Dear Applicant,

Thank you for your interest in employment with Happy Hands Education Center (HHEC) and Deaf Christian Academy (DCA). HHEC is a Christian early education center serving children from birth through PreK, and DCA is a Christian elementary school serving students in kindergarten through 5th grade. Together, we serve the needs of children and students who are Deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Our mission is to "empower these children to flourish" in every area of their lives: academically, relationally, and spiritually. We rely on individuals committed to serving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior with the talents, knowledge, and wisdom He has given them. As you make application with HHEC, our prayer is that you are seeking God's will in your life and submitting this application after much prayer.

The funding for this ministry comes from the Lord through numerous means, such as individuals, churches, corporations, and private grants. At least seventy-five percent of our funding comes from donations and fundraising activities. Twenty-five percent, or less, comes from tuition. Our intent is to never deny enrollment due to the student's financial situation. This unique financial support places a great deal of responsibility on the organization to make the best use of the gifts received. It is imperative that all employees understand the mission, standards, and commitment required for HHEC as a whole and as individuals.

Mission and HHEC Overview 
Our Statement of Faith
Executive Director Position Description

The Employment Application, Commitment to Biblical Standards and Lifestyle Statement, and Statement of Faith will be found at the end. Please sign the completed application and include a current resume. All individuals who feel called to serve at HHEC are welcome to apply. All applications will be reviewed and acknowledged. Selected candidates will be contacted to schedule a virtual interview. Applications will be received until October 31, 2026.

Thank you for your interest in HHEC. We are a ministry first and a school second. Everything we do is for the benefit of the special children and families we serve. We believe God is our source in all things: talents, time, resources, and finances.

HHEC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not discriminate against any applicant on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, or status as a qualified individual with a disability.

Please type or print the following information. All blanks must be filled in. If there is no response, please enter “N/A.” Please do not respond with “See Resume” or “See Attachment.” Responses will be held in confidence. All qualified applications will remain on file for a minimum of one year from the date of application.

Happy Hands Education Center/DCA is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of race, color, sex, age, national origin, veteran status, or status as a qualified individual with a disability.

The State of Oklahoma Department of Human services requires that all individuals to be employed in an early childhood facility, including teaching staff and auxiliary staff, complete a fingerprint background check.  If considered for employment you will be given instructions for completing the fingerprinting. In addition the Child Care Restricted Registry/Joshua’s List (sex offender registry) Search will be conducted on all potential employees using social security number, birthdate, and all last names used. 

Please sign here to indicate your agreement with these background searches:

Happy Hands Education Center and Deaf Christian Academy serve children who are Deaf or hard of hearing. Staff members should be equipped through education, training, and/or experience to fulfill the responsibilities of their position. All staff members who work with children must have adequate sign language skills and a basic knowledge of and respect for Deaf culture.

We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:15–16, 2 Peter 1:21). In the Bible, we find the revelation of God’s will for the salvation of men and the Divine and final authority for the Christian life.

We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (1 John 5:4-7, Matthew 28:19)

We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of human nature; and that we are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Jesus and that only by God’s grace and through faith alone we are saved. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost – the saved to the resurrection of life and the lost to the resurrection of damnation. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, 12:12-13, Galatians 3:26-28, Romans 8:13-14, Ephesians 4:30, 5:18).

We believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ, in His Virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death on the cross, in His Bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (John 1:1-4, 3:16-19, 5:24, 10:33, 11:25, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:35, Hebrews 4:15, 7:26, 2:9, John 2:11, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 2:21-24, Mark 16:19, Romans 3:23, 5:8-9, Acts 1:11, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 19:11, 22:20)

My signature acknowledges my belief in the above statements and my willingness to support them.

Happy Hands/DCA is committed to raising a new generation of students in the Deaf community who know the love of God and have the Word of God planted in their hearts. In order to accomplish this, it is vital that Happy Hands Staff members and Board members be totally devoted followers of Christ, committed to bringing glory to God both individually as well as corporately. This commitment means operating and living by biblical principles at home, at work and in the community, since our personal lives can reflect positively or negatively on Happy Hands/DCA as a Christian ministry. Happy Hands has set out to identify a Life Style Commitment which is biblically sound and consistent with the teachings of Christ. Staff members and Board will be asked to sign a Lifestyle Commitment form indicating their understanding and commitment to live out the standards embraced by The Happy Hands Education Center/DCA Lifestyle Commitment.

We ask that you sign the commitment form after you have read over it carefully. Doing so, indicates your understanding of what Happy Hands/DCA is referring to when we reference moral values and principles which are in accordance to the infallible Word of God recorded in the Holy Bible.

This Lifestyle Commitment form will be a part of the interview and application process and signed prior to employment and also yearly as a part of the Annual Performance Evaluation process.

As a body of believers, we recognize we must be individually committed to all biblical principles and standards and that the ones listed below are only a few of those set out by God which are purposed to bring direction and correction to our lives, and to allow us to draw closer to our Heavenly Father, experience the “abundant life” He desires for us and teaches us respond to His call to Holiness.

“The whole bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.  It is God’s way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.”  II Timothy 3:16-17

We corporately agree we all fall short of the glory of God and operate by His grace and mercy and are forgiven when we fail to fulfill our commitment to Christ.  We also recognize we must rely on each other for encouragement and accountability and grace. 

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Romans 3:22-26

We also realize that as individuals who have been called to represent Happy Hands, His ministry, we are called into accountability to submit to His Lordship, obey His commands and live out His principles.

