Frequently Asked Questions

Oak Hollow Academy is a private microschool in Atlanta dedicated to serving students with a range of learning differences, grades 8-12. In particular, we have extensive experience working with kids on the autism spectrum, those with ADHD, and a variety of mental health challenges. We also cater to neurotypical students who need a very small student-teacher ratio to maximally thrive, but who are looking for more community than homeschooling alone can often provide.

As educators, we believe in meeting students where they are and teaching the way they best learn, dynamically shifting strategies as needed. We also pride ourselves on integrating experiential and social learning into the regular curriculum with a holistic interdisciplinary approach.

The original cofounders of Oak Hollow Academy were Nina V. King and Michael A. Goodwin, experienced veteran educators who got their start working together at Mill Springs Academy, where she served as the Principal of Pre-Upper School (grades 7-8) and he taught a combination of language arts and social studies to grades 8-12. The two left MSA in 2022 when they were hired to manage a startup nonprofit school in Alpharetta called Bright Path Academy, with Ms. King acting as Head of School and Mr. Goodwin serving as her Lead Teacher.

Unfortunately, when the owner of Bright Path Academy changed his mind and abruptly decided to shutter the school in December 2023 so that he could convert the facility into another location for his ABA therapy business, this left the school's existing students without a home and no real prospects for smoothly transitioning to other schools midyear. In an effort to maintain continuity and give these students the stability they deserved, the two educators partnered once more to finish out Spring 2024  as a microschool generously hosted by St. James United Methodist Church in Alpharetta.

What started out a hardship proved a blessing in disguise, as the pivot toward weekly experiential learning and more customized academic programming proved highly successful and enjoyable for all students. Based on this success, Oak Hollow Academy will launch again at a new location in the fall of 2025.

Because we are dedicated to serving students with a range of learning differences, we offer three program tracks: college prep diploma, modified college prep diploma, and a certificate of attendance. While our academic standards are heavily informed by Georgia state standards, we carefully customize curricular content for each student in accordance with their specific needs and learning differences. Determination of a student's track will be made by teachers in collaboration with parents. 

Like all microschools, Oak Hollow Academy features a  very low student-teacher ratio to ensure students fully receive the academic attention they need in a relaxed and nurturing environment. In addition to our flexible academic options and supportive approach, we focus heavily on developing social and life skills through facilitated community engagement and dedicated mentorship.

However, the most distinctive feature of our program is that all students at Oak Hollow Academy attend traditional classes only four days a week, with Fridays dedicated to field trips and educational experiences throughout the greater metro Atlanta area. This provides critical hands-on learning and cultivates diverse opportunities to better understand and connect with their communities, both in and out of school. We feel that such experiences do not simply facilitate academic learning, but also lessons in character and healthier socialization through bonds of shared adventure. Our students report their weekly field experiences as the best part of their time with us, giving them a chance to see places and try activities they never would have known otherwise.

While Oak Hollow Academy has been hosted by a church and shares its values of inclusivity and instilling moral development in our students, our schools remains definitively secular. We welcome students of all religious backgrounds, but have no religious affiliation or agenda of our own.

Understanding that students with learning differences can often grow overwhelmed by school days that are too long for their bandwidth, the school days are: 

8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, Monday - Thursday.

(If parents require an earlier drop-off or afterschool programming, this is available for an additional fee.)

On Fridays, students go on unique field experiences instead of attending regular classes, either practicing life skills in visits to assorted establishments within the community or going on educational field trips to destinations all around Atlanta. These trips will vary in their exact hours depending on the site's hours of operation, but will typically run later into the day and include lunch out as a school group. Some field trip destinations aren't open on Fridays and will require a different day in that week dedicated to that field experience. These exceptions will be communicated in the school calendar at the start of each semester.

In order for students to be admitted to Oak Hollow Academy, parents must submit an application, a transcript, a recent psychoeducational report, and any other pertinent documentation relevant to the educational profile and/or needs of the student. Applicants may also be required to take placement assessments and/or come to the school for a shadow day if class is already in session.

When founder Michael A. Goodwin was a young teenager with then-undiagnosed learning differences, he would retreat from the chaos and overstimulation of the world to go sit in a large hollow above the bough of an old oak tree in the woods behind his father's house. In his quiet perch over a babbling brook, he would read or just sit until he found his focus and could return to face the challenges of life once more. When naming the school, he chose the name "Oak Hollow" to remember his childhood safe haven and pledge his commitment to providing that same calming refuge to the students we teach.

Yes, our school colors are garnet and black, and our mascot is an owl. Students are encouraged to wear school colors and owl-themed apparel during spirit weeks.

We are seeking a new host location for the 2025-2026 school year. 

Please email us at info@OakHollowAcademy.com or call us at (404) 376-3572. We'd love to hear from you!

No, we do not require school uniforms. Students are permitted to express themselves as they and their parents see fit, provided such attire is professional and appropriate for a school setting. Students may be required to wear a school T-shirt on field trips.  

Oak Hollow Academy will have 1-2 teachers based on the number of enrolled students, capping enrollment at 10 students total with two teachers and ensuring a maximum student-teacher ratio of 5 students per teacher. This ensures all students will have plenty of focused small group and personalized individual attention as needed.

As a microschool, we really cannot offer sports. However, if we find enough common interests among students to create a club (either during lunch or after school if enough students stay after), we will integrate that club into our regular activities.  Students are always encouraged to share their interests with peers to find potential common ground for projects or play.

Because of these limitations, we try to integrate more flexible and creative assignments into our curriculum to provide opportunities for artistic expression and the variety of activities that most neurodiverse learners require.

We are currently seeking accreditation through GAC and expect we will have that obtained within a year of operating at our new location.

During regular class days, students are responsible for bringing their own lunches. A refrigerator and microwave will be available on site for student use.

On field experience days, parents can either send money with their children so that they can eat out with the group at whatever restaurant they visit that week, or they may send a packed lunch as normal. The cost of eating lunch out on field trips is NOT covered by the activity fees paid each semester.

Tuition for the 2025-2026 school year at Oak Hollow Academy will be $24,000 ($2,400 per month for 10 months).

Families will also be assessed an activity fee of $500 for fall semester to cover costs of field experiences (admission, gas, parking fees, etc.) as well as supplies for experiential learning (e.g. food for cooking demonstrations).  The amount for the spring semester activity fee will be determined during fall semester and communicated to parents prior to Thanksgiving break.