OCEN Announces 2026 Hartshorn Dignity of Life Award Recipients
The Ohio Christian Education Network (OCEN), a partner ministry of Center for Christian Virtue, announced today that 11 of its member schools have been named recipients of the 2026 Mike and Peggy Hartshorn Dignity of Life Award. Established in 2025, the annual award recognizes K-12 Christian schools that have intentionally integrated pro-life worldview instruction and advocacy into their educational programs.
The award honors the lifelong legacy of Mike and Peggy Hartshorn, who have served as foundational leaders in the local and global pro-life movement for over five decades. Together, they helped found the Pregnancy Decision Health Center (PDHC) in Columbus, while Peggy spent 23 years as President of Heartbeat International, building it into the world's largest pregnancy help network.
“When we launched this award, our goal was to directly confront the reality exposed by our Vital Signs data, after the passage of the Reproductive Rights amendment in Ohio, which showed that a staggering 55 percent of Catholic school alumni and 31 percent of Evangelical school alumni voted in favor of Ohio's 2023 abortion amendment. We cannot simply assume that a pro-life ethic develops automatically in Christian youth,” said Troy McIntosh, Executive Director of the Christian Education Network. “These 11 schools are leading the way in discipling the next generation to understand, cherish, and defend the God-given dignity of all people at all stages of life.”
This year's honored schools are:
Bronze Level Recipients
Harvest Preparatory School (Canal Winchester)
Holy Trinity Orthodox Christian Academy and Preschool (Warren)
Liberty Christian Academy (Pataskala)
Silver Level Recipient
Grove City Christian School (Grove City)
Mansfield Classical Academy (Mansfield)
Legacy Christian Academy (Xenia)
Heritage Christian School (Canton)
Gold Level Recipients
Calvary Christian School (Bellefontaine)
Jefferson County Christian School (Wintersville)
Mars Hill Academy (Mason)
2026 School of the Year
Ross County Christian Academy (Chillicothe)
Ross County Christian Academy students and faculty at the 2025 Ohio March for Life
To earn these distinctions, the schools completed a number of pro-life initiatives over the past year, including:
Adopting formal Statements on the Dignity of Life across all award tiers.
Organizing campus diaper drives and baby bottle campaigns to benefit local pregnancy resource centers.
Hosting pro-life chapel speakers and special multi-day worldview programs for students.
Sending student delegations to the Ohio March for Life in Columbus and the National March for Life in Washington, DC.
Implementing curriculum on Human Dignity across all classes.
Launching Students for Life chapters on campus to build peer advocacy.
Ross County Christian Academy in Chillicothe received School of the Year recognition for implementing an integrated K-12 curriculum that teaches a pro-life ethic and a respect for the dignity of life from conception until natural death.
“For over fifty years, Mike and Peggy Hartshorn have shown us how ordinary citizens can step up, follow God’s call, and fundamentally reshape a culture,” said Aaron Baer, President of Center for Christian Virtue. “These 11 schools are establishing a blueprint for the entire state and country, demonstrating that faith-based education is uniquely equipped to overcome cultural indifference toward the unborn. By weaving an unwavering commitment to human dignity into the fabric of their campuses, they are ensuring that the pro-life movement's future and the moral duty to protect every unborn child remain vibrant and enduring.”
Applications for the Hartshorn Dignity of Life Award open annually each April. For more details or to learn how member schools can apply, visit the Hartshorn Dignity of Life Award website.
As a network of Center for Christian Virtue, Ohio’s largest Christian public policy organization, OCEN seeks the good of our neighbors by supporting Christian education through advocating for public policy and cultural growth reflecting the truth of the Gospel.
