From Generation to Generation

From Generation

L to R: James, Karlee, and Trevor Thompson at the dinner auction gala.

After celebrating its 20th anniversary just three years ago, Oaks Christian School reached another milestone this year as alumni from the early graduating classes now have children enrolled. A new generation of Lions have started attending their parents’ alma mater.

James Thompson was a seventh grader this past year at Oaks Christian. His mother, Karlee (Sterling) Thompson, graduated in 2005.

Karlee, and her husband, Trevor, along with James, were honored guests at the OCS dinner auction gala, and were featured in a special video that debuted at the event in March.

“Overall, the guiding beliefs and values that led to the formation of the school back in 2000 are still evident in the way the school operates,” Karlee shared as one of the reasons she and Trevor, decided to enroll James at Oaks Christian.

It was clear to the Thompsons that Oaks Christian was the best place for him to grow as a Christian, and of course, a well-rounded student. In his short time here, James has already played on the middle school football and basketball teams.

He follows the athletic footsteps of his mother who was one of the students who started the OCS girls’ water polo team.

Generation to

L to R: James, Karlee, and Trevor Thompson at the dinner auction gala. “We were proud to get the girls’ water polo team at Oaks started,” said Karlee. “It’s clear that the school still does a great job engaging students.”

Little did those early water polo female athletes know that the success of the girl’s water polo team would eventually produce an alumni Olympic gold medalist, Amanda Longan, Class of 2015.

Like Karlee did in her day, this past year James took advantage of the many programs Oaks Christian offers, and especially enjoyed Intro to Engineering and Aerospace taught by middle school teacher Leisa Moore.

“My grandpa flies planes, so I wanted to figure out more about that to gain that connection with him,” said James.

English and French teacher Emily Sadler graduated with Karlee in 2005, and this past year had James as a student.

Sadler describes him as a star student, diligent and hardworking, and states that “Oaks should be very proud of James as our first ‘grandchild.’”

Maximum Accreditation Term Earned

Oaks Christian School received a full, five-year accreditation from the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the maximum term a school can receive from SAIS. The SAIS Accreditation Review Committee granted the full term after their visit in November. This news was a confirmation of the tremendous work the school has accomplished not only this year, but for the past six years since the last accreditation.

The full term is especially significant considering the difficulties faced in the last two-years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the exemplary way the school has navigated the temporary pivot to remote learning, continued safe and healthy protocols, and other challenges.

The OCS self-study and accreditation preparation review process was spearheaded by Middle School Academic Dean Rachel Morales.

“First of all, I want to give a huge congratulations to our OCS community and particularly to Rachel Morales, who coordinated this effort,” said Dr. Matt Northrop, Associate Head of School for Academics and Arts.

Northrop shared the significance of the accreditation process in two key areas: allowing the school to self-evaluate strengths, weaknesses, and areas of growth, and secondly, to give the school an objective perspective.

“Accreditation gives us a perspective outside of ourselves. In a sense, we are inviting peers from other Christian and independent schools to let us know where we are ‘knocking it out of the park’ as well as where we might need to grow. This continuous improvement process is just as important to the overall health of an educational organization as it is to our individual selves. This process sets us up well for continued growth over the next five years and beyond,” he shared.

The committee commended Oaks Christian in several areas including:

• Bold choices to invest resources and physical space into a stateof-the-art “constructionist” learning program with the IDEA Lab, where learning is inquiry and problem based, interdisciplinary, and connected to real world competencies and experiences

• Deepened student opportunities to learn real-world skills and specialize their academic experiences by intentionally developing sophisticated pathways in the three institutes for

Arts and Innovation, Global Leadership, and Engineering, which has provided students with more choice and more exposure to industries and experts

• Launching a positive start to the residential boarding program and serving 64 students in this current school year and actively working to grow boarding enrollment

• FemSTEM focus to increase and include female students in science and engineering-based pathways, thereby adding diversity to STEM programs and maximizing impact and opportunity