OCCS Stresses ‘Three Rs,’ But Christian Mores, Too

4-23-10

There’s Room At River Street School For ‘Spontaneity,’

By LAURA COX : ONEONTA

In 1985, a feasibility committee made up of local pastors, parents and teachers launched the Oneonta Community Christian School.
“They wanted more than just the ABCs, reading, writing, and arithmetic,” said the Rev. C. Norman Moran, who was pastor at the Main Street Baptist Church at the time and has since retired.  Parents wanted their children to receive Bible-based education and a Biblical world view, he said.
Moran had some experience with Christian schools and had been a school teacher in public schools prior to coming to Oneonta in 1979. The group approached him about its interest when he first came to Oneonta and they started meeting regularly three years prior to the school opening,
The group represented a variety of evangelical churches in the Oneonta area and they wanted to make sure it was a community-based Christian school not just under the wing of one church, this is where the name Oneonta Community Christian School originated.
“We wanted to do it right,” said Pastor Moran.
“We had no money to start the school,” said Ruth Brown, one of the school’s first teachers, who also participated on the feasibility committee. “We were totally dependent on the Lord.”
Pastor Moran said most of their meetings were comprised of prayer, “we prayed for people, resources and wisdom.”
“In the early days, school board meetings were prayer meetings,” Brown said, “its how we survived.”
The school originally located at the Main Street Baptist Church, then moved to the West Oneonta Baptist Church, later to the building at 32 Chestnut Street, and finally found its home on River Street in Oneonta 15 years ago.
“The Lord always provided a place for us to have a school,” said Brown.
The school is registered with the Association of Christian Schools International as well at New York State, so students who graduate from the K-12 school receive a New York State diploma. It remains non-denominational and has students from many different area churches represented.
School Principal and Administrator Jane Cook said the school also houses students whose families are not religious but wanted their children to learn the moral values taught at the school. The school has also become an option for parents who homeschooled their children but do not feel comfortable teaching high school subjects such as physics or upper level algebra yet still want their children to receive individualized attention.
“Our smaller class sizes allow us to have more one- to-one learning,” said Cook,
She also explained that the class sizes allow them to do field trips and hands-on learning experiences at a moment’s notice. If the class is studying ecology they can walk to the greenway and learn in the environment.
“There is a spontaneity in our teaching style, teachers are free to do that,” said Cook.
Oneonta Community Christian School tries to stay on the forefront of education for their student. They teach Latin in the junior high grades and Spanish in high school. This year the kindergarten class started learning sign language as well. They recently received a donation of 8 up-to-date computers for the computer lab and the students have been learning web design.
The school may lack a large athletic program like public schools, but they have a soccer team that had a 10-2 season against other Christian schools. For students that want to be very involved in athletics, Cook said their parents often find other outlets for them to play beside high school athletics, such as traveling and club sports.
“OCCS is a very family-oriented school. Academic excellence and spiritual development are hallmarks of our reputation,” said Cook.