Olney Adventist Preparatory School (OAPS) opened this year with 131 students. “We haven’t had an enrollment this high in a decade,” said Jami Walker, the school’s principal since 2012. “It’s just a testament to God’s power and our community believing in us.”
-written by Chris Simons, vice principal
Walker is not alone in that sentiment. “God has blessed our school immeasurably since it first opened — and this past decade in particular,” said David Reile, board chair and parent of an eighth grader. “We ended the 2008 school year with 131 students, but we were hit hard in the economic crisis that followed. Our enrollment dropped precipitously over the next several years, bottoming out at just 97 students,” Reile recalled.
However, even in those difficult times, OAPS and its community did not lose hope. Stepping out in faith, they moved out of the Olney Adventist Church and modules and into a newly built school, completed in 2014.
Walker and her staff persevered in staying true to the school motto: Going above and beyond, treating students as individuals. And that motto helps prepare students for future successes, as recently indicated by graduates of Pine Forge Academy, Spencerville Adventist Academy and Takoma Academy. The class-of-2015 valedictorians in these three schools were all OAPS alumni.
“We look forward to God’s continued blessings on our school and students,” said Walker, “as we prepare for success on this Earth and an eternity with Christ.”
