Shawn Zwart

I am thankful for the opportunity to work with the kids, families, and teaching staff at OCCS.

I graduated from Dordt University in 1996 with a BA in Elementary and Special Education. In 2018, I received my endorsement in Pk-3 Early Childhood in regular and special education from Northwestern College. I am currently working on my masters in Special Education at Dordt University.

After graduating from Dordt, I taught one year in the 7th and 8th grade Resource Room at West Branch Middle School in West Branch, Iowa and then 4 years in kindergarten at Heritage Christian School in North Liberty, Iowa. When we moved back to the area, I stayed home with my kids and did some substitute teaching at OCCS. Beginning in 2017, I worked for two years as a special education paraprofessional at MOC. For the last three years, I taught 4 year old preschool at the Orange City Daycare.

My family and I live in Orange City. My husband Brad is a physical therapist and the PT/OT department manager at the Orange City Hospital. We have four children. Trevor works in consturction,  Aubyn is married to Luke Kaemingk and attending Dordt Univeristy, Kallie is a freshman at Unity and Madelyn is a 7th grader at OCCS.

My only hope is God's plan of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. I stand in awe of who God is and His perfect plan in creating each child as He intended him/her to be.  Every child is a gift to be celebrated and my desire is that they will all be able to say, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. " (Psalm 139:14) As we learn together about God's world, I pray God will use me to meet the needs of the kids and encourage them to grow in their love for God and to share God's love with those around them. 

A verse that I hold close to my heart is Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."