Oak Valley Center

Posted: June 22, 2013

Our son attended Oak Valley Center 4th through 9th grade. When he entered in 4th grade he was having very severe problems. We moved for my job to the best public high school in North Carolina and our son did very well. He graduated this year and will be going to college. His mother and I believe this was only possible because of the great work Oak Valley did. We both have advanced experience in special education and there are only a few schools in the nation that can do what Oak Valley does. The only problem is that it is extremely difficult to get in. They have very limited spaces. There are lots more kids that need help like Oak Valley provides, but there are only a few schools like Oak Valley to help them. Oak Valley needs to be cloned and replicated until there are enough schools like it to meet the needs of all the kids. This would require a fair amount of extra money from Fairfax County, but they should do it anyway.

Posted: May 25, 2013

Oak Valley has been very difficult for my son. They do a poor job at supporting kids who are being bullied. All they do is give the student a reflection sheet and place them in an isolated room, hoping that everything will change. Its like they don't know how to handle teenage problems. I wouldn't recommend this place at all.

Posted: October 17, 2010

OVC does a good job of behavior management and a social skills training. The staff are very caring and really provide individual support for each student. The program lacks a science lab, native foreign language teachers (the math teacher is teaching spanish), a modern internet interactive experience for both students and parents in terms of homework and grades/feedback, and lacks any extracurricular experiences such as sports and clubs. While it conveys the basic academic material far better than public schools, the state of special education funding seems to severely limit the overall student experience. I would recommend the school for children with emotional challenges as one of the only outlets for academic learning.

Posted: August 26, 2010

OVC has been WONDERFUL..my son's school experience has gone from constant administrative referrals and suspensions in public school to actual LEARNING!!!! His teachers are really engaged, he is proud of his academic achievments and comes home with stories about his good interactions with his new friends as well as the staff.

Posted: June 1, 2010

Oak Valley Center provided my son a safe environment to discover a love of learning. He went there for his Junior year, only; however, the one year was enough to teach him skills he needed to cope in the regular classroom, and actually begin to consider college.