What Sets Us Apart

Dear Web Site Visitor,

As the pastor of the Odenton Baptist Church (OBC) and overseer of the Odenton Christian School (OCS), I would like to welcome you and thank you for visiting our web site.

We trust, by God's grace, that you will find all the information that you need and that this site will help you to understand our ministry better.

We want you to know that the Odenton Christian School is different, and that the difference is very good. We trust that you will find our differences in accordance with God's will and realize that we strive to be different so that He finds our Christian School exactly what He would have it to be. As a persecuted Apostle once said, "We ought to obey God rather than men." (Acts 5:29)

• OCS is different because OCS is affordable. Our school strives to keep costs low so that Christian parents can afford a godly education for their children. We are not here to make money; we are here to serve God. Our 2012/13 annual tuition for regular hours (8 to 3) for K5 thru 12th Grade is $4,790.00 per year. Students arriving as early as 6:00 a.m. or staying as late as 6:00 p.m. pay additional fees for "extended care." Our tuition is less than half that of some schools in our area, and yet our quality of education is extraordinary.
• OCS is different because OCS provides a quality education. We understand that this is an easy claim to make and that almost everyone makes it, but we mean business when we say that our educational accomplishment is very high. Our students typically score about two years ahead of their peers on a nationwide basis. That means, for example, that our typical third grade student will be rated at fifth grade skill level when compared to the nationwide norm. Here are a few specific instances of excellence which were disclosed in our 2004 testing. Our Fourth Grade students, at the end of their year, scored at an average grade level of 6.2 in "Total Reading," grade level 10.9 in "Total Language," grade level 6.6 in "Social Studies," and grade level 7.2 in "Total Battery."
• OCS is different because OCS insists on Christian character in its students. We strive to provide an environment where children can be happy and comfortable rather than afraid. Our school is not for those who are rebels, ungodly, ill tempered, mean spirited, or disinterested in learning. We seek a classroom environment that would honor God and make a child feel at home and welcome. OCS will not be home to the child that cannot be kind to others, obedient to authority, and walk in a way that is pleasing to God.
• OCS is different because OCS has dress standards. Our students wear uniforms and on those days when they may not (i.e. Fall Colors Day when pictures are taken) they are expected to dress modestly and with a neat appearance. Boys are to dress like boys and girls are to dress like girls. Clothes that appeal to the world's lasciviousness are not permissible. We dress to honor God and are pleased to be able to dress up for school in His name.
• OCS is different because OCS emphasizes traditional education. When all the tricks and schemes have been tried and discarded, traditional classroom education will still be the standard. A traditional classroom environment has stood the test of time. Test scores prove it. Memory and recitation along with a teacher led learning environment has succeeded in educating the citizens of the world for thousands of years. Computers are nice, but they are not human. Self instruction is fascinating, but it is vastly inferior to a classroom environment. Come observe our classrooms and you will see that there is no better way to educate your child.
• OCS is different because OCS is established. With over 30 years in existence at the same location, OCS is a healthy and vibrant ministry that God has richly blessed throughout the years. Our policies and methods have been refined over the years and demonstrate dedication to excellence and quality that only comes thru years of experience and improvement.
• OCS is different because OCS uses an advanced curriculum. The A Beka Christian curriculum is used in all of our grade levels. It is an aggressive but manageable approach and has consistently produced results that far exceed other materials. It is a very popular curriculum (maybe the most popular) in Christian schools and home schools, and is continually updated and refined.
• OCS is different because OCS has a Christian staff. Each of our teachers, aids, and secretaries have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. They are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ apart from works or any effort that man may put forth. They are faithful members of their local churches, and many more than half of them are members of the Odenton Baptist Church.
• OCS is different because OCS has diverse programs. At OCS we offer a variety of sports, fine arts training and competition, piano and voice lessons, student led clubs and organizations, and many other activities to compliment the education experience. OCS plays soccer, volleyball, and basketball against other Christian schools in our area and has a highly qualified coaching staff. Our annual Awards Banquet gives the opportunity to award students for accomplishments on the court and field. Private piano and voice lessons are available on site and fine arts competition in the Spring offers students an opportunity to express their skills in competition with others. Competitive history and science fairs are also conducted annually.
• OCS is different because OCS is a local church school. Our school is here to honor God, and we understand that God has a special place for His local church. Decisions at OCS are made with a Pastor's heart rather than a banker's heart. We do not have a school for any other purpose than to keep "Christ" and His word in Christian Education.
• OCS is different because OCS is small. With enrollment of 314 students in 2008/09, OCS has sufficient resources to provide a rich offering of education and programming but is not so large that its students get lost in the shuffle. Quality over quantity is the focus and we thank God for allowing us to be large enough to succeed but small enough to love each student individually.
• OCS is different because OCS has K3 thru 12th Grade in one location. It is possible, and has often been the case that a student could enter OCS in Kindergarten and graduate from High School at the same facility. It has been that way for over 20 years. We offer the convenience and efficiency of a single site for all of our operations.
• OCS is different because OCS emphasizes the Bible. The Bible counts at OCS. We teach Bible in every grade and have a dedicated Bible teacher in our High School. Bible is a graded course in the High School and is taught from a traditional evangelical perspective. From the Kindergarten student who sings Bible songs every day to the elementary student who presents a Bible based program on a weekday night to the High School student who studies the doctrines and heroes of the faith, OCS puts the Bible first in the classroom. Weekly chapel services for every grade further promote the word of God thru preaching and song.
• OCS is different because OCS has a godly high school. Our high school students are Christians, not rebels. They are examples of what a Christian should be and they walk to the sound of the word of God rather than to the beat of the world. It is our every desire to have a high school that is completely free of foul language, ill manners, and worldly attitudes. At OCS the high school is a Christian school too. Our high school is much smaller than the programs in our lower grades and we offer a unique high school student to teacher ratio of less than 10 to 1.
• OCS is different because OCS offers 6:00 to 6:00 extended care. Our extended care options begin at 6:00 a.m. and continue until 6:00 p.m. every day of the year except major holidays such as Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. We encourage parents to be responsible by spending much quality time with their children but also realize that many of our parents commute to and from Washington, DC or work odd hours at Fort Meade.
• OCS is different because OCS has changed. OCS is dedicated to Godly character and genuinely Christian education like it never has been before. You can see the difference when you walk down our halls and talk with our teachers, students, and staff. OCS is what a Christian school should be.

We think you will find that OCS is truly a unique opportunity to give your child a first class education in a godly environment at an affordable price. As the pastor of the Odenton Baptist Church let me encourage you to consider us when making decisions about your child's education, and to remember that you don't get second chances when you raise children. "Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Prov 22:6)

Thank you for visiting our web site; we trust the Lord will be your blessing as He has been ours.

Pastor George Shafer

Odenton Baptist Church