Did you know that Oak Creek Academy is the only school of its kind in central Texas? Oak Creek Academy is a non-profit, fully inclusive K-12 school that believes every child deserves a high-quality learning program that addresses the social-emotional, language, cognitive, and physical aspects of a child’s development. We have therapy services available in-house for speech, occupational, physical and behavioral so that children can receive the services they need with minimal disruption to their learning day. All our teachers and paraprofessionals are highly-qualified and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) trained. Not only are we empowering the lives of children with special needs, behavior challenges, or struggles not addressed by the public-school system, we are having a huge impact on the community at large. And now, Oak Creek Academy needs help from the very community it serves.
First, we wanted to address a question we get asked a lot about fundraising as a private school. As a non-profit, private school we do not receive government funding the way public schools do. Our tuition costs are also below the state average for a private school education in Texas – we do this to keep the costs as low as possible for parents. Tuition at Oak Creek Academy predominately covers faculty and teacher salaries, but must also be budgeted to cover facility maintenance and operations, utilities, daily supplies such as toiletries and cleaning products, sanitation and cleaning of the school, field trips, school events, training and staff development, providing and upgrading technologies, and more. This leaves very little left over to go towards larger, more costly projects.
Okay, let us get on to the truly exciting part! Oak Creek Academy has been renting at its current location for the past five years, these are the hallways and classrooms our students know and love. Last year KISD announced its plans to sell the property in a sealed bid. Now, drum roll please… we are in the final stages of purchasing our building – meaning 1020 Trimmier Rd will be the official home for Oak Creek Academy for generations to come! Education Connection, Central Texas Behavioral Solutions, and Elite Therapy get to continue their journey with our school. Children will go on to walk these halls, growing and learning in a fully inclusive and accepting environment. Stayed tuned for more to come on our accreditation process (more exciting news!)
We are so excited for what is to come and to officially have a place to call home. However, the once Fowler Elementary building is older with many outdated systems – meaning it is in dire need of upgrades and renovations. This is something we were aware of coming into the sale, as we have spent time and money on maintenance over the years to include plumbing. However, the amount of space we need to operate at our fullest and best left little in the way of alternative locations for our school. With the impending sale of the building we had to make a decision, which meant keeping our students where they were loved in classrooms they love. Now, our most immediate need deals with six classrooms that will not have central heat this winter. The HVAC units in these classrooms do not work with many others not far behind – and due to the age and condition of these units (over 20 years old), replacing them at once provides Oak Creek Academy with a long term, more cost-effective solution.
Oak Creek Academy is asking for everyone to rally their friends, family, and networks to support our school’s endeavor to purchase 25 new HVAC units. We hope to initially raise $190K dollars to go towards phase 2 of a 4-part Vision Fund. In the coming months we will also need to repave the parking lot, replace the leaking roof, and we ultimately hope to expand our facilities – all of which will require on-going support from the community. While every donation helps and is appreciated, we are asking for donors to also consider recurring donations to help support these future projects as well. Additionally, 10% of all proceeds will go towards establishing our very first scholarship program. We want as many children as possible to be able to experience everything that Oak Creek Academy has to offer.
Will you support the growth of Oak Creek Academy and its students? We are accepting donations via our campaign page, card, cash or checks, and corporate sponsorships. With warm, giving hearts we know that we can raise the funds needed to make all of our vison plans a reality.
https://oakcreekkilleen.networkforgood.com/projects/110574-warm-hearts-warm-kids
Want to be a sponsor by purchasing an HVAC unit for a classroom or by funding an annual scholarship? Contact Oak Creek Academy at (254) 526-9299 to learn more about their sponsor program and benefits.
Want to learn more about what our parents have to say about Oak Creek Academy first? Here are a few of our testimonials! And stay tuned for an exciting series to come – you will get to hear from our parents, teachers, and students!
https://oakcreekkilleen.org/testimonials/