About Us

Oakridge Middle School Profile

Oakridge Middle School is home to 1200 students (400 sixth graders, 400 seventh graders, and 400 eighth graders). The school population is diverse in that many were born, and have experienced childhood, in Clover and Lake Wylie while others have moved to the area from across the United States and other countries.

Students are interested in horses, animals, video games, gymnastics, dancing, karate, soccer, football, swimming, computers, skateboarding, music, drawing, dirt bikes, wake boarding and water skiing, and reading.

There are 70 certified teachers on the school staff.

Our faculty and staff bring with them a unique collection of experiences and cultures. Birth places have ranged from California to an Air Force base and Naval Base, and even Spain. In total sixteen different states are represented.

The places in which our faculty/staff have lived vary even more then their birth places. They have lived in twenty four of the states, along with many foreign countries. Those countries include Japan, England, Germany, Thailand, Spain, Macedonia, and Costa Rica.

Using their life experiences to help educate them, some members of our faculty/staff have learned to speak Spanish, French, German, Italian, Macedonian, and American Sign Language.

Hobbies include: painting, pottery, glass fusing, spending time with family, sports, reading, hunting, cooking, fitness, gardening, skiing, singing, traveling, photography, and history.

Faculty/Staff members have attended over fifty different institutes of higher learning, ranging from The Citadel to the University of South Carolina.

Four members of our faculty/staff have proudly served our country in the armed forces.

Education has not been the only fields of work that our faculty/staff have experienced. Accounting, IT, Real Estate, Finance, Food Services, Performing arts, Banking, Retail, Office Management, firefighting, consturction, child care, landscaping, and travel/tourism are just a few of the different career fields that they have experienced.

Here is a brief look at some of the unique experiences that our faculty and staff members have had in their lives:

- Served as a white water rafting guide in Costa Rica
      
- Delivered cows for a living

 - Served as a bank teller during an armed robbery

 - Studied abroad in France and Italy

 - Served as the mascot for the Bowling Green State University athletic teams

 - Hiked the Grand Canyon

 - Stood on the top of the Eiffel Tower

- Steered a US Navy submarine

- Climbed Mt. Lelonte

- Sang at the White House for the Christmas Tree lighting ceremony

- Hiked behind Niagara Falls to watch the fireworks on New Year's Eve 

- Studied abroad in Ireland

Together students, parent and staff make a group of widely traveled and experienced people. From each other much is to be learned, valued and respected

Principal's Message

Welcome to Oakridge Middle School. We hope that your three years with us will be educationally profitable for you.

Middle school is a time of change. The workload and social adjustments are greater here than at the elementary level. You will be expected to attend school regularly, complete all assignments, and behave appropriately. Your years will be exciting and filled with many new opportunities.

A student is the most important person in any school.

A student is not an interruption of our work - he or she is the purpose of it.

A student is not just a statistic. He or she is a flesh-and-blood human being with feelings and emotions like us.

A student is one who comes to us with needs and/or wants. It is our job to fill them.

A student is deserving of the most courteous and attentive treatment that we can provide.

A student is the lifeblood of this and every other school. Without him or her, we would have to close our doors.

The focus of the future should be on service and excellence. We are pleased, as employees of Oakridge Middle School, to have the opportunity to serve and work with your children. The importance of teaching and learning cannot be overstated. It is our privilege and our challenge as educators to strive continually to provide quality education in our classrooms.

Good luck this year at Oakridge Middle School. We hope it will be your most successful year ever.

Cordially,
Will Largen
Principal

Our Mission and Beliefs

Vision Statement
OMS will be a place where students are challenged by rigorous, relevant, and engaging academics, develop good citizenship and are encouraged to explore their personal interests. OMS will build an outstanding relationship among the staff, parents, and community.

School Motto
Oakridge Means Success

Mission Statement
The mission of OMS, in partnership with parents and the community, is to prepare responsible lifelong learners to be productive in an ever changing world by providing quality education in an environment conducive to learning.

Beliefs
We believe the purpose of school is to lead students to reason well, desire knowledge, apply learning to new situations, and accept responsibility for the challenges of today and tomorrow.

We believe all children have the ability to learn more when immersed in a highly engaged environment that values individual growth, daily success, and positive relationships.

We believe the focus of school is to design purposeful, engaging work and to provide relevant experiences that promote success for each student.

We believe that school personnel must form collaborative partnerships with parents and the community to share responsibility for providing students a safe, supportive environment where they can focus on quality work.

We believe in providing employees with encouragement, time, resources, and professional development to meet high expectations for continuous improvement.