We advocate for school choice and religious freedom in education and equip Catholic and Evangelical schools to promote a biblical worldview.
The Ohio Christian Education Network (OCEN) protects the religious liberty of Christian schools and ensures every Ohio family has access to a Gospel-centered education.
OCEN, a division of Center for Christian Virtue (CCV), is a coalition of schools and community members who stand for freedom in education and want to support initiatives that prevent the government from intruding on the right of Christian schools to teach Gospel-centered principles.
With a daily presence in the Ohio Statehouse, OCEN is your partner in combatting additional regulations that make it tougher to provide Christian education and maintain Christian schools.
OCEN also endeavors to see Ohio offer “true-choice” to families. This means any initiatives to promote school choice programs come with as few strings attached as possible, ensuring private Christian schools do not have to compromise their operating principles in order to have students enrolled on state-sponsored scholarships or tax credit programs.
Core Principles
Religious Freedom
Christian schools should have the freedom under law to operate according to their Biblical beliefs.
Parents’ Rights
Parents have the fundamental right to direct the upbringing and education of their children.
Education Funding
Ohio should have a “money follows the child” education funding system.
Regulation
School choice programs should come with “no strings attached.”
What We Do
ENCOURAGE
Encourage Christian school leaders to participate in public dialogue about the most pressing issues in education and build a network of Christian school advocates who come together to work for school choice and freedom of religious education.
Oppose
Oppose any governmental or social intrusion on Christian schools’ right to operate freely.
Advocate
Advocate for religious liberty and educational freedom at the Ohio Statehouse.
STAND
Stand in support of parents’ rights to choose the best education for their children and expand school options for families.
SUPPORT
Support the growth of Christian school access by school planting in areas that are under-served.
FUND
Fund students seeking Christian education with our OCEN SGO scholarship program.
The OCEN Team
Troy McIntosh
Executive Director
Troy comes to OCEN after serving 27 years in Christian education as a teacher, principal and, for the last eight years, as head of school at Worthington Christian School in Worthington, Ohio. Prior to his time in education, he worked in the Ohio House of Representatives in the Legislative Services Commission Fellowship program.
Dave Arrell
Assistant Director
Dave comes to OCEN after serving more than 37 years in Christian schooling. His teaching and coaching career began in 1985 in Maryland. He has served as an Athletic Director, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Head of School in Christian schools in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Ohio, too. The last eight years he served as the Head of School at Grove City Christian, just south of Columbus. He has considerable experience in both church-based and independent Christian schools.
Dave was graduated from Lancaster Bible College (PA) with a BS in Bible and Johns Hopkins University (MD) with a Master of Science degree in Education. Dave’s wife, Lori, is a third-grade teacher at Grove City Christian School. They have two adult children, one of whom serves as an Athletic Director at a Christian school in northern Ohio.
Corrinne Vidales
Legal Counsel
Corrinne grew up in Northwest Ohio and graduated with a B.A. in English from Bowling Green State University, where both of her parents were educators. After graduation, she participated in a year-long Franciscan service program directing an inner-city after-school program in Syracuse, New York. That experience sparked her interest in transforming education. She moved home to work for Catholic Charities in Toledo, Ohio at La Posada Family Homeless shelter.