Now Accepting New Students!
Our Mission
Live Oak Academy empowers students through voice and choice, nurturing wonder, creativity, and a learning environment that meets each child where they are. We support academic achievement and personal growth by fostering confidence, emotional well-being, and a strong sense of self.
Our VISION
We envision a world where education honors each learner’s individuality, ignites their passion for discovery, and equips them to lead with empathy, curiosity, and confidence.
Why "Live Oak Academy of the Low Country"?
Like a live oak tree, our students grow strong from the roots up. In preschool, we nurture creativity, self-awareness, and social intelligence. Elementary and middle school form the trunk—where core academic skills and critical thinking take shape. By high school, students begin to branch out, exploring their passions and preparing for the future with confidence.
About Us
OUR challenge
OUR challenge
OUR challenge
Education is not one-size-fits-all. While traditional methods—desks, worksheets, tests, and homework—work for some, they don’t meet the needs of every child. Not all students thrive within the conventional model, and that’s why alternative approaches matter.
Our SOLUTION
OUR challenge
OUR challenge
A hands-on classroom experience where Pre K-12 students have a voice and therefore ownership of their education. A school that is intentional about getting out of the building through field trips and partnerships where students can engage with experts and apply classroom topics to the real world. A building that is open to support profes
A hands-on classroom experience where Pre K-12 students have a voice and therefore ownership of their education. A school that is intentional about getting out of the building through field trips and partnerships where students can engage with experts and apply classroom topics to the real world. A building that is open to support professionals such as speech therapists, tutors, and occupational therapists creating a space where children can thrive. Collaboration with students, teachers, families, and partners to promote academic and social growth.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Live Oak Academy offers an alternative to traditional education through a Preschool through 12th model that is rooted in flexibility, creativity, and real-world engagement.
STUDENT VOICE
With our intentionally smaller class sizes, students are empowered to find and utilize their strengths and interests in their education while still meeting the South Carolina standards.
Strategic Community Partnerships
Live Oak Academy is a hub of collaboration! Through field trips, guest speakers, and an open-door policy with academic support professionals we feel that growth happens when we work together.
ELITE EDUCATORS WITH AUTONOMY
While our educators are receiving observations and mentoring, they have the freedom to design and deliver their own enriching programs, ensuring every class is led with passion and purpose.
OUR STAFF
TIFFANY FISH EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
Tiffany is in her fifth year with the school and has previously held the roles of Summer Camp Director and Director of Operations. She brings a strong background in nonprofit and youth development leadership, having worked in educational nonprofits and youth-centered
Tiffany is in her fifth year with the school and has previously held the roles of Summer Camp Director and Director of Operations. She brings a strong background in nonprofit and youth development leadership, having worked in educational nonprofits and youth-centered organizations since 2010, including supervising a remote learning center for over 70 children during the COVID pandemic and teaching Core Competencies to Adulthood, College and Career Readiness, SEL, and Community Service to 40 high school students.
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
Deiha Torin moved to Hilton Head Island with her family in 1996 from Pennsylvania. Deiha has her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and holds a South Carolina teaching certificate. With nearly 30 years of teaching experience with children ages 3-5, Deiha most recently served as the Director and lead teacher at Island Luther
Deiha Torin moved to Hilton Head Island with her family in 1996 from Pennsylvania. Deiha has her Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and holds a South Carolina teaching certificate. With nearly 30 years of teaching experience with children ages 3-5, Deiha most recently served as the Director and lead teacher at Island Lutheran PreSchool for twenty years.
Deiha’s passion for the wonder and magic of early childhood honors the child’s right to play, to be collaborators in learning, and to dream. She honors the journey for children as investigators, life changers, and advocators. She nurtures children to build their own ideas, an art that requires incredible intentionality and heart.
HOLLY BURGDORF MIDDLE SCHOOL
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
HOLLY BURGDORF MIDDLE SCHOOL
Holly is originally from Ohio and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Middle Childhood Education from Youngstown State University, with concentrations in Math and Science. She spent several years teaching in Youngstown, working with a range of grade levels and incorporating STEM into her classrooms. She’s currently working toward her Master
Holly is originally from Ohio and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Middle Childhood Education from Youngstown State University, with concentrations in Math and Science. She spent several years teaching in Youngstown, working with a range of grade levels and incorporating STEM into her classrooms. She’s currently working toward her Master’s in Learning Design and Technology and is passionate about creating learning experiences that are meaningful and engaging.
BETH GREEN ELEMENTARY
DEIHA TORIN EARLY CHILDHOOD DIRECTOR
HOLLY BURGDORF MIDDLE SCHOOL
EARLY CHILDHOOD
SCHEDULE
Offering half day and full day programs.
