Great Oaks is a public career-technical school district serving 36 school districts in southwest Ohio, with over 14,000 students preparing for careers or college each year through programs offered at local high schools or four Great Oaks campuses. Students attend Great Oaks to explore careers, gain hands-on experience, earn professional certifications or college credit, and get a head start in their career paths. Typical days involve career labs and academic classes, and programs cover a range of career clusters from agriculture to engineering. Great Oaks aims to offer students real-world learning experiences that give them an edge in the workforce or in pursuing further education.

1. Great Oaks is a public
school district that
serves as the career-
technical department
for 36 school districts in
southwest Ohio.

2. Each year, more than 14,000 students prepare
for a career and college through Great Oaks—
either at a local high school or at one of the four
Great Oaks Career Campuses.
Diamond Oaks
6375 Harrison Ave.
Dent
Laurel Oaks
300 Oak Drive
Wilmington
Scarlet Oaks
3254 E. Kemper Road
Sharonville
Live Oaks
5956 Buckwheat Road
Milford

3. Why do students attend
Great Oaks?
• To try out a career field before committing to it
in college
• Because they are hands-on learners
• To earn professional certification to begin
working immediately after high school
• To earn college credit to give them a head start
• To get started on a career path that they are
passionate about

4. A typical day at
Great Oaks:
• 2 ½ hours in career labs
• Four academic classes
Each student is
provided a
laptop for their
use during
their time at
Great Oaks.

5. Great Oaks offers:
• Small class sizes
• Career teachers who
have real-world
experience
• Team teaching
• Individual attention

6. Programs are available in these career clusters:
 Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
 Architecture and Construction
 Arts, Audio/Video Technology and Digital TV
 Education and Training
 Health Science
 Hospitality and Tourism
 Human Services
 Information Technology
 Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security
 Manufacturing
 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
 Transportation, Distribution and Logistics
 Other

7. All programs have been developed in partnership
with local business leaders, and are based on
current and future needs in southwest Ohio.
Many of these programs
lead to careers that are on
the Buckeye Top 50 list of
Ohio’s most in-demand
professions.

8. Can Great Oaks students still
participate in activities at
their current school?
Great Oaks students are involved in extracurricular
activities at their home schools AND…
YES!!

9. …participate in Great Oaks activities which
promote leadership, excellence, and teamwork.
• National Technical Honor Society
• Family, Career & Community Leaders of America
• Business Professionals of America
• DECA
• FFA
• SkillsUSA
• JROTC

10. What do students earn by the
time they complete the program?
• A diploma from their current school district
• A Great Oaks Career Passport which includes
• Certificate of Career Preparation
• Recommendation letter from Great Oaks CEO
• Competency Profile
• Great Oaks Warranty
• Student awards and achievements
• Resume
AND…

11. Real world experience - at local businesses – earning while learning…

12. And the chance
to earn
professional
certification
that offers a
competitive
advantage in
the workplace…

13. Success!
Distinguished Alumni 2012
Gary Gilbert
Co-owner, HGC Construction
Joan Junker
Owner, Hair Management
Bradley George
Chief, Paint Creek Joint
Fire/EMS District
Great Oaks graduates include police
chiefs, fire chiefs, award-winning
chefs, inventors, business owners,
corporate vice presidents, an Emmy
Award nominee, veterinarians,
horse trainers, health care
professionals, and more.

14. Great Oaks offers options:
• A different kind of learning
• Professional certification
• The chance to explore a career field
• College credit
• A competitive edge in the job market

15. And you can still go to college:
People say you can’t attend college if you go to the Oaks…
But you can and yes we do!

16. on the website
My daughter Emily goes to Live Oaks in the Early Childhood
Education (ECE) program. She has always wanted to work with
kids or animals and decided on working with special education
kids. She has really exceeded my expectations of her while at
Live Oaks. She enjoys going to school and going to lab to learn
more. This year she has gotten to work with kids at a local
elementary school. In the core classes she is taking the
teachers take time to explain what they are teaching along with
offering help to the kids. My son went to Live Oaks for
computers in 2012.
I went to Scarlet Oaks for Early Childhood Education in 1989.
For any parent and their child looking at vocational school, I
would suggest to take it seriously because this is a good first
step for their career and not just a job. Vocational school is not
what it used to be, an easy way out. The teachers and students
take their labs serious to the point of preparing them for jobs or
going to college.

17. My husband and I would like to thank you. You probably remember that you had to beg
and virtually drag us onto the Live Oaks campus to discuss Madeline’s potential with the
DAAD program face-to-face. Our concern was that she would be pigeon holed into a
trade, and locked out of college opportunities. After your presentation, we acquiesced and
(and still with some reluctance) signed the papers to transfer her to Live Oaks for her junior
year. Madeline was very excited.
I want you to know that as we approach her graduation this year, we could not happier with
the outcome of her high school education and overall experience. As promised, her Live
Oaks teachers and you have helped a young girl gain confidence in her abilities as an
artist, and as an academic. She has won awards, been admitted to the honor society, she
has been an ambassador of the DAAD program, (she is a pretty good public speaker I
hear), and taken college level classes that have earned credits that will go with her to
Bowling Green State University next fall. That’s right! -Accepted to college, and well on
her way to achieving even more.
We are so proud of the independent young woman she has grown to be, and look forward
to what is ahead. I think my husband shared at a parent conference recently that we credit
the support you have shown her, and your encouragement for her to attend DAAD at Live
Oaks, with who she is today. In hind sight, that application to Live Oaks was the best
paperwork we ever signed off on. She is on her way!
Thanks again!
Tess Filimonov

18. “I've met such an amazing group of people at Live Oaks. I wouldn't
trade my second family for the world. Coming to Live Oaks had to
be one of my best choices; I never knew what I wanted to do in life,
until I got to visit the Animal Science Program.”
Mariah Mofford
Class of 2014