Did you know that your OCS educators invest a minimum of nine full days every year working on professional development to better serve our Eagles? Our faculty participates in annual training in essential, practical areas including bloodborne pathogens, child abuse and neglect, anaphylaxis, safety and security procedures, confidentiality, and copyright. We learn more annually about a wide range of instructional and curriculum topics, including biblical worldview and biblical integration. In addition to the all-faculty professional development we require, most of our faculty also take advantage of opportunities both secular and biblical to add additional training for their specific needs. Some are working on the ongoing requirements to maintain their ACSI certification, and some simply want to improve their craft.
Because truth matters, we continually work through our professional development to ground our OCS educators in truth as we must discern truth from the falsehood so prevalent in our culture today.
All of these development activities are worthwhile and should give everyone confidence that OCS educators are well-equipped to serve students with excellence. Nevertheless, some of the most vital time we spend together is in the areas related to a truly Christian philosophy of education. While OCS seeks to meet or exceed the standards of other schools—public or private—we are a distinctive program with a specific mission. Our greater purpose is very different from other schools, and our desire is to resist worldliness and pursue the holiness found only in Jesus Christ. We are a ministry of Ovilla Road Baptist Church and we strive diligently to serve our church, the collective churches of our student body, our families, and our community in providing a distinctive education in a biblical worldview. Truth matters. Because truth matters, we continually work through our professional development to ground our OCS educators in truth as we must discern truth from the falsehood so prevalent in our culture today.
If you are interested in thinking along with us about truth and a Christian philosophy of education, please begin by reading the first section of any of our handbooks. Our mission is stated clearly: Ovilla Christian School will cultivate an environment in which followers of Christ may flourish as they become biblical thinkers, lifelong learners, and servant leaders. This statement captures the primary distinctive of our school: We are a Christian school for Christian families.
Our statement of philosophy begins in the following manner:
Christian education looks to the Bible as the primary source of direction in all aspects of the school’s community, programs, and activities. Biblical principles support, influence, and drive all aspects of our philosophy, values, and mission. Christian schools exist to be an expression of belief in Jesus Christ, who stated in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Later in John 17:7, Jesus prays to the Father: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Christian education uniquely seeks to contribute to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit by clearly and consistently presenting truth throughout the educational community. With the goal of Christian maturity in mind, every subject is explored from the perspective of a Christ-centered biblical worldview. Christian education is unique in the educational world in its focus on the transformation of the whole student—spiritually, intellectually, physically, emotionally, and socially—into a fully devoted disciple of Jesus Christ, well-prepared for life in the world while not being of the world.
Please join us in this meaningful conversation as we grow and again and again choose the narrow path toward Truth.
Penny Hayes M.Ed.
Head of School
OCS Families: Remember that the links to the three handbooks are found in the Links section of ParentSquare. There is a password required to view.