Draft:The Oaks Academy (North Carolina)

The Oaks Academy (TOA) is an alternative school located in Murphy, North Carolina, and serves grades 6–12. It is the only alternative school operated by the Cherokee County Schools, opening in 2017, after the closure of its predecesor, Mountain Youth School. The school was originally established as Mountain Youth Center, re-named Mountain Youth School, and had operated from its opening in 1997 to its closing at 20 years in 2017. In 2017, MYS closed its doors and re-established as The Oaks Academy at a new location, the former Marble Elementary School building. TOA moved in 2023 to the new Cherokee County Schools of Innovation.

History
In the summer of 1997, the North Carolina General Assembly set forth an allocation of more than $10,000 to establish the Mountain Youth Center. The name was changed in the 2004–2005 school year to Mountain Youth School.

In early 2017, Cherokee County Schools closed Marble Elementary School. That same year, the Mountain Youth School closed at its Martins Creek location. MYS later moved in to the recently closed MES building and re-established as The Oaks Academy.

In 2023, the school moved once again to a brand new location, the Cherokee County Schools of Innovation. This new facility is home to TOA, Tri-County Early College, and a new Cherokee County Schools Career Academy.