Worthington Christian High School

Private christian school in Worthington, , Ohio, United States

Worthington Christian School

Address

6675 Worthington Galena Road

Worthington

(Franklin County)

Ohio

43085

United States

Coordinates| 40°5′58″N 83°0′37″W﻿ / ﻿40.09944°N 83.01028°W﻿ / 40.09944; -83.01028
Information
Type| Private Christian
Religious affiliation(s)| Evangelical Christian; Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
Established| 1973
School district| Worthington Christian School
Principal| Tim Kraynak
Head of school| Dr. Michael A. Hayes
Grades| K-12
Enrollment| 900
Color(s)| Red and Gold[1] HEX Codes BA0000 and D39E10
Athletics conference| OHSAA[1]
Sports| golf, football, soccer, volleyball, girls tennis, cross country, Boys JV basketball, Boys Varsity Basketball, Girls JV Basketball, Girls Varsity Basketball, Bowling, swimming, diving, track, boys tennis, softball. cheerleading
Mascot| Warrior
Team name| Warriors[1]
Accreditation| The Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) and Cognia (formerly AdvancED) accredits Worthington Christian School.[2] The Ohio Department of Education recognizes WC as a chartered K-12 school.
Website| www.worthingtonchristian.com/hs

Worthington Christian School is a private Christian school in Worthington, Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The school was founded in 1973, and teaches grades kindergarten through twelve.

The school includes two separate campuses, the Worthington Christian Lower School teaches grades K-6 and Worthington Christian Tom Angela Upper School teaching grades 7-12.

As suggested by the name, the school teaches Christian beliefs as a required part of its curriculum.

According to the school, 95% of graduates go on to a subsequent four-year degree program.

## Organization[edit]

Worthington Christian School is a ministry of the Grace Polaris Church of Columbus, Ohio, and a member of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches. The school's statement of faith comes from the fellowship, a voluntary organization of autonomous churches.

## Controversies[edit]

In 1996, Worthington Christian faculty member Dwayne K. Smith was accused of fondling a middle school female student at the school. After he admitted to the behavior and went through counseling, the school hired him back. Smith remained a teacher until 2008, when the local news ran a story on him as part of a series on teacher misconduct. Smith eventually surrendered his teaching license to the state of Ohio, and it was permanently revoked.[3]

In 2005, John Picard, a youth pastor of Worthington Christian's parent church Grace Brethren, was accused of engaging in sexual conduct with a then 16 year-old girl at the church. However, due to a lack of evidence, he was not charged with anything related to this allegation. Three years later in 2008 another female victim came forward and accused Picard of having repeated sexual relations with her that began when she was only 13 years of age. It has been said that Picard used his position in the church to manipulate these young girls into having sexual relations and even convincing them through Biblical Scripture that what Picard was doing was acceptable. [4]

In April of 2024, former women's basketball coach Jason P. Dawson was arrested by the Cornelius Police Department of the state of North Carolina on two counts of sexual battery and one count of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor, with regards to a relationship with one of his team members during his time at Worthington Christian. When the arrest occurred, Dawson was employed at The Carolina Factory, a local sports complex focused largely on developing the basketball skills of the youth in the larger Charlotte, NC area. Shortly before the arrest he also served as the women's basketball coach for Christ the King Catholic High School in Huntersville from 2023 until his departure in April of 2024. Soon after the arrest and incarceration of Dawson, The Carolina Factory terminated Dawson's employment and banned him from all facilities. [5] [6]

On May 1, 2024, Jason Dawson was found dead on his mother's property due to an apparent suicide with a firearm.

Tim Kraynak, a principal of Worthington Christian Upper School, was accused of withholding information from the police in regards to the Jason Dawson controversy. Since then, his resignation has been demanded from students and families of attendees.

## Notable alumni[edit]

This is a selective list of both graduates, and others who attended the school.

* Maggie Grace – Television and movie actress, she attended ninth grade at the school.[7][8]
* Tyler Joseph – Singer/songwriter, co-founder and lead singer of the alternative duo Twenty One Pilots.
* Joy Morrissey – Member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[9]

## Sports[edit]

* Fall: golf, soccer, volleyball, tennis, cross country, football
* Winter: basketball, bowling, cheerleading, swimming, diving
* Spring: baseball, softball, tennis, track

### Ohio High School Athletic Association team state championships[edit]

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

* Boys' Basketball - 1999[10][11]
* Boys' Golf - 2017[10]
* Boys' Soccer - 2006, 2009, 2011[10]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory". Retrieved 2010-02-17.
2. ^ *"Worthington Christian High School". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. at the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) - Major accrediting body for Protestant schools in the U.S.
3. ^ Writer, Staff. "Former teacher at Christian school to give up license". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
4. ^ "https://www.10tv.com/article/news/ex-youth-pastor-charged-sex-crimes-involving-girl-13/530-ea850834-478f-4482-87e1-6945c38ed82e". WBNS 10TV. 2008-06-21. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|title=`` (help); Missing or empty `|url=` (help)
5. ^ "Former Ohio high school girls' basketball coach arrested, accused of having sex with student". WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio. 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
6. ^ "https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/former-coach-arrested-wanted-sex-crimes-with-minor/QBOESBI7AFG4VBNGN54OAXWX7E/". WSOC TV 9. 2024-03-27. `{{cite web}}`: External link in ``|title=`` (help); Missing or empty `|url=` (help)
7. ^ Warrior News - Winter 2005 (PDF), Publication of Worthington Christian
8. ^ "Maggie Grace's Youth Was Like "Footloose"". TeamCoco.
9. ^ "Worthington Christian grad earns a spot in UK's House of Commons". Worthington Christian School. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
10. ^ a b c OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2008-11-07.
11. ^ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball D4". Retrieved 2008-11-07.

## External links[edit]

* Official website