Oakwood School plans an expansion

Oakwood School, a private school in Annandale focused on students in grades 1-8 with learning disabilities, is planning an expansion.

 

The school, located in a former church building at 7201 Braddock Road, has applied for a rezoning and special exception. A couple of years ago, Oakwook acquired an adjacent property with a single-family house, which it wants to have rezoned from R-1 to R-3; the rest of its property is already R-3.

 

The first phase calls for a full renovation of the classroom wing. In the next phase, the school would replace a modular building at the rear of the property with a new larger gym. Oakwood would also install an underground stormwater management facility and reconfigure the parking lot and driveway. 

 

In several years, when the school has raised enough money, the office wing will be demolished and replaced with a new wing. 

 

The proposal goes to the Board of Zoning Appeals in March, then will be taken up by the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors.

 

If the approval process goes smoothly, Head of School Lane McIntyre says construction could start in 2019.

 

 

The project will allow Oakwood to increase its enrollment from about 92 to 116 students.

 

The school was founded in 1971 by Lane McIntyre’s parents, Bob and Mary McIntyre. Bob had been the headmaster of Congressional School in the late 1960s and serves as the CEO of Oakwood, where he works with the board of directors
and alumni, Lane McIntyre said. Mary, “the matriarch of the school,” focuses on hospitality.

 

In 1981, Oakwood bought its current building from Immanuel Bible Church, which moved a couple of blocks away to a larger property at the corner of Braddock and Backlick roads.

 

The Oakwood project will provide more space to increase enrollment. The first phase will add a couple of classrooms allowing an additional 20 students.

 

Oakwood was developed to serve students who are bright but weren’t successful in regular classrooms, Lane McIntyre says.

 

Most students have dyslexia or some other language-processing issue, he says. “The school uses a multisensory approach, and every classroom has smart boards so “students are physically involved in the learning process.”

 

 

There are 10 to 12 students and two full-time teachers in every classroom. The staff includes a speech therapist and an occupational therapist.

 

Oakwood doesn’t have a standard procedure for everyone, McIntyre says. Teachers impart information to students in every possible way. “It’s like a squirrel with nuts. The more nuts buried, the more chances of finding one.”

 

Some Oakwood students had been failing in public schools because they weren’t getting enough support, he says. He’s heard heartbreaking stories from kids who said they feel stupid and from parents who said teachers told them, “Your child will never learn to read.”

 

Most students are from Fairfax County, but there are some from as far as Haymarket, Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Washington, D.C.

 

Tuition is $35,000 a year. About a quarter of the students get some assistance, up to 50 percent of the regular rate. The school doesn’t provide transportation.

Oakwood is planning an open house within the next few weeks so nearby residents can learn about the expansion project.