Welcome to the Oak Harbor Public Schools Exceptional Academy.

There are three main learning components within the Exceptional Academy:

• Independent Living
• Vocational Support
• Community Engagement

Independent Living looks different for every student. For some students, that will mean having an apartment in town or living with roommates and requiring little to no outside support. For others, it will mean more independence at home, taking more responsibilities in the household. Students may take over the laundry, begin doing the dishes, helping with the cooking, and more.  Regardless of what independence looks like for each student, we make sure they build the skills necessary to live the life they choose to. 

As a vehicle for Vocational support, we provide each student with annual internship experiences. The practice is the key to perfecting skills. This is true with employment skills as well.  Our internships enable students to practice these skills in real employment settings and set them up to be successful in the job market. Our student internship experiences are based on the students' interests and the skills they need to develop. Our end goal is for every student interested in employment to leave here prepared to be successful employees.

The last part of our program is Community Engagement. It is important for our students to know their roles as adults in this community and what that might look like for each of them. We foster good citizenship and stress the importance of giving back to the community they are members of. Each year our students choose a ‘Charity of Choice’ to focus their efforts on. Students have chosen Habitat for Humanity, The Garage of Blessings, and WAIF in the past. This builds a sense of responsibility for them and aids in supporting the community's health as a whole.  

The Exceptional Academy Motto: Educate, Empower, Embark

Contact

Main Number
360.279.5876

Program Staff

Coordinator
Susan Armstrong
sarmstrong@ohsd.net

Career Specialists

Mikki Cipullo
mcipullo@ohsd.net

Cristina Frisby
cfrisby@ohsd.net

Robert Johnson
rjohnson@ohsd.net

Kelly Kellogg
kekellogg@ohsd.net

Wendy Ocanas
wocanas@ohsd.net

Rebecca Wheeler
rwheeler@ohsd.net