Our Story

Looking back through the years, we see that God gave a man a vision for a Christian school in Orleans County. That man, Pastor Tim Lindsay, sought out individuals with a heart for Christian education. In October of 1993, the first organizational meeting was held, and a county-wide survey confirmed the community's desire for Christian education.

After three years of prayer and planning, the school opened its doors on September 4, 1996, with thirteen students, one full-time teacher, and one part-time teacher at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Albion.

Over the decades, God has continued to provide: five years in Albion, seventeen years at the old Medina High School, and years of growth at Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship in Medina. In 2025, we received an extraordinary gift, a campus of our own. The former Shelby Baptist Church complex in Shelby Center was donated to OCCS by Pastors Aligned for Community Transformation (PACT), and beginning in the 2026–27 school year it becomes our permanent home, with classrooms, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium/community center.

Through every season, our purpose has remained the same: to provide young people with the tools and environment they need to attain the highest level of academic achievement and Christian character.

Philosophy & Purpose

The purpose of Orleans County Christian School is to provide the opportunity to come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and to develop spiritual maturity in the Holy Spirit while teaching Christian approaches to life. Education at OCCS encompasses spiritual, intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development, with emphasis on student leadership grounded in true humility.

We believe in:

• Christian education with a Biblical worldview

• Dedicated staff who model the Christian way of life

• Inspiring students academically, socially, physically, and spiritually, from K4 through Grade 12

• Developing students of integrity and strength of character to live out their faith in this present culture

• Parental involvement in each student's education and school activities

• A safe, clean, and structured learning environment where each student is loved as part of the school family

• Promotion of our American heritage and appreciation for the rights, privileges, and responsibilities given by our Constitution

Vision Statement

Orleans County Christian School strives to provide each student with a quality Christian education through a Biblically based curriculum and professional Christian staff. By attending OCCS, the student will be prepared academically, socially, and spiritually, holding to a Biblical worldview to become a vital part of society. The student will become a contributing member of the community, demonstrating honesty, integrity, and a strong work ethic.

Statement of Faith

• We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Peter 1:21).

• We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30).

• We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15; 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11); His vicarious and atoning death (1 Corinthians 15:3; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19); His personal return in power and glory (Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11).

• We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of human nature; and that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Christ and that only by God's grace and through faith are we saved (John 3:16-19; Romans 3:23; 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5).

• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29).

• We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:26-28).

• We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (Romans 8:13-14; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).

Our Team

Leadership

• Dawn Zaidel — Principal (English & History)

• Ayesha Kreutz — Administrator & Chaplain

Faculty & Staff

• Krista Lawson — Grades 1–3, Bible

• Mary Hollenbeck — Teacher & GED Instructor

• Laura Fields — Teacher

• Carole Watson — Teacher

• Mike Miner — Teacher

• Sarah Walker — Music (volunteer)

• Becky Miner — Lunch Monitor

• Michael Zaidel — School Nurse

Board of Directors Pastor Kevin Lawson (Chair) · Shelcy Plueckhahn · Kim Jones · Mike Zaidel · Curt Strickland · Mike Watts

Sponsoring Churches

Harvest Christian Fellowship, Albion · Calvary Tabernacle Assembly of God, Medina · Faith Alliance Church, Albion · 1st Baptist Church of Holley · Oak Orchard Assembly of God, Medina · Alabama Full Gospel Fellowship, Medina · Light of Victory Church, Albion · Faith Covenant Fellowship, Medina

Affiliation

Orleans County Christian School is a member of the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). [CLIENT CONFIRM current membership status and whether "member" or "accredited" is the correct term]

ACADEMICS

The Abeka Difference

There's a reason thousands of Christian schools across America teach with Abeka, and a reason so many homeschool families trust it too.

For more than 50 years, Abeka has combined rigorous, traditional academics with an unashamedly Biblical foundation. That means:

• Phonics-based reading — children learn to actually read, not guess

• Math fact mastery and spiral review — concepts are revisited and reinforced until they stick

• History and science from a Biblical worldview — your child learns real academics without the revisionism

• Character woven through every subject — because education is about who your child becomes, not just what they know

At OCCS, Abeka runs from preschool through high school, one consistent, proven curriculum for your child's entire education. No curriculum whiplash, no re-learning how to learn every September.

Coming from an Abeka homeschool? Your child steps into our classroom already knowing the rhythm. It's the smoothest transition from homeschool to school family that we know of.

Why Small Classes Change Everything

Ask any teacher what they could do with six students instead of twenty-six. Then watch it happen.

• Every child, every day. In a 6:1 classroom, a teacher doesn't discover a struggle at report-card time, she sees it by Tuesday and fixes it by Friday.

• No hiding, no coasting. Every student reads aloud, works the problem at the board, and answers the question. Participation isn't optional when you're one of six, and confidence grows because of it.

• Teaching to the child, not the middle. With a handful of students, our teachers move faster where a child excels and slow down where a child needs more, the kind of personalized pacing large schools promise and can't deliver.

• Known by name all of them. Our principal teaches. Our administrator knows every family. As one parent put it: "Everyone at OCCS, from the principal to the bus driver, genuinely knows our child."

The proof: our recent graduates have earned honor-roll averages above 94, top SAT math scores, state academic awards, and college acceptances, from a school where the whole high school is smaller than one public-school classroom. Small isn't a compromise. Small is why it works. [CLIENT CONFIRM specifics before publishing]