The Oakland School Approach
Since the beginning of Oakland School, reading sits at the core of most academic instruction and we start early. We have made it Oakland’s specialty, dedicating as much as three hours a day to phonics, decoding, word study, comprehension, and oral reading. While reading is at our core, math needs (dyscalculia) is also something our students navigate. Some of our students have up to two hours of math instruction.
Early Intervention
A cornerstone of our approach is personalized instruction that allows us to meet your child where they are and support them in closing their academic gaps. We focus on the whole child, allowing us to build trust and help students navigate social and emotional difficulties as well.
Personalized Instruction
Small, flexible instruction groups provide children with a classroom experience in a judgment-free zone. Students are accepting of each others’ differences, often modeling encouraging words, offering peer support and supported by teaching staff.
Small Class Sizes
Our founder, Margaret Shepherd, focused on visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile methods to help teach students with learning differences. More than 75 years later, we continue to use our beautiful 450 acre farm and other resources in this creative, multisensory approach to stimulate learning. Whether it is exploring outside, or using trees, acorns and leaves for a math or spanish activity; being outside is intentional and the four seasons of Virginia provide such great learning opportunities.
Multisensory Approach