Therefore, as “born-again” believers in Jesus Christ, Happy Hands Education Center and Deaf Christian Academy Body of Believers are committed to living out God’s standards set forth in God’s Word, the Holy Bible.

Some of these standards include:

1. A commitment to seeking God’s will for our lives through prayer, bible study, and wise godly counsel and a commitment to yielding our lives, hearts and souls to the power of the Holy Spirit relying on His leading for the day to day direction and activities of our lives.

   • “For I know the plans I have for you say the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.  And in those days when you pray, I will listen.  You will find me, when you seek me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:11-13

   • “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51:10-11

   • “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere” Acts 1:8 NLT

   • “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things”. 1 John 2:20

2. A commitment to exemplify Christ-like character in the way we live our lives both personally and vocationally.

   •  “So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn't know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, "You must be holy because I am holy." 1 Peter 1: 13-16  

3. A commitment to faithfully developing the gifts and abilities God has given us as members of the body of Christ, and a commitment to using our God given gifts and talents for His kingdom and to His glory.

   • “We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have all been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all. However, he has given each one of us a special gift according to the generosity of Christ.”  Eph. 4:4-7

4. A commitment to treating our bodies as temples of God. We recognize that the bible tells us that anything done in excess can be harmful, we are therefore committed to healthy living habits and moderation in all things.

   • And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1

   • Or don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) 

5. A commitment to abstaining from any conduct which would even give the appearance of immoral activity such as adultery, homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, lust and/or pornography.

   • Abstain from all appearance of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 (KJB)

   • Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.  1 Corinthians 6:18-20

6. A commitment that God wonderfully and immutable created each person as either male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God. 

   • “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27

7. A commitment which causes us to abstain from activities which “could give the appearance of” involvement in conduct prohibited by the Word of God, The Holy Bible.

   • So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.

   • When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  Galatians 5:16-21

   • You see, this is what can happen: Weak Christians who think it is wrong to eat this food will see you eating in the temple of an idol. You know there’s nothing wrong with it, but they will be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been dedicated to the idol. So because of your superior knowledge, a weak Christian, for whom Christ died, will be destroyed. And you are sinning against Christ when you sin against other Christians by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong. If what I eat is going to make another Christian sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to make another Christian stumble.  1 Corinthians 8:11-13

8. A commitment to use our language for works that uplift and encourage our peers and those we work with and others who are involved in our lives. This commitment prompts us to abstain from foul language, lying, gossiping or sowing discord of any kind.

   • “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, oh Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

   • “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt so you will know how to answer everyone.”  Colossians 4:6

9. A commitment to submitting ourselves to the leadership of Happy Hands and consistently demonstrating respect for those in authority as we are directed to do in the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

   • “Obey those who rule over you and be submissive for they watch out for your souls as those who must give   account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief for that would be unprofitable for you.”  Hebrews 13:17

   • “Let every soul be subject to governing authorities for there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God and those who resist bring judgment on themselves”.  Romans 13:1, 2

10. A commitment to grow spiritually and because of our desire to do so, we are committed to being a part of a body of believers and attending church and/or a Bible study on a weekly basis and spending time in prayer and God’s Word on a daily basis.

    • And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near. Hebrews 10:25 (NLT) 

    • “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5 (NLT) 

* Born-again believer in Jesus Christ – having confessed Jesus as the Son of God, asked him to reside in my heart,   and to be Lord of my life. 

** Matthew 18:15-17 (NLT) "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. If the church decides you are right, but the other person won't accept it, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.

· The filing of an application with Happy Hands Education Center/Deaf Christian Academy is a preliminary step to employment. I understand that HHEC/DCA is in no way obligated to provide employment and that I am in no way obligated to accept employment if offered. This application does not bind either party, and the statements contained herein do not constitute and should not be interpreted to constitute any sort of contract of employment for a specific period.

· I certify that all facts I have provided on this application, in any resume or other materials I have submitted, and during any job interview are true and complete. I understand that material omissions or falsification of this application in any detail may result in my disqualification from consideration for employment or dismissal from employment.

· I authorize HHEC/DCA to investigate, without liability, all statements contained in this application and supporting materials. I further authorize references and former employers, without liability, to make a full response to any inquiries about this application for employment. I agree that HHEC/DCA, my previous employers, educational institutions, and all other individuals and organizations listed in this application will not be held liable in any respect if an employment offer is not made, is withdrawn, or my employment is terminated because of misrepresentations or omissions of requested information.

· I understand that upon the offer and acceptance of a position with Happy Hands Education Center/DCA and before beginning work, I will be required to furnish documentation establishing my identity and eligibility to be legally employed in the United States.

· I understand that this document is not an offer of employment and that, upon a conditional offer of employment, if tendered, employment will occur at will, and no contract of employment, express or implied, is created, and that no representative of Happy Hands Education Center/DCA has any authority to enter into any agreement for employment for any specific period of time or to make any agreement contrary to the foregoing. Upon receipt of a conditional offer of employment, I agree to consent to appropriate pre-employment investigation and/or screening that may include a physical exam, background investigations relevant to the position, and/or drug and alcohol testing. I understand that if I receive an offer of employment and accept the position, I will be required to complete additional information necessary for company record-keeping requirements.

· This certifies that this application was completed by me and that all entries on it and information in it are true and complete to the best of my knowledge.