Real Skills: Inside Simpsonville’s Only Montessori-STEAM School 

Walk into a typical public-school classroom today, and you’ll see a familiar scene: rows of students lit by Chromebook screens. Step onto the campus of Five Oaks Academy in Simpsonville, and it’s something else entirely. 

Bethany toured the school and noted that what struck her first was how much the classrooms felt like someone’s home; kids working in small groups or alone, learning on the floor, in bean bag chairs, at tables, and even on screened outdoor porches, with nobody sitting in rows listening to a lecture. 

At Five Oaks Academy, lower elementary and upper elementary students prepare real meals in the kitchen, middle school students tackle complex engineering challenges, and kids spend part of every day outside. They are exploring gardens, wandering trails, and working through science experiences across campus. Montessori education and STEAM learning are woven together to raise creative thinkers and confident problem-solvers, without overusing technology in the classroom. 

Teaching Kids to Use Technology, Not Be Used by It

Technology is part of modern life, and Five Oaks Academy isn’t pretending otherwise. They’re helping students engage with it purposefully. Rather than defaulting to passive screen time, FOA builds the everyday skills kids actually need: staying focused, being a good teammate, and thinking through real challenges. As students grow, they learn to use technology as a tool, not a crutch. 

In the Primary years, children build concentration, coordination, and independence through tactile, hands-on experiences like buttoning clothes, preparing snacks, and caring for the classroom. Bethany noticed that every classroom was stocked with bright, concrete learning materials; whether it was math, history, or science, kids had something they could actually touch and manipulate rather than copy off a board, and they could choose their own approach. 

As students move into Elementary and Middle School, those skills grow into greater responsibility: managing planners, project timelines, long-term assignments, and collaborative work, all while developing critical thinking. The goal isn’t to keep technology out of childhood. It’s to make sure it stays a tool for learning rather than a distraction.

What Makes Five Oaks Academy Different? 

Five Oaks Academy is the only Montessori school in the Simpsonville area offering a continuous program through 8th grade. So, families don’t have to start over when their child is ready for middle school. The school has also been recognized with the SCISA W. Keller Kissam School of Honor Award for academic innovation and STEAM initiatives. 

A Campus Designed for Hands-On Innovation 

As a dual-accredited Montessori and STEAM institution through SCISA, Five Oaks Academy treats learning as something you do, not something you sit and absorb. The campus on Jonesville Road functions as a living laboratory. On any given day, students might be caring for chickens, conducting outdoor ecology studies, designing invention projects, cooking from scratch, or collaborating on large-scale challenges like the school’s beloved “Imaginary Island” projects. 

The campus is intentionally small and self-contained. Bethany noted that kids move through it with real independence, with no permission needed to use the bathroom, no bells dictating every transition. There’s even a creek to explore alongside the chicken coop, giving students a genuine connection to the natural world as part of their everyday experience. 

This builds something no computer program can replicate: resilience. At FOA, when an experiment fails or a design doesn’t work, students adapt and try again. That habit of problem-solving through failure builds the confidence and persistence that follow kids long after they leave. 

Student Programs & Extracurriculars 

Students have access to a wide range of programs and enrichment opportunities: chess, entrepreneurship opportunities, Student Council, coding, Quiz bowl, running club, art, music, Spanish, wellness initiatives, mentorship opportunities, and after-school programs. There’s something for every kind of kid. 

A Global Learning Community 

With students representing more than 30 countries, Five Oaks Academy’s multi-age classrooms are built around natural collaboration. Here, older students mentor younger peers, younger students learn by watching leadership in action, and the result feels more like a creative studio than a traditional school. 

By Middle School, students take on mentorship roles, leadership responsibilities, and community-based learning designed to strengthen communication, independence, and self-advocacy- real-world skills that matter far more than standardized test scores. 

Want to See It for Yourself? 

Five Oaks Academy serves students from Primary through Middle School. If you’re curious what education can look like beyond rows of desks and passive screen time, Five Oaks Academy invites families to come see it firsthand during their open house events or by scheduling a tour.