1: To place six portables in front of our property.
        o Permit #2: To place four additional portables, which required 20 additional parking stalls that we did not have room for.
• Per our request, the City of Puyallup has reevaluated the formula for calculating required parking stalls and determined that the additional 20 stalls are no longer necessary.
  • We are now able to combine Permits #1 and #2 into a single permit, which will allow us to complete all 10 portables sooner than expected.
    • This will also eliminate the need for a second round of hearings on Permit #2. 
• We will set a date for an in-person meeting to answer pre-submitted questions once the hearing is set or completed.
• We are grateful! God is good, and we remain confident in His sovereignty. 
   

Please pray for the hearing date to be set in the near future and that the hearing outcome will be to our favor.

January 10, 2025 update

Welcome back and happy New Year! 

We have received some feedback regarding our progress from the city. During a recent meeting, they expressed satisfaction with the effectiveness of our pickup process. Thank you for your hard work in ensuring the Pioneer Campus runs smoothly. By the middle of next week, following our construction team meeting, we hope to have a clearer understanding of our timeline and the next steps. Please stay tuned for an upcoming update.

Please pray for God’s hand to continue to be over this project, perseverance during the waiting, and clarity for our next steps. 
 

December 19, 2024 Update

The meeting that took place on December 17 between the City of Puyallup and our team did not yield the results we had anticipated. The primary concern remains the traffic congestion in the neighborhood around Pioneer Campus, particularly the backup onto Pioneer. One of the engineers proposed an alternative traffic pattern through our parking lot for pickup. Mrs. Peterson and the Puyallup Elementary team implemented the suggestion, but it was not more effective than our previous Driveline system. We sincerely appreciate this team and our community for their adaptability! In the meantime, if you are driving to or from Pioneer Campus, please adhere to the previously suggested guidelines and be kind and courteous as we await further details regarding our next steps.

There is no better season than Advent to remind us that God works in ways we don’t always immediately understand. Right now, many of us are probably wrestling with the “why” and wondering how long this relocation process will go on before it is brought to completion. In the waiting, remember what James the brother of Jesus wrote in his letter: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything,” (James 1:2–4, NIV). Take heart; We are going to come out of this stronger, CCS community, and God is going to be glorified.

We pray your Christmas season is full of hope and love. Merry Christmas! 

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given,
   and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
   Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
   Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6, NIV
 

December 13, 2024 Update

The City of Puyallup has scheduled a meeting with our team for next Tuesday, December 17, 2024. We have been informed that all city staff members involved in our project will be attending. This meeting could provide essential insights regarding the project's future progress. We invite you to join us in prayer as we prepare for this important discussion.

 

December 6, 2024 update

The City of Puyallup requested a meeting this week, which took place Wednesday, December 4. We found the meeting to be both informative and productive. There was a discussion that clarified how the city is addressing some of its requirements for us, and we were able to offer insights and feedback that we hope will facilitate progress. We are still under review concerning issues related to traffic flow on and off the campus. The city has scheduled a meeting with our traffic advisor to assess our procedures and their impact on neighboring traffic in the upcoming weeks.

What can the CCS Community do to help? Commit to doing everything possible to ensure a safe and efficient traffic flow on and off the campus. We believe the following measures will contribute significantly toward achieving that goal. To ensure a safe and positive experience for everyone, we kindly ask that you:

• Avoid arriving for pickup line more than 5 minutes before dismissal. This causes a premature backup onto the streets. 
  • JH/HS: parking lot time 2:40-3:00
  • PELM: parking lot time 3:10-3:30 (We start punching numbers just before 3:10)
• Please refrain from texting or looking at your phone. 
• Obey traffic laws: Please adhere to all traffic signs, speed limits, and designated drop-off and pickup zones.
• Be mindful of pedestrians: Watch for pedestrians, especially children, and yield to them.
• Avoid blocking driveways and crosswalks: Please do not block driveways, roads, or crosswalks, as this can create dangerous situations.
• Be patient and courteous. Remember, we are all part of a community. Let's treat each other with respect and patience.
• Close the gap between cars as much as possible while waiting in line. 
• Understand that you might be asked to park if your child is not ready when you arrive.

