Our high school students are immersed in growth opportunities ranging from traditional academics to character and life skills, with college coursework, career internships, and life skills programs.
We aim to graduate thinkers, learners, and problem-solvers ready to tackle life’s challenges and provide effective leadership in their lives beyond high school.
Through partnerships with colleges and universities such as Madison College and UW-Oshkosh, we facilitate student-interest driven associates degree pathways (leading directly to a career or to a transfer as a 4-year college student) as well as a Bachelor in Education degree option.
We surround our scholars with high school level support while providing clear and intentional paths to college and career options. All scholars are on a path to earn at least 30 college credit hours by graduation.
Our high school program is semester-based, with a focus on four academic subjects per semester. OCPA seeks to blend high school, college, and career experiences in order to pave the path to professional success, particularly for those scholars from low-income and historically underrepresented communities. The bridge between high school and college is weakest for the young people for whom the gap between the two is also the widest.
Scholars will take four courses/semester, allowing for immersion in course content and focused study on academic and personal growth components appropriate for each scholar.
After each semester of study, scholars will select two-week workshops, allowing them to dive into passion projects, enrichment opportunities, and engagement possibilities.
OCPA will provide high-school level support (physical, emotional, social, and academic) to scholars pursuing college level coursework. OCPA seeks to demonstrate that an academically rigorous liberal arts and sciences program can intellectually engage a diverse group of high school students and effectively prepare them for success in college, careers, and civic life.
Workshops provide exposure to career paths, opportunities to engage in design thinking cycles through project-based work, and specific content knowledge critical to ensuring success in life and career (e.g., financial literacy, Driver’s Ed, life skills, and career readiness).
Beginning as early as 6th grade, students are exposed to technical and very practical workshops that help them make informed decisions about their future, while providing them with a rich variety of job prospects. Furthermore, these workshops will lead to summer apprenticeship opportunities and internships on campus and locally, therefore increasing graduation and employment rates specifically among traditionally underrepresented communities.
Our model leads to flexibility and innovation within our schedule and our program. Our summer session allows for internships, apprenticeships, job shadows, Drivers’ Ed instruction, foundational or enrichment coursework, and personal projects that inspire our scholars.
Our longer days provide time for our scholars to dig deeper into both their academic and their personal learning and growth, including time built into the day for clubs and athletics.
