A Word from the President

A Message from the President

I would like to welcome you to the process of learning more about Oakdale Christian Academy! The more you know, the more you’ll find that OCA provides an individualized, Christ-centered approach to personal, spiritual, and educational wholeness.

Oakdale Christian Academy is unlike any other school! Such a proclamation warrants explanation, so I invite you to read here about the Five Points of Distinction that make Oakdale Christian Academy unique among schools.

1. A Christ-Centered Community. Oakdale makes Christ central to its mission and activities. Many wonderful Christian schools do that, but what is especially powerful and makes attending Oakdale a life-changing opportunity is that it places students in a small, 12-acre community where staff members and their families provide 24/7 reminders and examples of Christ-centered lives.
2. A Boarding Program with a “First in the U.S.” Status. It is not simply that OCA offers a boarding program to its students that makes it unique; Oakdale further distinguishes itself by being the first school in the U.S. to receive boarding accreditation by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).
3. An Academically Rigorous Learning Environment. Oakdale is fully accredited by ACSI and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). The college placement rate of our graduates is over ninety percent.
4. World-Class Facilities. Seven new buildings in the past 20 years include the Beacon Center classroom and gymnasium building (2005), The Inn girls’ dorm (2015), and Odermann Hall boys’ dorm (2017), with a new dining hall under construction.
5. An Absolutely Affordable Option. It is not just that we are among the lowest-priced boarding schools in the U.S. that makes OCA affordable. Our financial aid programs make it possible for any student to attend. This is unlike nearly any other school.

Am I saying that Oakdale is unique just because it is Christ-centered? Or because it has a boarding program? Or because of our multiple accreditations? Or because of our facilities or because we are affordable? No! Any one of those distinctives doesn’t make Oakdale unique at all. However, it is the combination of these Five Points of Distinction that makes Oakdale unique. Consider the following:

• Everywhere you look, there are Christian day schools with fine facilities and excellent academic programs, but they do not offer a boarding program, and they are often not affordable for everyone. That’s 3 of the 5 points of distinction.
• It is not unusual to find a boarding school with great facilities and strong academics, but are not Christ-centered and very expensive. That’s 3 of the 5 points of distinction.
• It would not be hard to find a Christ-centered boarding school that has strong academics and is affordable, but they have substandard facilities. That’s 4 of the 5 points of distinction.

All five characteristics are found at Oakdale Christian Academy. That’s what makes OCA unique – unlike any other school. I pray that this process of learning more about Oakdale will help you see how we can partner with you in serving the needs of today’s student.

Daniel Fisher, Ph.D., is the President of Oakdale Christian Academy and provides overall leadership for the school.  He began in 1995 as Director of Development and was made President in 2001. Dr. Fisher holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Azusa Pacific University after earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Music (education minor) from Greenville University and a Master’s in Education from Seattle Pacific University.

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