Additionally, if you would like to help as a traffic flow team member (guiding cars and crossing guard), please contact your campus administrator.

Puyallup Elementary Specifically:

• Remember to stay to the right for Navy Zone and to the left for Gray Zone or parking in the main lot. 

Please pray for a positive result from the traffic evaluation happening next week. Pray for continued faith in God's timing. 

In a devotional shared this week, the song “He is with us” by Love & The Outcome was shared in partnership of this month's spiritual theme emphasis. It was encouraging to those of us in the room, and we pray it is encouraging to you as well. 

November 25, 2024 update

As we enter into the week of Thanksgiving, we are reminded of how much we have to be thankful for. Maintaining an attitude of gratitude is how we see that we can steward this season of waiting. Currently, we do not have any official updates on the progress of the permitting process, but we remain hopeful that we will soon advance to the next phase. We will be more than excited to shout that from the rooftops to let everyone know when that happens!

We are thankful for the leadership, teachers, and staff at Puyallup Elementary for their unwavering positivity and dedication. We are thankful for the support and encouragement from our Puyallup Elementary parents and students. Together, we pray for a prompt response from the City of Puyallup and for the opportunity to enter the review process.

If you are in need of some encouragement, please view this video Mrs. Peterson shared in her recent email to her campus of God's faithfulness in this journey so far.

November 7, 2024 update

As noted in the update from October 28, we have submitted all necessary documents and are now in a waiting period while the City of Puyallup conducts their review.
 

Please continue praying for a swift process, as we hope they will approve all documentation promptly, allowing us to schedule the public hearing at the earliest opportunity.
 

We appreciate everyone's patience and support during this process. In the meantime, we are continuing to prepare for the next steps and ensure that everything is in place for a successful outcome. Thank you for standing by us and joining us in prayer as we navigate these important steps.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
   and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
   and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
 

October 28, 2024 update

The traffic impact study has been completed and is scheduled to be submitted to the City of Puyallup today as part of our submittal package for the Conditional Use Permit review process for placement of modular classrooms. We hope to have a timeline for what comes next from City of Puyallup later this week.

You may have noticed some utility work being done in front of the property. While we are excited about seeing construction of any kind happening, it is not directly related to our project timeline.

Please be praying for a quick review time from the city and that we will enter into the next phase swiftly. 

October 17, 2024 update

A traffic study has been in process for the past few weeks. The traffic engineer who is managing our traffic study has completed his site inspection. He was impressed with our traffic flow system, and he only had a few minor suggestions. He is now preparing his report to recommend that the City of Puyallup grant us into the next phase toward the conditional use permit needed to place modular classrooms on the Pioneer Campus. We anticipate that this part of the process will be completed within the next 7–10 days. As outlined in the grid below, we hope to enter the public hearing step of the process at that time.

As with all construction-related matters, this timetable is fluid and represents our best estimate. We hope everything proceeds within these projected time frames, but, as we have learned, these processes are outside of our control and just take time.

Please be praying with us that the above events can take place in time for us to move into the modular classrooms during Christmas break. Thank you for your continued partnership and prayers during this process. 

If you have questions or would like to request an in-person meeting, you may email Connect2CCS@CascadeChristian.org. 

September 20, 2024 update

As communicated in August, we are using this page to provide additional updates until work is completed and students have moved into the modular classrooms.  

While the updates we currently have are minor, they represent the best progress report we can provide at this time. Please join us in praying for the traffic study to be completed soon and yield positive results, and that we will be able to meet the December–January time frame.

August 2024 Update

God has provided in amazing ways for the relocation of Puyallup Elementary to the Pioneer campus. However, you may have noticed that work on the front of the campus, where modular classrooms for Puyallup Elementary will be placed, has been paused temporarily. This is a multi-faceted project involving multiple permits with the City of Puyallup. We have progressed as far as we can with the permits that have been issued and are now waiting for additional permits that will allow us to complete the project.  

We are beginning the year with an accommodation that is temporary in nature, and have increased the designated space for elementary to include 4 modular classrooms in the JH gym. We are trusting God’s timing for when we will be able to move K-3 students into modular classrooms that will be placed in the open piece of property at the entrance of the campus. Students in grades 4-6 will remain in the second-floor classrooms of the JH building according to plan.

