Discover, Grow, and Thrive: The Benefits of an Oak Knoll Education

One of the things that I have loved most about my twenty-five years in independent school admissions is watching new students and their families fall in love with their new school. Of course, families and applicants do their research beforehand, talk to current families, and ask many questions to get to know and trust a school throughout the admission process before ever deciding to enroll. More often, though, their experience as a member of their new school inevitably turns out to be even better than they ever could have imagined!

Students initially choose their first choice schools for a specific academic program or extracurricular activity — perhaps even because they have friends who attend. What happens very quickly, we find, is that once they get on campus, they find out something completely new about themselves — which broadens their understanding of their potential and abilities — and that leads them to exciting uncharted paths to explore as they develop into the compassionate person they will become. It might happen when they have a teacher who introduces them to a new way of thinking about history or math, or when they join a club that exposes students to the immediate impact they can have on local and global issues, or when learning in a theater class that they actually are really good at public speaking, These a-ha moments can happen in or out of the classroom! Whether coming into pre-K or ninth grade, there is so much for students to discover about themselves here as we prepare them for college and beyond. 

This is what I see as one of the greatest values of an Oak Knoll education. There is no end to what students can try here, and there are so many adult and peer role models here to challenge and support them through the twists and turns of that self-discovery. Walking through the halls of Oak Knoll, you see students who are both athletes and artists, those who lead community service and perform in the musical, and those who excel at science and serve in our campus ministry program. All combinations are possible and encouraged. In the application process, we are looking for students who will thrive academically and get involved across the extracurricular spectrum — to find their purpose that they will use to spread good in the world. At Oak Knoll, our students know that they are safe, valued, and known - and with that in place, nothing can stop them!