For over one hundred years, the purpose of Oneida Baptist Institute has been to provide young people with a high quality Christian education. What began as a ministry to mountain children grew into an outreach to young people from around the world. Located in a small rural village in the mountains of southeastern Kentucky, Oneida is a school that has adapted to meet the needs of a changing society while remaining true to its Christian vision and purpose. OBI provides a safe, structured environment where students can learn life lessons of responsibility and self-discipline.
Student Stats
Oneida accepts students in grades 6-12. On average...
• OBI's enrollment is between 300 and 335 students
• 50% of our students are from the state of Kentucky, 30% from other states, and 20% for other nations. About 60% of our student body is Caucasian, and 40% are of color.
• We normally have 100 middle school students and 225 high school students.
• Our average class size is 11 students.
• The ratio of male/female students is about 60% male, 40% female.
• The average number of students in a graduating class is 52. In the 2007 class, about 46% of the graduates earned advanced degrees. 60% of OBI graduates continue their education after graduating from our school.
To accomplish our mission, we minister to our students in four major areas: academics, work, co-curriculars and worship. See Campus Life for details about the different facets of our program.
Every school deals with the mind of young people, but few, like Oneida, minister to the soul as well. While we respect the backgrounds and beliefs of all of our students, we steadfastly present the Gospel of Jesus Christ in daily required chapel services. We provide additional fellowship and discipleship opportunities for young Christians or seekers in our Campus Ministry program.
Funding
OBI is a faith ministry, and we do our best to make the most of every dollar. The largest portion of our funds, about 56 percent, comes to us from churches and individuals. Student room and board fees make up only 35 percent of OBI's income. The fees charged to students are based on family income and virtually every Oneida student receives some sort of tuition reduction. No young person is ever turned away from OBI because of a legitimate inability to pay.
The remaining nine percent of our funding comes from the Kentucky Baptist Convention Cooperative Program.
Oneida is also blessed to have donations of goods and services. Hundreds of volunteers visit every year and donate their labor for campus maintenance and projects. Our full-time faculty and staff are qualified professionals who are willing to serve in this ministry for a fraction of the salary they would receive elsewhere. Our volunteers, donors, faculty and staff are the financial backbone of this ministry. It is the faithfulness of these believers that allows us to shine as a beacon of hope to hundreds of teenagers and their families each year.