Below, we have provided a brief timeline of the processes and events that need to take place for us to be granted occupancy of the modular classrooms. We will be using this page to provide additional updates until work is completed and students have moved into the modular classrooms. Thank you for your prayers over this ongoing process.

May 2024: Exciting Puyallup Elementary Update

Greetings, Cascade Christian Community, 

I trust this email finds you doing well as we are on the homestretch of this school year. There are a number of things that we are glad to be able to update you on, the first of which is the exciting news that we have purchased the property surrounded by the entrance and exit of our JH/HS campus. The acquisition of this property has value to us in many regards, and we have hoped and prayed for the chance to purchase it for several years. God’s perfect timing in all things has amazingly provided a key piece of what was needed to relocate the Puyallup Elementary campus to the JH/HS site. The acquisition of this property now has provided immediate added value for our CCS community!  

We are already finalizing our plans to pack up and relocate from the Motion Church facility as soon as school concludes! The process of approval from the City of Puyallup for all aspects of the relocation continues in a manner that gives us the opportunity to trust God’s providence and provision. Thank you for continuing to pray with us over all aspects of this approval process.  

The new piece of property will house spacious double modular classrooms for the Puyallup Elementary students. Site work to prepare for the modular units on the added property will begin as soon as possible. Costing roughly $4 million, the relocation of Puyallup Elementary includes site work, landscaping and fencing, elementary office space, and plenty of classrooms and restrooms! Thanks to many generous partners, we are excited to share that the funding for the completion of the JH building’s second floor and the first phase of the Puyallup Elementary relocation has been provided, giving every CCS student a classroom to learn in for the 2024-25 school year.  

We want the very best for our Puyallup Elementary students, as with all our students, and your generosity helps make that possible! We are dedicated to pursuing excellence in all we do, and we are so grateful for how the whole CCS community has partnered together to make this relocation a success. Thank you for investing in the students at Cascade Christian Schools! 

In His service,  

Ken Friesen, EdD  
Superintendent  
Cascade Christian Schools
 

Puyallup Elementary Relocation Update

Dear Cascade Christian Community,

I trust this update finds you having a wonderful start to 2024 and experiencing God’s love and goodness in many ways. I am writing to share with you our target location for where the Puyallup Elementary campus will be located next school year. I am pleased and excited to share with you that it is our intent to relocate onto the same property as the JH/HS campus. I use the phrase “it is our intent” because there are still a number of things that need to be confirmed and finalized for this to happen, most significantly of which is permit approval from the City of Puyallup for placing modular classrooms on that site. Our architect is confident this can all be done and is eager to help us make it happen.

Taking this approach involves achieving the major objectives of what is best for the students, benefiting from the enhanced safety and security provisions the junior high/high school campus offers, being as close as possible to the current location, and being able to invest rather than spend our financial resources. It allows us to be good stewards of the resources that God has given us, which is a priority. Taking this approach also gives us the opportunity to determine over the next few years if this will be a short-term or long-term course of action. Regarding parking and traffic, rest assured, we are proactively developing a comprehensive plan to ensure smooth traffic flow.  

I am reminded of Exodus 14:14 (NIV), which says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Be assured, God is fighting for us in this matter. So, to the questions of what is next and what can we do, the answers are, first and foremost, we trust God’s sovereignty over the matter, and we pray with a mindset of being still. Our prayer is quite simple in nature: “Father God, we acknowledge Your sovereignty over the matter of the relocation of our Puyallup Elementary campus, and we thank You for all You have done and will continue to do on our behalf. Specifically, we ask that the necessary approvals from the City of Puyallup be granted in Your perfect timing. We love You, Lord, and ask for this in Jesus’ name. Amen!”  

Please be on the lookout for opportunities to pray over the Puyallup Elementary relocation and community at large. We are deeply thankful to God. With hearts full of gratitude, we trust in His goodness as we navigate this exciting new chapter.

In His service and with deep gratitude,

Ken Friesen, EdD 
Superintendent 
Cascade Christian Schools