Testimonials: Parent

TJ & Elisa Duger

EC Parents

How has Eastern Christian made a difference in the life of your child(ren)? What do you think would be different had they not come here? 

EC has offered an atmosphere for our children to hear the messages of our home reinforced from other important adults in their lives-messages of faith and character.

How has the staff and/or administration partnered with you to nurture your child’s spirit and engage your child’s mind? 

The teachers and staff at EC have spent quality time getting to know our children-both strengths and weaknesses. EC has offered special curriculum to allow their strengths to excel and spent extra time with us as parent to find effective ways of supporting the areas of development still to grow.

What is the most valuable part of the Eastern Christian experience to you? 

For us, the dedication of staff to model the love of Christ to our children daily is the most valuable part of the education at EC.

Why are you thankful for Christian Education? 

We are thankful for a place that speaks the truths of Scripture to our children.

What else would you like potential students and donors to know about Eastern Christian?

EC is a place that cares about the whole child-their heart, mind, and spirit.

Stephanie Ohnegian

EC Parent

How has Eastern Christian made a difference in the life of your child(ren)? What do you think would be different had they not come here? 

Eastern Christian provided my daughter with a renewed enthusiasm for learning! After her public school experienced several years of turmoil, Eastern Christian Middle School was wonderful. The school and students embraced her and helped her grow in her faith. Her teachers have been truly wonderful, helping her improve her weaknesses and tap into her natural talents. We love that the Eastern Christian community is diverse, with students from most of the surrounding communities and even farther away. For example, the International Student Program exposes the students to other cultures, opening their eyes to their blessings at home and what the world has to offer them on other continents. We hope to host an international student in the future. My daughter’s experiences with the ECMS and ECHS athletics also have been great. The coaches have fostered camaraderie and discipline, and the players have demonstrated their competitive spirit, but also sportsmanship and a team mentality that seems to be passed down year to year. I’m sure my daughter and our family would have made the best of our school situation, but coming to EC has far exceeded our expectations and kicked off a school journey that I don’t think we could have found elsewhere. We are so thankful.

How has the staff and/or administration partnered with you to nurture your child’s spirit and engage your child’s mind? 

The Eastern Christian Middle and High School administrators have been wonderful, especially as our daughter arrived in the middle of middle school! The ECMS Principal is an ebullient leader who makes that extra effort to ensure all students are thriving. He is extremely responsive when issues arise and is very efficient in resolving them. The ECHS Principal has established an environment of energy, enthusiasm, fun and structure. He regularly attends many of the extra-curricular events, cheering on athletes and getting to know their families. He greets every high school student every day at the front door with a hello and a smile. At both campuses, my daughter’s teachers have been stellar in nurturing both her mind and her spirit. Every day, she cannot stop talking about something, whether it be the speaker in chapel, what she learned in World Literature, where she wants to go on a mission trip, or what charity the students are supporting. She is excited to go to school every day!

What is the most valuable part of the Eastern Christian experience to you? 

For us so far, the most valuable part of the Eastern Christian experience is its tremendous contribution in building our daughter’s confidence. The tenor of the school is warm and welcoming, the teachers are positive and encouraging and are never too busy to help outside of class, the students share a spiritual compass in an environment filled with collaboration and fellowship, the SOAR and after-school activities are providing her exposure to valuable new experiences, and the sports are competitive but cooperative, with players of all ages interacting with each other inside and outside of school. We feel so blessed with the person that our daughter is and who she is becoming at EC.

Why are you thankful for Christian Education? 

The Eastern Christian school experience has well exceeded our expectations. We had heard from others whose children attended the school that it provided a great environment for their children, but we had not envisioned quite the extent to which we would be impacted. Our daughter is making new friends from diverse backgrounds and various local communities. Her teachers are inspiring her so that she wants to learn, grow, excel, and succeed. Her spiritual foundation is expanding, and she loved chapel in the middle school and now devotions in the high school; some of the sermons she regularly references. We are meeting many new parents and getting to know their families. We trust the school and its administrators and staff as they mentor her, encourage her, help her strive for excellence, and expand her perspective on the world and her spirituality. Eastern Christian was one of the best decisions we have made for our daughter.

What else would you like others to know about Eastern Christian School?

Eastern Christian is a very special place, which is why so many families send their children there, and those children become adults who send their children to the school there, and on and on. The school community is friendly and welcoming. There are many opportunities for parents to get involved helping in the schools and outside with community service and fundraisers. The school facilities are wonderful, but the leadership always seems to be improving them. For example, at ECMS the construction of an outdoor classroom was underway, and at ECHS a turf athletic field is in progress and will be an invaluable asset to all the Eastern Christian students and sports teams. We are so grateful for the opportunity to send our daughter to EC as we watch her thrive.

Stacy-Ann & Sanjay

Parents

Jon & Erin Gorter

Parents

Our daughter started PK4 this school year, and our experience has been nothing short of amazing! From academics to nurturing her spiritual growth, we could not be happier to see our child loving each day in PK. She has learned so much, made new friends, and loves each of her teachers. It’s a true testament of how a school should come alongside a child and nurture so many aspects that make up their whole person. We LOVE EC!

Eric & Stella Osae-Twum

Parents

What do you love about EC?

We love the fact that our children get to hear about God everyday at school. The bible instructs us in Deuteronomy 6:7 to teach the word of God to our children when we sit at home and when we walk along the road, when we lie down and when we get up. Since they spend about seven hours at school each day, we are grateful that they do not miss out on hearing God’s word during this period. Our faith and love for God as a community also unifies us and this helps to bridge cultural differences. We have been blessed with genuine friends.

