Get to know Oakdale Christian Academy

• Oakdale Christian Academy is a Christ-centered academic and boarding school serving middle school and high school boys and girls in grades 7-12. We enroll 60 students at our 12-acre campus located eight miles from Jackson, KY.

• Founded in 1921, we feature a traditional college-preparatory curriculum. Our excellent academic program produces a college acceptance rate of over 90%.

• The 80% of our students taking part in our boarding program are from 20 states and eight countries. 15% of our students are international, and 40% are non-white.

• At Oakdale we maintain an overall 2-1 student-staff ratio, with two full-time dorm deans per 20-student dorm unit. Typically these low student-staff ratios are financially out of reach for many families, but we strive to make our quality education available to anyone. In fact, 80% of our students receive financial aid.

• Oakdale Christian Academy is accredited by the Association of Christian Schools International and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools through Advanc-ED. We are affiliated with the Free Methodist Church-USA, and were the first U.S. school to receive boarding accreditation by ACSI.

We are an affordable Christian boarding school with…

• A rich 99-year history and a mission to serve our students and the world
• A Christian philosophy of education, proving a top education taught with along with firm beliefs
• A fully accredited program — the first to gain ACSI accreditation as well
• An incredibly educated faculty, providing influence and example to students
• SEVIS approval to issue I-20’s to international students
• A successful and exciting athletic program and great extra-curricular activities
• Small class sizes and personal attention to each student
• Direct connections for admission to leading Christian colleges (college placement rate of 90%!)

Teaching character, encouraging excellence, upholding the Christian faith and values, while giving teenagers life purpose and direction.

What is it About Oakdale?

Yan’s Story

How much can a supportive, loving environment change a child’s life? Click here to read Yan’s story of transformation.

Kate’s Decision

Oakdale is exactly the right spot for her…

“You have no idea how delighted and grateful we are for how far Kate has come this year. We never contemplated sending our children away to boarding school. It was a huge decision to let her go to Oakdale. I will admit – I kept putting it off, ignoring it, avoiding it and yet something just kept compelling me to really consider it. When I took her down for the visit, I was 100% convinced there was NO WAY she was going to Oakdale. By the end of the day both her and I were STUNNED and committed to – “Oakdale is exactly the right spot for her.” What is it about Oakdale that sold us AND has been such a huge factor in Kate’s success – the STAFF! Oakdale is run by people with a passion who really believe in what they are doing, are so committed to the children who go there, are willing to give 150% day in and day out AND who continually toss in a lot of love and compassion.

There was a time when Kate was little that we wondered if she would even make it to 18. Then we wondered if she did make it to 18 would she be happy, well adjusted and ready for adulthood. As her year at Oakdale progressed we began to really believe that Kate was going to make it – she would be a success story — now we wonder just how huge of a success she will be!!!!!!!!!!! Bill Gates watch out!

We can never thank you, and all the Oakdale staff, enough! She is the product of all your hard work – kudos to all of you!”

Why Oakdale? (from a student parent and staff member of Oakdale)

I get asked this question fairly often since our family lives here, my husband and I work here, and our three kids attend school here. We have many reasons that we have chosen to be so invested here, but as a Mom, my kids’ positive growth and well-being are the most essential factors… and I know that I share this with the many parents, grandparents or guardians who are considering Oakdale for the children they love. So I would like to explain some of the greatest blessings we have received as part of the Oakdale community, so that you can know more about Oakdale and what it has to offer and why it has captured our hearts.

One of the greatest blessings of Oakdale has been the diversity of our student body. We welcome students from California to Maine and everywhere in between, as well as many international students. We find it absolutely delightful that our kids are exposed to people from all over the globe, and are learning from them, and with them, how to be global citizens.We have two biological sons and one daughter whom we adopted from India at age six. Our boys have learned and grown immensely since being at Oakdale and being exposed to people from all around the world. Our daughter has also really thrived, especially since she is now consistently spending time with many other kids from other countries; this makes her feel very at home and accepted in a way we were not able to achieve in our previous location. We really treasure the diversity and inclusion of international students for so many reasons.

We also love it that our children do not use cell phones here at Oakdale, because they are learning to build relationships face-to-face, and are also able to avoid much of the “junk” that is so prevalent on social media. Students at Oakdale learn to live and socialize in a dorm environment, where they have a roommate and floor mates that they have to learn to get along with. It is exciting for students from very different backgrounds to room together. There is immense learning potential. Say, for example, that a student from rural South Dakota is roommates with a student from inner-city Detroit. Or perhaps a student from right here in Kentucky may be in a room with a student from Nigeria.

Imagine the conversations that are had and the meshing of different cultural values… It is a truly incredible and unique opportunity!

While living in the dorm, our students learn conflict resolution as well as behavior management with a dorm point system. They can earn privileges for consistent positive behavior, and they feel the consequences when they make unhealthy choices. We think this is a much healthier environment than most kids experience today in the U.S., and throughout the world, with all the social media pressure, addiction to electronics, and bullying in many schools, just to name a few things. Even though we live in staff housing here on campus, we have chosen for our children to live in the dorms for certain seasons, and we have been pleased with the skills they have learned and the ways the dorm deans have invested in them

We feel they are getting well-prepared for university, and well prepared for life.

Another thing we love about Oakdale is the Job Training program. Every weekday, students spend about an hour working on campus. Some are on the grounds crew, some help out in the kitchen, and some clean rooms in the many buildings on campus. Everyone is assigned to a work crew, and students are rated daily on promptness, work performance, etc. Once a student shows positive work ethic and leadership, they can move up to become a supervisor and be responsible for other students on a crew. This is an incredibly valuable experience that leads to good work habits and job skills for each student’s future.

Last but not least, we really appreciate the “Honor Code” program that Oakdale has in place. Each quarter, students are awarded recognition based on seven areas which include the following: Integrity, Respect for Authority, Kindness, Gratitude, Diligence, Serving Others, and Positive Leadership. This is an excellent way for students to be made aware of their personal character development as observed by others in a closed environment, and it gives rise to many unique discussions on how behavior affects others, and how people can work to grow in their faith and character over time. It gives the students something positive to strive for, and it sets the tone for positive growth rather than negativity, which is so prevalent in many school settings these days.

So all in all, we love Oakdale because it is a positive place, full of students from all over the U.S. and all over the globe, who are all working together to know what it is to follow Jesus and what it means to form a community together. It is an experience that is very rare, and we are grateful that God has led us to Oakdale Christian Academy.

If you are the parent of a teenager and you are considering Oakdale Christian Academy, we encourage you to visit campus and meet the teachers, dorm parents and administrators who will be serving your child.  If you are unable to visit campus, take the time to explore this website, visit our Facebook page, and call our office and speak with us.

We seek to be in partnership with you to provide a nurturing boarding experience, a fully accredited college preparatory education, and a Christ-centered community for your son or daughter.