The Sanchez Family
Manuel, Viviana, Adrian (6th), & Alexa (4th)
Education is the most important heritage for our children besides the Christian faith. They have always been attending private school. Their prior school did not offer Middle or High School. So it was time for a change when Adrian moved into 6th grade and we started looking for his preparation for college. The previous school was not a religious school. Therefore it was very important to us to find a school that would allow our children to freely express their beliefs in the Christian faith. That will not only encourage but will actively support their growth in the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Another important criterion for us was a school that would offer opportunities like AP Program in High school. After evaluating a couple of options we decided on OCS. We live in Oakland Township, so we were familiar with the school and we also have a couple of friends whose children attended OCS in the past and they recommended it to us.
We have felt welcomed from the beginning, the teachers and classmates have helped my kids to be integrated pretty quickly. Even though we have had little interaction with other families so far due to the pandemic. They both enjoy chapel and are learning important fundamentals in the faith and also how to defend their beliefs when they will be challenged. Both children were in the ski club. Adrian participated in the Science & Engineering Fair of Metropolitan Detroit representing OCS and he was awarded Second place for his project, "How Fast an Alka-Seltzer tablet Makes Gas?". He was also nominated to participate in the 2021 Broadcom Masters Science Fair.
What’s unique about Oakland Christian School is the online education platform and more importantly, the ability as parents to be able to oversee their students’ progress without having to be in constant contact with the teachers. This has been an extremely valuable tool for us this past year during the pandemic. And it will continue beyond this year. The teachers are always available when you need to speak to them.
The preparation to transition to online learning was solid. In Middle and Elementary school, online learning was not required this year, but we felt that the infrastructures were in place. And they were ready anytime when there is a quarantined situation, to make the switch seamlessly. Especially compared to last year when so many schools were scrambling to make online learning successful.
The school and Elementary communications keep us up to date with the school activities and how they have handled the pandemic. This has been very important to us. Alexa's teacher, Mrs. Hosmer has been a great support to her and definitively helped her to quickly integrate into the classroom. She is truly a blessing. The teachers challenge them but also offer so much support and praise to our children.