Virtual and Blended Schools

Oaks Christian Online Launches First Online Program for 7th and 8th Grade Students

• By Richard Chang
• 08/08/16

Oaks Christian Online (OCO), based in Westlake Village, CA, is launching its first online program for seventh and eighth grade students.

OCO is offering the courses in response to what it says is the high demand for top-tier, flexible, accredited course options for middle schoolers. All courses are accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), as well as the Southern Association of Independent Schools (SAIS).

The online middle school curriculum includes U.S. history, English intensive grammar, pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, comprehensive sciences and foreign languages — Spanish, Latin, French and Chinese. The online course curriculum is designed to meet California middle school requirements, thereby allowing students to prepare for the transition for high school and, at the same time, pursue other passions, such as performing arts, sports or special missions or projects abroad. While there is no theology course requirement at this level, students have the option to participate in a Youth Ministry Club.

OCO is a private nonprofit Christian institution with a physical middle and high school campus in Westlake Village. For the online program, students from both public and private schools are eligible for enrollment.

Online students will have interactive weekly live sessions. Classes are offered via the open-source learning management system Canvas by Instructure. The cloud-based software provides the platform for online courses with meaningful student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions in an academic environment, according to a news release. Both blended and fully online programs are available.

The tuition rate is $7,750 per year for full-time students.

“Our instructors and administrators are very experienced with this age group and we understand the unique needs of middle schoolers,” said OCO Director Vicky Conway in a prepared statement. “We are aware that students at this age in particular are more successful in a loving and nurturing environment. We also understand the need for community, free time and the gradual introduction to a more intensive course load.”

Established in 2011, OCO High School provides a rigorous, NCAA approved college preparatory education for high school and middle school students in a Christian environment, the school states. According to the school, 100 percent of OCO graduates were accepted to four-year colleges.

OCO is the founding school of the Online Christian Consortium, a leadership organization of schools committed to theologically engaged, college preparatory, accredited, online programs. For more information, visit the Online Christian Consortium’s website.