OACS News Service

Series to engage new school families in sharing their stories
Hope is that stories will help strengthen OACS schools
Wednesday September 8, 2010 -- Michelle Strutzenberger
As the 2010-2011 school year gets underway, the Ontario Alliance of Christian Schools (OACS) News Service is launching a series that will feature the stories of families who are new to member schools.

A number of OACS member schools are experiencing growth and attracting new families, and the goal is to explore why this is happening.

Writers will be engaging new families in a dialogue to reinforce and discover the reasons they opted to send their children to an independent Christian school.

The hope is that through these stories, the inspiration, hopes and expectations of new families will spread throughout the OACS community and beyond, ultimately generating positive results for the schools.

For instance, material gleaned from the stories and interview notes could be used to help other schools consider how they might become more successful.

The stories could also strengthen the commitment of current families to attending the schools, offer a way to reach out to other prospective families and inspire supporters to renewed involvement through financial contributions, referrals or volunteering.

OACS director of advancement Ray Hendriks says he expects the series to highlight a diversity of reasons for school growth, something he sees as an exciting trend.

“I think a lot of schools still think that the only reason people enrol their kids in Christian schools is because they have a Christian world and life view,” says Hendriks.

“And today, the reality is that parents search out Christian schools for many more reasons than simply the Christian world and life view, and I think they’ll find that reflected in these articles.”

In addition to providing a clearer picture of the reasons for enrolment today, Hendriks says he would like to see the series encourage schools to “wrestle with their satisfaction with these reasons.”

There is value in member schools constantly examining their vision and mission, he says, and if these direct reports from parents provide additional support for them to do that, then that would be a positive result.

Hendriks adds his hope is that schools will realize the importance of sharing these stories both in their own communities and in the broader OACS context.

“The schools can help us and themselves by encouraging parents to make the reasons for enrolment known to the community,” he says.

If you would like to share your story with the OACS News, or have feedback on this article please contact michelle(at)axiomnews.ca, or call the newsroom at 800-294-0051, ext. 27.

The OACS News Service is independently written and produced. The stories are researched, written and posted by Axiom News Service without prior editorial approval from either OACS or their members.

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