OAKS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Oaks Christian School is a nondenominational, coed, college-preparatory school serving grades 5–12, with an approximate enrollment of 1,600 students. This fall, grade 4 will be added. Oaks Christian is both a day school and a residential boarding facility open to domestic and international students. It gives back to the community through partnerships with various local organizations.

WHAT DO YOU OFFER THAT’S UNIQUE?

Oaks Christian embraces the concept of “school outside the walls,” giving students opportunities to learn directly through offcampus experiences. Advanced film students attend the Sundance Film Festival. Global leadership students visit Homeboy Industries and Sony, among others, to learn how nonprofits and for-profits work. Photo students create a book on burn victims to raise awareness and funds for burn injury survivors. And engineering students travel to forest areas and build fully functional tiny homes for people displaced by fires.

HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL GIVE KIDS A WINDOW INTO OTHER CULTURES?

Under the guidance of our director of world missions and community services, our students are given opportunities for educational and service-oriented international and domestic trips. Beyond textbook study of other cultures, these experiences provide real-life engagement with other peoples and customs. Students often comment on how these opportunities have been transformational.

HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL PROMOTE THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY?

We believe that students can be innovators, designers and inventors who can impact the world through their gifts. Our 13,000-squarefoot IDEA (innovation, design, engineering and aeronautics) Lab gives students a jump in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) career paths. The lab allows students to make basically anything including robots, aerial and underwater drones, rockets and even basic prosthetics. It is home to our Institute of Engineering

DO YOU ENCOURAGE PARENT INVOLVEMENT AT OAKS CHRISTIAN?

We see our relationship with our parents as a partnership whereby we support and encourage them as they raise their children. One way we do that is by providing regular parent coffees with experts in different fields related to child-rearing and educational and/ or emotional concerns. We also have three social-emotional wellness counselors who are available for students and families.

HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL SUPPORT THOSE IN NEED?

Oaks Christian has a rich history of partnering with community nonprofits to serve families in the Conejo Valley. Students volunteer at James Storehouse to help foster-care children, Children’s Hunger Fund, homeless shelters and homes for battered women and children. During the Woolsey Fire and the Borderline shooting crisis, Oaks Christian stepped in to spearhead fundraisers for affected families, sent crews to clean debris and provided support for first responders.