Guardian Angel Orthodox Day School

Our Mission

Our Core Values

The first Preschool class at GAODS had fourteen students, and the program grew quickly. Parents were attracted by the early childhood education program that combined a strong school readiness program with Orthodox Christian faith and Greek language instruction. Soon the Preschool reached full capacity with sixty students in three class options, despite the fact that the classroom was carved out of a multipurpose room using temporary dividers. The Orthodox Christian preschool curriculum created through the synergy of a group of like-minded teachers in the school was so unique that it was published and has been a model for dozens of other Orthodox Christian preschools around the country.

The success of the Preschool program led to the growth of the school from an early childhood education program to a full elementary school. In the fall of 2006, ten students enrolled in the first Kindergarten class of Guardian Angel. From that small beginning, the school added a grade each year to become a pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 program with more than 170 children enrolled, with a first graduating class in 2011. This growth was made possible by the addition of the Education and Ministry Building to the St. John the Baptist campus in 2007, which is the home of GAODS.

Almost as soon as the school grew to Grade 5, the parents and leadership began planning to add middle school grades to Guardian Angel. In 2012 the School Board approved adding Grade 6 and in 2018, the school's 20th anniversary year, approved added Grades 7 and 8. During the 2020-2021 school year, the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, the school remained open all year for in-person instruction and celebrated the first Eighth Grade Commencement.

All of the families at GAODS owe a debt of gratitude to the parish of St. John the Baptist and the many individuals and families whose prayers, hard work, and sacrifice have brought this very special school to fruition. We especially recognize the first families who developed the mission and vision for the school—the “little leaven” that started the process—and our School Board members throughout the years. We also remember the first Kindergarten families who were willing to take on the blessing and the challenge of being the "pioneers" despite the uncertainties. And, finally, the leadership and parishioners of St. John the Baptist, who undertook the capital campaign to build the Education and Ministry Building. It is inspiring to see how many people, many of whom will never have a child at the school, gave sacrificially for the good of the children of the parish. Many of them see how they themselves have benefited from the churches and ministries that were established by countless others a generation before them and wish to benefit future generations in the same way. May we continue to work together for God’s glory and the formation of the next generation of Orthodox Christians!