Dr. Robert Tinnin
Superintendent, Horizon Christian Schools
Dr. Tinnin grew up in a rural community in southern California. At the age of 12 he accepted Christ as his savior and has remained active in the church since that time.
Following graduation from high school, he attended the University of California at Santa Barbara where he received a BA in botany in 1965 and a Ph.D. in biology in 1969. He and his wife, Elaine, moved to Portland in 1969 after he accepted a position at Portland State University in the Department of Biology. He retired from PSU in 2003.
During his service at PSU, Dr. Tinnin interacted with the Graduate School of Education in various ways. For most of his time at PSU, he served as an advisor to students preparing to be secondary classroom teachers. He also served in various university committees dealing with teacher preparation. Late in his career he was selected to represent PSU at a national consortium on education. This experience placed him in conversation from time to time with K-12 educators from across the US. These discussions focused, in part, on how children learn. Upon completing this assignment, he worked part-time at Community Christian School to gain first-hand knowledge of classroom function. The result of the study was a new course at PSU called “Bioscience for Elementary Educators”.
Soon after retirement, Dr. Tinnin began working as a volunteer at Horizon Christian Elementary School. The first year he served as an aide in his wife’s third grade class. The following year he tutored two students in advanced math, helped teach math in sixth grade and taught science in his wife’s class. In the fall of 2005 he accepted a job at Community Christian Middle School team-teaching math in sixth grade and helping to prepare the accreditation report for Community Christian School. While working at Horizon Christian Elementary School, he learned that children are a treasure waiting to be discovered, both by themselves and by others.
Throughout the time Dr. Tinnin and his wife have lived in Oregon they have attended church; most of that time at Horizon Community Church. For about 25 years he served on the Elder’s Board of the church and taught several adult classes. Given his familiarity with the church and with the schools, he was selected to serve as the superintendent of Horizon Christian Schools in 2005. Dr. Tinnin’s focus is that God’s plan for Horizon Christian Schools will be fulfilled and that God will be glorified by all that is done.