Frequently Asked Questions

OCA has become a member of the South Carolina Association of Christian Schools (SCACS) and the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS) and will be working towards becoming accredited by SCACS and AACS. Because OCA is new for the 2023-2024 school year, we are not currently accredited by these organizations but are active members in these organizations. The accreditation process takes a few years to gather the data needed for accreditation, so OCA is actively working towards becoming accreditation. 

There are two main administrators at OCA, the OCA director and the headmaster. 

• The OCA Director leads like a superintendent for a school district but also does some of the tasks a headmaster/principal would do. The OCA Director’s role is to oversee all things at the school level for the elementary, middle, and future high school, to work with admissions and enrollment, to work towards accreditation, to be the curriculum specialist, to train teachers, etc. 
• The OCA Headmaster’s role is to lead the school on a daily basis, oversee discipline and parent concerns, etc.
   

OCA currently does not offer any athletic programs but to plans offer some in the future. OCA highly recommends the following athletic programs:

• Upward Sports

The goal is for class sizes to be no larger than 15 students per class, so the ratio would be 15 students to 1 teacher. 

The goal is also to have at least one teacher per grade, but depending on student numbers, there could be more than one teacher per grade or a combination classroom model where the following grades would be taught in the same room.

• Kindergarten and 1st Grade
• 2nd and 3rd Grade
• 4th and 5th Grade
• Middle School (6th, 7th, and 8th Grade)
   

OCA will be using the Bob Jones Curriculum for Kindergarten-8th grade and in the future for high school grades. To learn more about the Bob Jones Curriculum at https://www.bjupress.com/. 

OCA does not provide services for English Language Learners.

Students who enter as Kindergarteners will be expected to take an entrance examination/screener. This examination/screener will be used to obtain benchmark data of the student academic level. This data will be used for future classroom instruction and grouping.
 

There is no entrance exam at this time for most students in grades 1-8 if an official transcript from a school district or the Homeschool Association, grade reports, assessment scores, attendance records, behavior record, 504 plans, individual education plans (IEP) can be submitted to the OCA administrative team. 
 

If a student is homeschooled, parents will have to submit an official transcript from the Homeschool Association and/or any documentation about the student’s grades, assessments, attendance, behavior, etc. If the parents cannot provide an official transcript form the Homeschool Association, an interview will have to be scheduled to discuss the student’s homeschool performance, grades, assessments, etc. All documentation about grades, assessments, attendance, behavior, etc.  will need to be submitted to the OCA administration team prior to the meeting and the student will have to complete a diagnostic assessment for reading, writing, and math.
 

It is the policy of Oakwood Christian Academy not to admit transfer students whose accomplishments have not been up to acceptable standards and/or do not have an official transcript from the Homeschool Association and/or school distraction and/or do not documentation of grades, assessments, etc. to show the academic achievement of a homeschooler. 

During the interview process, families will be asked about their faith and where they are in their walk with the Lord and if they identify as a Christian. 

Oakwood Christian Academy is proud to offer piano lessons for an additional fee of $80 a month for a once a week 30-minute lesson. All music and books are provided with the $80 monthly fee. If you are interested in piano lessons, please contact the OCA office (admin@oakwoodchristianacademy.net) for more information.

Believing that homework is an integral part of the school program, each teacher is at liberty to give homework to aid the students to advance in their studies. Therefore, each student is required to complete his homework assignments on time. We do request parents’ full cooperation in seeing that the assignments are completed. Failure to complete homework will affect the student’s grade and classroom performance.

With that said, homework will follow the following grade-level time parameters for each grade level. These numbers are not per subject area but are a collective total for each grade level per day. 

• Kindergarten and 1st Grade: Approximately 10 minutes per day
• 2nd Grade: Approximately 20 minutes per day
• 3rd Grade: Approximately 30 minutes per day
• 4th Grade: Approximately 40 minutes per day
• 5th Grade: Approximately 50 minutes per day
• 6th Grade: Approximately 60 minutes per day
• 7th Grade: Approximately 70 minutes per day
• 8th Grade: Approximately 80 minutes per day

An open house will be scheduled but we do not have one on the calendar yet as we are renovating the classrooms and school building. The anticipated goal for OCA Tours to begin is in mid-May. 

To schedule a tour, please complete a Request an OCA Tour Form.

OCA school hours are from 8 am-3 pm. Students can be dropped off starting at 7:45 am and should be picked up by 3 pm. We do offer an additional cost before and after-school program to assist with dropping off before 7:45 am and picking up after 3 pm. If you are interested in this, please see the OCA Before and After-School page on the OCA Website.

Oakwood Christian Academy does accept students with IEPs and 504 Plans, but the OCA administration and leadership team will have to review the IEP and 504 Plans to ensure OCA faculty and staff can meet the needs of the special education students. 

OCA does not have any special education teachers to monitor, revise, or write IEPs or 504s. OCA can only provide accommodations for students that have in-class accommodations that can be used in the general education classroom environment. OCA does not provide any pull-out support or resource classes.
 

Oakwood Christian Academy (OCA) does not currently have any summer programs but does partner with its home church, Oakwood Baptist Church (OBC) to offer some summer programs to OCA Students.

• SummerSalt is a great summer opportunity for students in 6th-12th grade. The OBC youth group attends SummerSalt yearly and would welcome OCA students to attend with them. Please go to https://www.summersalt.org/ for more information.
• Vacation Bible School (VBS) is a great opportunity for students ages 4 to 5th grade. Oakwood Baptist Church hosts VBS in June and July and all OCA students are welcome to attend. Please go to https://oakwoodbaptistchurch.com/ministries/vacation-bible-school/ for more information.

OCA recommends the following local and non-local summer camps.

• Camp La Vida is a great summer camp opportunity for mothers and daughters, girls, and boys to attend in the summer. Please go to https://www.camplavida.org/ for more information.
  • Address: Camp La Vida, 218 LaVida Rd., Winnsboro, SC, 29180             
  • Phone: 803.227.6205
• Camp McCall is a great summer camp opportunity for boys to attend in the summer. Please go to https://www.campmccall.org/ for more information.
  • Address: Camp McCall, 108 Ambassador Rd., Sunset, SC, 29685
  • Phone: 864.878.6025
• Camp Infinity is a biblically based, interactive STEM camp for grades 3-12.  Go to https://www.campinfinity.com/for more information.
  • Camps located in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana near Creation Museum.

OCA teachers will have a teaching degree or a degree that closely aligns with the subject area and/or grade they are teaching (ie., history, math, biology, etc.). OCA will be working on helping non-certified teachers to become certified teachers and will be providing them with training and support as they get certified and non-teaching degree teachers to obtain a teaching degree or certification.
 

There is no waiting list for OCA.