Oasis Academy's Tisdale provides updates for CEDA

Oasis Academy High School principal Rochelle Tisdale presented upcoming projects and developments to the membership at the Feb. 26 Churchill Entrepreneur Development Association’s monthly breakfast.

Tisdale has been the principal at the academy since 2015 and has spent almost 20 years in education. Tisdale said the academy has been a five-star school in the Nevada School Performance Framework since its inception.

With 160 high school students, Tisdale said the school’s athletic programs have moved from the 1A to the 2A division. Most of their students have never competed in a sport, and she said the new challenges that come with a new division have been a focus this year.

Academically, Tisdale said Counselor Andy Lenon had guided all of the seniors to successfully complete their University of Nevada, Reno applications by early fall along with all of the financial and testing requirements.

“I love that our team gets it done,” Tisdale said. “We don’t put things off, we don’t put it on somebody else. We take responsibility and we get it done. I think that’s kind of what sets us apart.”

Charter schools are not union run, so everybody, including Tisdale, works on an annual contract basis. Something, she says, that creates accountability.

A charter school’s only dependable source of funding is the K-12 per pupil funds from the state of Nevada. Oasis doesn’t supply transportation or a food program because the school simply can’t afford it, Tisdale said. Grants and private donations can sometimes help to cover additional expenses, such as the raises for teachers Gov. Joe Lombardo recently implemented.

“We’re working on that right now to make sure that happens because we value our people and we have to make this happen,” Tisdale said. “So, we’re hoping that doesn’t cause cuts in other areas.”

The school’s annual “Future Fest” fundraiser dinner is April 18 at the Fallon Convention Center catered by The Slanted Porch. Proceeds from this year’s event are earmarked to revitalize the school’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs, which were affected during the Covid shutdown.

Tisdale said Oasis Academy partners with Western Nevada College in a dual enrollment program that allows high school students to earn college credits towards an associate degree simultaneously. Freshmen and sophomores take some dual enrollment classes and the juniors and seniors are “fully immersed” in the program.

Tisdale said the first eighth-grader in the school’s history recently completed WNC’s aviation ground school and received the dual enrollment credits, although he still has to wait until he’s older to take the pilot test.

Tisdale mentioned other schoolwide projects including a recent science fair which showcased hundreds of projects with 20 students moving on to a regional competition.

Oasis Academy’s Future Farmers of America program has 60 students who competed in Western Regionals recently. Twenty of those students, Tisdale said, are now headed to state competition. Tisdale also said she will accompany students on a college exploration trip to Stanford and California Polytechnic State University in April.

Structurally, Tisdale said the school is working on a playground refresh tentatively scheduled to begin over spring break. Future dream plans include a culinary arts kitchen, a performing arts space and a gymnasium for sports and physical education classes on their property. Currently the school utilizes the nearby City-County Gym.

Oasis Academy’s Scholarship Awards Night is scheduled for May 13 and graduation alongside WNC students is set for May 21.