A Word from the President
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.
Is Oakdale Unique? Yes!!!
Is Oakdale unique? So much so that I contend that Oakdale is unlike any other organization! Such a statement requires justification and support, and you can read here about Five Points of Distinction that make Oakdale Christian Academy unlike any other school.
- Christ-Centered Community. Oakdale makes Christ central to its mission and activities, but many wonderful organizations do that. What is especially powerful and makes attending Oakdale a life-changing opportunity is that it places students in a small, 12-acre campus where staff members and their families are there to provide 24/7 reminders and examples of Christ-centered lives.
- A Boarding Program. Boarding programs are very rare, but Oakdale further distinguishes itself by being the first U.S. school to receive boarding accreditation by the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).
- An Academic 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 ninety percent.
- “World-Class” Facilities. Six new buildings in the past 20 years include the Beacon Center (2005), The Inn (2015), and the Odermann Hall addition (2017), with a new dining hall (May Hall) ready to begin construction this year.
- Oakdale is one of the lowest-priced boarding schools. Additionally, our financial aid programs make it possible for any student to attend. Those financial aid funds are provided by you!
It is the combination of these Five Points of Distinction that makes Oakdale unique. Consider the following:
- Everywhere you look, you can find a Christian day school with fine facilities and excellent academic programs, but they do not offer a boarding program, and they are often not affordable for the very poor. 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 that 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 that has poor facilities. That’s 4 of the 5 points of distinction.
All five characteristics are found at Oakdale Christian Academy. This unique organization is the only boarding school in the Free Methodist Church-USA, and it is one of very few evangelical Christian boarding schools. Yes, unique!!!
