After Oakland

Many parents ask the question, “Where do students go after they leave Oakland?” Oakland students graduate when they are well prepared for success in mainstream education. After completing secondary programs, many go on to college and to achieve remarkable success.

Students graduate into the grade that will be most appropriate for their age, maturity level, and academic skills. They may enter fifth through tenth grade after leaving Oakland, depending on their age at enrollment. Most Oakland students return to their homes and attend public or private day schools. Students who prefer a boarding school environment have attended Blue Ridge, Christchurch, Grier, Miller, Oldfields, and other private schools throughout the country.

Oakland students do best in programs that continue to provide them with small classes and a structured environment. Placement after Oakland generally depends on each child’s ability, achievement levels, progress at Oakland, age at graduation, and level of commitment and responsibility. The school sends a follow up questionnaire for four years after a student leaves Oakland. Parents usually report that their children are especially strong in study skills, self-confidence, and the ability to quickly adjust to new situations.

Many former students and their parents remain in touch with Oakland for years. They visit the school and proudly tell of their achievements in high school, college, careers, and life. “Oakland turned my life around” is a common sentiment among these returning alumni.

Testimonials

Here’s what some parents who responded to our follow-up inquiries had to say about Oakland:

“We both attribute a great deal of our daughter’s success to the skills and attitudes she acquired at Oakland. You helped her to see success as a possibility and we are eternally grateful. The investment was substantial, but we certainly got our money’s worth. We often reflect on her years at Oakland and your loving insistence on building success where there had been little. We are so thankful that we found Oakland - it has made a life’s worth of difference.”

“He came to you a confused child with an uncertainty about his academic future, and left a young man full of self-confidence and goals. He recently told someone, ‘I love to read,’ a statement we would not have heard two years ago.”

“We are grateful for his years at Oakland and feel that without that start our son would never have been able to complete his high school program. We are now looking forward to his freshman year in college.”

“There are many times we feel your ears should be burning as we brag about the time he spent with you. I feel we cannot express the many ways his life was so positively affected by the hard work of the Oakland Staff. You will be pleased to know that he has set his college goal as Virginia Military Institute (VMI).”

“Our daughter has been inducted into the National Honor society. She will be attending Virginia Intermont College in the fall majoring in Equine studies. You work wonders for a child’s self-esteem. Also your study skills program and the advice you give to their future school is great.”

“The Oakland years obviously helped him catch up with his class and ‘get back in the game.’ The lasting benefit of Oakland above all others is that he still exhibits the study habits and uses the information gathering strategies he learned there.”