472 N. Battlefield Blvd
Chesapeake, VA 23320
757-410-2251
About Our School
The Oak Grove School is a ministry of Oak Grove United Methodist Church. We believe that each child is a precious gift from God, who will be loved, nurtured, taught and respected by the staff. We believe that this philosophy will provide a strong foundation for our students. We build relationships with the entire family, as we journey together and experience God’s bountiful love.
Our school year begins the Wednesday following Labor Day. Preschool and Kindergarten have classes until the week before Memorial Day weekend. First and second grade will continue school until mid-June. Be sure to read our FAQ page for common concerns.
HOURS
Ages 2 to PreK: 9 a.m. - Noon
Lunch Bunch: Noon - 1 p.m.
Kindergarten: 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
First & Second Grade: 8:50 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Our Program
At The Oak Gove School, all classes have a teacher and a full-time teaching assistant, which fulfills our goal of small teacher/student ratios. The number of children in each classroom ranges from 8 children in the 2-year-olds to 24 in the First & Second Grade program.
Creative learning methods are used to enhance the curriculum both individually and in groups.
School fun may include:
· Strong emphasis on hands-on learning
· Outdoor play and discovery
· Meaningful teacher-child interactions
· Sequencing, patterning, sorting number sense
· Literacy and language activities
· Daily snack and social time
· Learning activities based on the Virginia's Foundation Blocks for Early Learning
· Social and emotional growth
· Lots of games, art, and age-appropriate activities
· Music and movement
· Prayer and praise
The Oak Grove School has been a blessing for my family. When my son started school back in September for the first time, I had him enrolled in public Kindergarten. Right away my son started with separation anxiety and the public school was telling me to just "put him on the bus." After a few days of tears at night before school and at drop-off and the school not allowing me to take him to his classroom, I called Oak Grove. Ms. Michele called me back within 20 minutes saying they had one spot left and we immediately scheduled a tour for the next day. While we toured Ms. Michele walked us through the halls and into the classrooms that my child would be able to attend. The teachers and Ms. Michele were very comforting and understanding of separation anxiety and how it affects children, ensuring me that they take intentional steps to ease that burden for children and for parents, such as keeping parents involved and informed, allowing them to drop off and pick up at the classroom door, and sending occasional pictures and messages throughout the day with how the child is doing. By the end of our tour I had made the decision to apply and my son had a smile on his face, no tears. Until this day he has not been fearful or tearful about attending Oak Grove.
Making the decision to attend Oak Grove has been the best for me as well as my son. I have always felt comfortable leaving him in the care of this school, which I know is a tough decision for first-time school goers, especially ones who were previously home-schooled. The events that Oak Grove holds also keep the family involved, which helps the school feel like a community instead of a distant building that you drop your kid off at every day. We as parents are "hands on" with our children when they attend Oak Grove, which helps me to feel very comfortable about school for my child. I wanted his first memories of school to be good ones, to be fun and exciting and something to look forward to. I believe we accomplished this with Oak Grove and we will be attending again next year!
Thank you Oak Grove,
-Shaun Banner