The Oaks Academy

The Oaks' Values

The name of the school, The Oaks Academy, finds its origin in the following verse from the Bible:
"The Lord has called us to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning and a garment of praise instead of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor."                  — Isaiah 61:3 NIV

The leadership of The Oaks Academy is guided by the following essential and important values:

Essential Values:

• All those who teach or who are in a position of authority at The Oaks will demonstrate firstly a life-transforming Christian faith and, secondly a commitment to a local Christian church.
• The Oaks Academy recognizes that the foremost responsibility of the education of children is with the parents or persons acting in the place of parents. As such, faculty and staff of The Oaks enter into a deliberative partnership with caregivers/parents/guardians in the educational process of their children. Those accepting this important role in a child’s life are also expected to accept an integral role in the life of the school.
• The Oaks Academy will serve the community at large. Its student body should be racially, economically, and socially diverse. It will welcome students from non-Christian families.
• The Oaks Academy will promote reconciliation across societal boundaries.
• Education at The Oaks Academy must train students to participate in and transform the society in which they live, while recognizing the firm foundation and boundary of God's Truth as expressed in the Scriptures, through nature, and through the person of Jesus Christ. This will be accomplished through a thorough and critical educational approach based on a Christ-centered worldview.
• To accomplish its mission The Oaks must have an atmosphere of love, kindness, orderliness and joy. A school culture will be promoted in which meanness is not acceptable, students recognize and respect authority, and an excited love of learning is fostered.

• As a pedagogical approach, The Oaks Academy has adopted a classical method, a teaching model that seeks to tailor the curriculum subject matter to a child's cognitive development and is characterized by a rich exposure to the great works of Western Civilization including art, history, language, philosophy and literature. This approach emphasizes the basic thinking and character skills necessary to launch young men and women on a lifetime journey of growth and learning.
• Student evaluation at The Oaks must be fair, honest, and Christian in character. The goal of evaluation is three-fold. First, to give a clear and accurate picture of a student's progress; second, to encourage the student toward an ever-stronger desire to learn; third, to promote a culture in which students take delight in each other's progress.
• The Oaks seeks to accommodate flexible learning rates and styles. Decisions about school entry age and retention, readiness for enrichment, testing and evaluation are made in recognition that each student has special gifts and contribute in various ways.