8:45am Drop off begins
9:00am -12:00pm Day begins, running our traditional program
12:00pm-1:00pm Lunch and freedom to explore with centers
1:00pm -3:30pm Choices to rest, an enrichment lesson, recess, and afternoon snack.
learning
Our developmentally appropriate curriculum encourages each of our 3 and 6-year-old children to grow socially and emotionally while learning through play. We believe that early childhood children are curious, capable, and competent learners, therefore we offer hands-on opportunities for them to explore the world around them. A wonder approach to education allows our children to pose questions, make discoveries, and share their ideas and excitement. Our teachers partner with our children by listening closely to what they say, allowing us to guide them and act as a resource for satisfying their curiosity. Our indoor and outdoor areas are carefully designed with learning in mind and serve to essentially become a third teacher for our children.
EXPLORING
Our days open with a morning circle time, where children greet one another, sing, and review plans for the day. Then they are off: pursuing their group's growing study of construction or plants, moving through light and space, learning letters and the ways they make words, and creating sculptures with recyclables, or exploring color with paint. During the day, children may discover how letters can be made with their bodies, how water changes and moves, or how stories can be developed dramatically through make-believe. They might practice a quiet moment in movement, listen wide-eyed to a read aloud, or build an animal rescue center with our building blocks. They discuss, investigate, discover, play, get to know one another, learn to resolve conflicts, and grow.
CREATIVE THINKING
A great deal of children's work at this age is self-expressive and creative and, as a result, the arts and materials curriculum are at the very center of each child's experience. Children will explore art experiences based on famous artists and genres using various art mediums. A variety self-directed art centers allow the children to be creative, explore the elements of art and gain a further appreciation of the visual arts.
SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
Our students explore their independence and autonomy, begin to build their own relationships with others, negotiate conflicts, and establish bonds. Teachers support the negotiation, conflict resolution, and relationship building skills that children develop as they grow through this developmental phase. As they get older, we begin to discover the concept of community, and they become increasingly responsible for shaping their classroom culture with their friends. Throughout your child’s journey, teachers support children in how to think about their interactions with others, and how to help children move through new social triumphs and challenges that are all part of a natural progression of growing up.
SKILLS & UNDERSTANDING
Our program has an academic goal specific to each age of the child. This corresponds to the types of learning experiences children will have. In our multiage classroom, teachers support children to further become the protagonists of their own learning. A great deal of the work in the classroom is based on play, developing big questions, and exploring the world with their bodies, both independently and with others. When children reach age four, their curiosities begin to extend to the conventions of the world around them, and teachers follow these interests with emergent work with letters, words and numbers. They also surface and explore questions with children and naturally pose more complex challenges. We follow the SC Early Learning Standards to ensure the development of the whole child, including physical, emotional-social, language, math, cognitive development, and learning characteristics.
1st - 12th
Collaborative
We believe learning is most powerful when it's shared. Students are not just passive recipients—they have a voice in shaping their own education. Through explorative learning, choice-driven projects, and meaningful class discussions, students learn from—and with—each other. Our small class sizes foster deep relationships and rich conversation. It’s not uncommon to see a student turn around and teach a peer what they’ve just discovered, reinforcing their own understanding and building leadership skills. Collaboration isn’t just encouraged—it’s embedded into everything we do.
Challenging
We hold our students to high standards of thinking and doing—not through traditional tests or grades, but through mastery-based learning. Every student is expected to engage deeply, take ownership of their work, and push themselves toward excellence.
- We host twice-yearly Exhibitions, where students present their learning, projects, and writing to family members.
- Our high school students participate in dual enrollment through the Technical College of the Lowcountry or University of South Carolina Beaufort, earning college credit while still in high school.
- All high school students also attend a weekly internship, gaining real-world experience and exploring their interests in a meaningful way.
This kind of challenge prepares students not just for college—but for life.
CREATIVE
Creativity is not an afterthought at The Live Oak Academy—it’s a way of thinking and learning that runs through every subject. Students create projects to demonstrate their learning, propose original ideas, and engage in creative problem-solving. Whether designing an engineering prototype, crafting a short story, or exploring abstract concepts through art, students are encouraged to think outside the box and express their understanding in ways that are personal, powerful, and purposeful.
Our classes provide space for artistic expression, innovation, and reflection, helping students develop both their voice and their vision.
our classroom is outside of our building
This is more than a tagline—it’s a philosophy. At The Live Oak Academy, we believe students learn best when they are actively engaged with the world around them.
Our students:
- Spend time learning in nature
- Go on frequent field trips that connect classroom content to real-world experiences
- Meet and learn from experts, guest speakers, and community partners
- Ask big questions and explore topics beyond their textbooks and borders
Whether studying marsh ecosystems, exploring cultural traditions, or investigating global challenges, students are encouraged to look outward, think critically, and stay curious.
At The Live Oak Academy, we’re not just preparing students for a test—we’re preparing them to be thinkers, creators, collaborators, and compassionate leaders. From first through twelfth, our students are engaged, empowered, and excited to learn.