About OCS
Growth of the School
What began in 2011 as a small vision has flourished into a vibrant school community committed to shaping young lives. At Olney Christian School, we invite families to join this journey of faith, growth, and transformation that continues to make a lasting impact.
Community of Love and Compassion
Olney Christian School is more than a place of learning—it’s a family rooted in love, learning, and compassion. We create an environment where every child feels seen, supported, and valued, allowing them to thrive academically, spiritually, and personally.
Whole-Person Development
At Olney Christian School, we believe in preparing students for life by educating their minds, nurturing their hearts, and equipping their hands with practical skills. Our holistic approach empowers children to grow into compassionate, capable individuals ready to serve their communities.
Cultural Diversity as a Strength
At Olney Christian School, we celebrate the cultural diversity of our vibrant Philadelphia community. Located in the heart of the greater Olney community, we embrace this richness as an opportunity to nurture understanding, compassion, and unity in our Christ-centered classrooms.
Affordability and Accessibility
We believe that every child deserves access to a quality, Christ-centered education. At Olney Christian School, our commitment to affordability ensures that families from all walks of life can experience the nurturing and growth that our school offers.
What are the core values of OCS?
We are committed to providing a quality, Christ-centered education for an affordable price. We work hard to make sure that families of any income can afford to send their children to Olney Christian. We seek to develop the character of our students and equip them with valuable life skills. Our long range goals include nurturing children in ways that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to society as adults. We build communities of love, grace and service in each classroom and school-wide. We believe that children learn best when they feel accepted and safe in their environment.
- We desire to instill in our students a life-long love of learning about God’s universe.
- We believe that all children are created with unique abilities to learn and grow, and we take very seriously our responsibility to challenge and nurture our students to achieve their God-given potential, to the best of our ability.
- We take a Christ-centered worldview in all learning that takes place, regardless of the secular or religious nature of the curriculum.
- We take a holistic approach to equipping our students for life by educating their minds, nurturing their hearts and training their hands with practical skills, enabling them to make meaningful contributions to society as adults.
- We seek to build communities of love, grace and service in each classroom, across the school, and with our students’ families, knowing that children learn best when they feel accepted and safe in their environment.
- We work hard to make sure that families of any income can afford to send their children to Olney Christian.
What is your philosophy of education?
Head
At Olney Christian School we desire to instill a life-long love of learning of God’s universe into our students “heads”. Not just empty vessels or empty “heads,” we believe that all children are created with unique abilities to learn and grow and we seek to foster that love of learning. We intend to set up our classrooms to meet the diverse needs of our student population in a way that will hold them to high academic expectations that meet or exceed a societal standard for their grade level while at the same time instilling within them a desire to learn in every area of their lives.
Each child has been created uniquely in the image of God and has been gifted with an intelligence that we have the responsibility to challenge and nurture. It is our goal to help our students achieve their God-given potential, to the best of our ability.
Based on the fact that God has gifted each of his children differently, we intend to develop our teaching practices to reflect that. Our methods will therefore include a balanced variety of strategies, including, but not limited to: teacher-oriented lectures, student-oriented discussion, a range of hands-on experience and investigations, and individual and small group practice.
God has created this world and all of the knowledge that is in it. Therefore separating Him out of any aspect of learning is foolish. A Christ-centered worldview will permeate all learning that takes place regardless of the secular or religious nature of the curriculum. Specific time will also be dedicated to learning God’s word, the Bible.
Heart
We believe our school is a representative of a living, breathing body of Christ. Therefore the way our school functions will be a reflection of the heart of Christ and the interdependence of his body.
God has set up an authoritative structure driven by love in his word, and we intend to mirror that in our classrooms. Our teachers are the authority in the classroom, as well as the educator, decision maker and role model and should be respected as such. At the same time our teachers are expected to love and respect our students as Christ loves his church; lovingly knowing the best way to go about disciplining and guiding their students towards spiritual, social and academic growth.
The community of the classroom must be well established in order for academic success to be accomplished. An emphasis will be placed on both social and academic learning. Our staff will be given the freedom to accomplish that in their classrooms and are expected to give it time and effort.
As a reflection of Christ’s body we believe each member of the classroom community has an important role. Therefore when one member is weak we seek to help that member and when one member succeeds we seek to celebrate that success, learning together as a whole community.
We’re a community of sinners, redeemed by grace. Therefore when our students sin we are not surprised and we need to point each other towards the cross. We do believe there are consequences to sin and our expectations will be based on God’s character, revealed in scripture, pointing us back to our need for a Savior and not fear and shame. This community extends beyond our classroom into our students’ families.We believe that God’s grace through Jesus Christ is life giving and essential, therefore we intend to discern where are student are spiritually and lead them to know and follow Jesus.
Hands
Our hands reach out to serve and work and live in our communities. At OCS we not only want to do this as a school but teach our students and their families to do this in their lives. We believe that the school serves as an extension of the home, parents have the responsibility for the education of the child (Deuteronomy 6) and the school is an institution developed to complement the family. While the values of the of our school may not be the same as the homes, we do not neglect the God-given responsibility of the family.
It is therefore our responsibility to partner with families and work together to encourage spiritual, emotional, intellectual and social growth within the student. Through this partnership we hope to mold young men and women who can be successful in the world we live in and reach outside themselves to impact their communities.
We intend to provide families with support which may take the form of quarterly workshops, parent conferences or classroom activities.
We know our world is ever changing. We desire lives for our students that are rich and want their hands to be prepared for the world they will enter. Therefore we will intentionally incorporate these needed skills into the school day. Whether its nutrition, money management, computers, or something else we will pay close attention to how society is thriving and make sure our students are prepared to thrive.
As a staff, we believe that all adults in our school community serve as a model for our students and our school community. We interact on a daily basis and model for our students the social and academic skills which we wish to teach our students. We use Matthew 18 as a Biblical model for conflict.
What is your statement of faith?
At Olney Christian School, we admit students and families of any faith and religion. However, what we believe as a school informs what we teach and how we make decisions. Below is a summary of what we believe.
- God is one being existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- God is sovereign, the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
- The Bible is the written Word of God, inerrant, infallible and the final authority by which God directs and governs all our activities.
- Humans were created in the image of God as rational, moral, and spiritual beings. We sinned in Adam and fell with him when he first disobeyed God. Our fall has affected us spiritually, intellectually, and physically. We are given new life only by the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit and through faith in the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, who represents us before God the Father.
- Marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman (Gen 2:18-25.). It is a unique reflection of the relationship that Jesus Christ has with His church (Eph 5:21-33).
- Jesus Christ is the eternal begotten Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary—truly God, truly man.
- Through Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension, He accomplished a decisive victory over sin for His people, and established His Kingdom among humanity.
- Our Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory and triumph for the final judgment and the consummation of His Kingdom. Those who have trusted in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection will enjoy eternal life with Him, while those who have rejected Him will suffer eternal torment in separation from God.