New Aurora Christian school aims for larger campus

Just a few months after opening the doors to their private Christian school in Aurora, the founders of Oakwood Academy are eyeing growth opportunities in the Lawrence County town.

Aug. 11 was the launch date for Oakwood Academy, which serves preschool through high school, said Chris Haynes, superintendent. With his wife, Tiffany, Haynes co-owns the school, which is operating for at least its inaugural year at Aurora Baptist Temple, 1111 S. Elliott Ave. Future plans call for the school to move to 23 acres the Hayneses purchased in October.

The couple’s five children, ranging in ages 5-14, are among the 60 students attending the school.

“The goal for it was really to create a place that kids could come. Not every kid fits in the public school system,” Chris said. “They don’t all excel here either. There’s a fit for everybody, but we just really wanted to start something that aligned with our principles of our faith, emphasize character development with the kids and their academic excellence and their spiritual growth in the time that we have them.”

The school also reaches younger children with Oakwood Saplings Early Learning Center, which serves ages 1-3, he said.

Temple connection
As Oakwood Academy isn’t affiliated with Aurora Baptist Temple, Chris said the church wasn’t part of his initial search for a location to house the school during its inaugural year.

“We began looking for a place for the school back in February and had some leads on some different properties here in Aurora that were commercial use that we could renovate and make into the school,” he said. “But each one of those began to come up dry for different reasons.”

Chris said he and his wife reached out to Aurora Baptist in June and were approved as a tenant by the next day.

“It moved really quick – definitely a blessing,” he said, declining to disclose terms of the one-year lease or startup costs. “We have already started discussions with them about possibly extending that.”

Oakwood Academy occupies roughly 12,000 square feet in the church and has access to the gymnasium and sanctuary. Aside from classes teaching subjects such as history, math and science, students also can participate in a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball, cross country and volleyball.

Aside from Aurora, which had a population of 7,573 in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, the couple says Oakwood draws students from numerous nearby towns, including Clever, Crane, Monett, Mount Vernon, Nixa and Verona.

The school, which has a staff of 13, Tiffany said, is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit under Vectors of Grace. She said the school is seeking accreditation through the American Association of Christian Schools, based in Tennessee, and Cognia, a Georgia-based nonprofit.

Tuition is $3,700 along with $325 for book fees. The tuition decreases for each additional child enrolled from a household. Additional fees are charged for those participating in sports, according to the school’s website.

Oakwood Academy’s launch joins a pair of private Christian schools that recently began operations in Springfield, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting. Springfield Lutheran High School began its inaugural year in August inside the education center of Trinity Lutheran Church, 1415 S. Holland Ave. That was preceded last year by the opening of Crossway Christian Academy, which is housed in the 27,000-square-foot children’s wing of Crossway Baptist Church at 2900 N. Barnes Ave.

The schools are part of a growing national total of Christian schools, according to the International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal. A 2023 study written by Jared Johnston of Oral Roberts University cited 2021 U.S. Census data stating that roughly 6.9 million students were enrolled in private schools in 2021 – around 12.8% of the student population. The percentage was an increase from 10.7% in 2019.

Roughly two-thirds of private schools in the U.S. were religious in the 2021-22 school year, the most recent year with federal data available from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Land usage
The Hayneses closed Oct. 10 on the purchase of 23 acres along South Engle Road in Aurora. Chris said they bought the land, which has been used for agricultural purposes for years, from Diana Seifried for an undisclosed price. They agreed that a farmer who has been cutting hay on the property may continue doing so until the Hayneses are ready to start the future Oakwood Academy building project.

A ceremonial groundbreaking, involving the planting of a tree on the property, was set for Nov. 20 but was postponed due to rain. A makeup date is yet to be scheduled.

The couple envisions first constructing a 7,000-square-foot building that will house a gymnasium and classroom space. An additional building dedicated to classrooms would be added as enrollment grows and funding allows. Estimated costs and design work is yet to be determined, Chris said.

“It’s very preliminary as we just got the ball rolling on everything in August, and we’ve had the land for about a month,” he said. “It’s very much kind of in the brain cells still. Ideally, we would be looking maybe at construction beginning after year two here at the school.”

However, funding the construction project is yet to begin, Tiffany said, noting they first need to raise money to pay off $75,000 they still owe for the land. As the school has 501(c)(3) status, donations would be tax-deductible, she said.

Chris said he expects a second year for the school’s lease will soon be secured with Aurora Baptist.

“As long as we can continue to maintain that relationship, and they’re able to accommodate the size of the school, we can take our time and work on getting those funds together to be able to begin the building,” Chris said.

He said the school is largely dependent on funding from tuition and donors – something that will have to continue for the new permanent home to be built.

“Right now, it has been exclusively individuals that have come alongside us and generously helped, but we’re interested in expanding our fundraising,” he said.

Securing land was a big first step toward growing the school and its student body in the Aurora community, according to the couple.

“Watching God move, I don’t know what his plan is. And that’s really what I’m interested in, is seeing what he has in store,” Chris said. “And if that’s 100 kids, that’s fantastic. If it’s 500 kids, that’s great, too. We’ll figure out a way to do it.”