Ovilla Christian School
Ovilla Christian School (OCS) is a private Christian school located in Ovilla, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. OCS is located on the 54-acre campus, and is a ministry, of Ovilla Road Baptist Church.
OCS is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and is a member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools (TAPPS). OCS offers extracurricular activities in numerous athletic and academic events; however, OCS does not play football.
History
OCS began in 1992 with nine students attending a half-day K5 program. Since then, OCS has grown into a full K4-12 program (K4 and K5 offered both as half-day and full-day programs) with a total enrollment of around 500 students.
OCS has won TAPPS state athletic championships in Softball (2002-03), Girls Swimming (2002-03), and Boys Cross Country (2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05), and numerous awards in various fine arts categories including the 2002-03 Fine Arts Student of the Year and first place in State Literary Criticism in 2003-04.
School Mascot and Colors
The school mascot is the Soaring Eagle, and the school colors are navy blue and hunter green.
- The eagle symbolizes faith. Through faith each Christian has the ability to rise above the power of sin, self, hell and the grave because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Isaiah 40:31)
- Blue symbolizes purity. Obedience to the Word of God in the life of a student is the demonstration of purity in character. (Ephesians 5:25b, 26)
- Green symbolizes integrity. The growth that God wants to produce in the lives of His children is demonstrated by student behavior based on integrity. (Luke 2:52)
Enrollment
OCS does not discriminate based on race, color, national or ethnic origin, in either enrollment or privileges available to all students. However, it has admissions standards based on age and religion, which tend to be more restrictive than many Christian schools and are meant to discourage enrollment of students with disciplinary problems or where the parents are nominally active in Christian affairs. In addition to meeting educational requirements (OCS does not accept students with severe learning disabilities), and student/parental agreement with the school's Statement of Faith (which holds to a conservative Christian theology), OCS requires that:
- At least one parent must be a Christian,
- If the student is enrolling for grades 6-12, the student must also be a Christian, and
- The prospective student and his family must obtain a positive reference from a pastor where the family attends church, showing that the family is actively involved in church activities and that the student exhibits Godly character.
OCS states on its website that students under disciplinary suspension or explusion at another school will not normally be accepted for enrollment.
Tuition is based on the age of the oldest student being enrolled at OCS. Full tuition is required for the first two children in a family attending OCS; OCS offers a 5% discount for the third child of a family enrolled, a 15% discount for the fourth child enrolled, and a 25% discount for the fifth child enrolled. Limited financial assistance is available, for up to 50% of tuition.
As is generally the case with private schools, OCS has a mandatory uniform policy. In addition, OCS (consistent with general Christian school practice) administers corporal punishment in certain circumstances.
OCS considers itself an "extension" of the Christian home. It believes that parents, not the state or the school, have the ultimate responsibility for their children's education. OCS further states that enrollment is not a "right", but a privilege. As such, parents who are not proactive in the educational process are strongly discouraged from enrolling their children at OCS, and if a lack of commitment is noted they generally will not be allowed to re-enroll their students at OCS.
Educational Offerings
All OCS students at each grade level must complete one year of Bible classes, taught from a Christian perspective, for advancement to the next grade. In addition, high school students in their senior year must complete one semester of Creation Science in order to graduate.
At the high school level (grades 9-12) OCS offers three graduation options.
- A Regular option (24 credits), which is limited to students having mild to moderate learning disabilities (OCS does not accept students with severe learning disabilities),
- An Advanced option (26 credits), which requires four years of Bible and English, three years of math and science and two years of a foreign language, and
- A Distinguished option (27 credits), which is equivalent to a public school Advanced Placement (AP) track, and requires an extra year of math, science, and foreign language.
Some courses in the Advanced and Distinguished levels are college-level courses offered in conjunction with Navarro College and earn dual high-school and college credit.