OCSI.org

Corporate / Governance

The relationship between GHOCS and OCSI

Okinawa Christian School International (OCSI) is owned and operated by the Gakko Hojin Okinawa Christian Schools (GHOCS).  Gakko Hojin, a Japanese phrase, refers to the incorporation status of a non-profit school corporation. This incorporation status was granted by Okinawa Prefecture after a lengthy application process in March, 2010.  OCSI is recognized as a Kakushu Gakko (specialty school) by Okinawa Prefecture, the status granted to accredited international schools in Japan.  Put simply, GHOCS is the umbrella under which OCSI is governed and operated.

How the GHOCS governs and operates OCSI

The GHOCS is governed by a Board of Directors and Council made up of school stakeholders (parents, teachers and alumni) and local ministers, pastors, and missionaries who subscribe to the GHOCS Statement of Faith as found in the Council By-laws.  The Board of Directors is elected from among the Council membership and is responsible for setting OCSI’s policies, determining tuition and fees, and hiring the school administration and faculty.  The Council is tasked with approving OCSI’s organizational plan and budget each year. The Board of Directors and the Council work in concert, therefore, to ensure that Christian principles are applied to the management and leadership of OCSI.  Board meetings are held monthly, except in the summer, and two Council meetings are held annually in early March and late May.

Board and Council Membership

Board membership is limited to those members of the Council who currently serve as full-time ministers, pastors, or missionaries in Okinawa, and have two years experience as a minister whether in Okinawa or elsewhere.

Regular Council membership is limited to:

1. Employees for more than two years of any school owned or operated by the GHOCS,
2. Administrators of any organization that is part of the GHOCS.
3. Graduates of any school established by the GHOCS, or the Zaidan Hojin Okinawa Christian School (1974-2010), or Okinawa Christian School (1957-1973), who attended said school for at least two consecutive years, and are currently over the age of 25.
4. Stakeholders in the GHOCS which include:
   1. Parents and guardians of children enrolled for more than two years in a school owned and operated by the GHOCS.
   2. Missionary teachers assigned to the GHOCS from other mission agencies and have served in that capacity for more than two years.
   3. Missionaries and other full-time Christian workers that hold in common with the GHOCS an evangelical mission and doctrine, who have served in that capacity for more than two years.

Associate Council membership is possible for all other persons subscribing to the GHOCS Council By-laws who are twenty-one (21) years of age and older.  Associate membership on the Council grants the right to attend Council meetings, but does not grant the right to vote on Council matters.

OCSI Governance in the past…

OCSI (originally known as OCS, or Okinawa Christian School) was founded in 1957 and was operated by the Okinawa Christian School Mission under the authority of the Ryukyu Military Government, which governed the Okinawan islands after World War II.  After Okinawa reverted to Japan in 1972, OCS was governed by Zaidan Hojin Okinawa Christian School (a non-profit foundation established by the OCSM in 1974), which operated under the control of the OCSM.