Why did you choose Eastern Christian School for your children?

• We believe in partnering with the Church and School to raise godly children and EC offered that partnership
• Impressive physical structure with boldly written bible verses
• More diverse environment than the public school setting we were in at the time
• Supportive staff
• Warm environment where authentic family relationships can be built

In what ways have you seen your children grow in their faith as a result of their experience at Eastern Christian School?

Our children love music and enjoy learning new Christian songs at school. They also love learning new bible verses. The opportunity to come together for chapel every week has taught them that worshipping God is continuous and not a Sunday affair. They are also learning to view things from a Godly perspective as this is emphasized in the subjects taught.

What would you tell another parent to encourage them to consider enrolling their child at Eastern Christian School?

We were raised in an environment where belief in God was taught in schools. Unfortunately, this is not the case in our culture now. For everyone who values a Christ centered education for their children, EC is a good place for you. Here you get to partner with the school in raising a generation of children who are bold in declaring their faith and living godly lives.

Katie Tarta

EC Parent

What do you love about EC?
What I love about EC is too much to list but I’ll share a story. We are from this region originally but lived abroad for over a decade. My eldest kids were born & grew up on an island in the Caribbean and though they’ve been at EC for 6+ years and are now at the MS, they still love their island home. In the last 18 months we’ve had opportunity to return and the #1 thing that keeps us rooted in NJ, (other than family who will surely read this), really is EC. My kids told me this summer that even if they could return to the island, they wouldn’t want to leave New Jersey because of EC and specifically cited the teachers! For a family that works hard to make sure they have this opportunity it was both financially validating but also reinforced that God has us just where we should be. And if you’ve ever tried to get a direct answer from a teenager, this is even more to the point.

Why did you choose Eastern Christian School for your children?
– Christ-focused spiritual reinforcement from the place they spend the majority of their time
– Excellent education, teachers & support systems
– Service oriented approach to building life skills
– Community & relationally driven environment

In what ways have you seen your children grow in their faith as a result of their experience at Eastern Christian School?
My kids pray openly. They pray for others first, they pray for those in need and they have developed a sense of service that surprises this mom. From my preschool student to my middle school students, they think beyond themselves and while I’d like to claim credit, the truth is, I know it comes from the style of education where they’re taught about what sacrifice & service looks like. This lesson has extended into how they act at home too.

Their educational growth should be noted as well, they have all become stronger learners even through the pandemic. We are so grateful for their teacher’s level of commitment academically and spiritually especially on those really hard long days!

What would you tell another parent considering enrolling their child(ren) at Eastern Christian School?
My husband and I met in 6th grade. We’ve been married 20+ years. It has been a wild ride even before the 3 kids. We grew up in Bergen County and went to public school. We got an amazing education at those schools. We got amazing opportunities because of them as well. Those schools gave us state championships in sports and expansive extracurriculars rivaling colleges. We got so much out of it including each other. What we did not get, however, was a sense of self through the eyes of Jesus. That came much later, in God’s good timing. But now as parents, given the choice, we want our kids to be in a place where that is reinforced, daily, hourly and by everyone they encounter at school. What is even better is that we don’t have to give up the other side of things either. EC’s education, programing and activities opens doors for our kids just like our own schooling experience BUT our kids have the signs of being rooted in faith sooner than we were. I think God is everywhere, every school, every grade with everyone who calls on Him, but what I love about EC is that when my kid isn’t calling on Him, those around them are and we can all feel the difference.

Daniel Onove

Parent

What do you love about EC?
Eastern Christian provides a rigorous academic environment with a caring, competent staff. It is small enough to present a family atmosphere and yet large enough to offer a full range of extra curricular activities in the areas of athletics, drama, and technology. All of the teachers, administrators, and staff knew my children by name and took an interest in their present well being and prospects for future success.

Why did you choose Eastern Christian School for your children?
We chose Eastern Christian because we were looking for a school that offered engaging educational opportunities in a Christ-centered environment. We wanted to ensure that the school they attended would prepare them for the future they envisioned. We have not been disappointed. Our older boys secured generous college scholarships and are now safely ensconced in rewarding and promising professions. All were prepared by their experience at EC for the advanced education that followed high school.

In what ways have you seen your children grow in their faith as a result of their experience at Eastern Christian School?
Through their exposure to teachers, administrators, and staff who embody Biblical values, my children were presented with Christian role models who helped guide their path. Faith-based community service and regular Bible study also led them to grow in faith and commitment.

The Eastern Christian tagline is “Engaging. Nurturing. Transforming.” How does your child experience this at EC?
Eastern Christian has so many wonderful, caring, and committed teachers, staff, and administrators. It is through their nurturing that students are motivated to get involved in activities that engage their minds and spirits. And as they become more deeply involved in studying the Scriptures, praying, and worshiping, a transformation occurs that deepens their faith and leads them into a closer, more productive relationship with our Creator, and, by extension, those within their sphere of influence.

What would you tell another parent to encourage them to consider enrolling their child at Eastern Christian School?
If you are looking for a school where each child is important, where teachers, administrators, and staff take an active interest in their students’ well being, where rigorous coursework will prepare your son or daughter for the challenges of the future, where enduring friendships are made, and where a Christ-centered education is a priority, then you must consider enrolling your child at Eastern Christian.