The network's mission is to provide quality education to recently arrived immigrants by developing and interconnecting small high schools based on the Internationals approach.

The mission of OIHS is to provide newly arrived immigrants a quality alternative education focused on English language acquisition in preparation for college.

Students have come from over three dozen countries: Afghanistan, Brazil, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, China, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cuba, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iraq, Japan, Liberia, Macau, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen.

Approximately 25% of students hold refugee immigration status, having escaped ethnic conflicts in Liberia, Nepal, Burma, and Central Asia.

As upperclassmen, students are acquainted with new teachers and are given the opportunity to participate in internships at local businesses, government bureaus, and community service programs.

Experts conclude that we must infuse our textbooks with information from the minority perspective, instead of incorporating a few instances of it into a white history book, placing an emphasis on culturally relevant teaching.

[6] OIHS teachers are trained in the Internationals Approach to teach students to improve their speaking, writing, and reading skills in English.

This approach is built on the belief that English-language acquisition is best fostered in an academic environment in which students participate in 1) heterogeneous groups, using 2) a project-based curriculum, and where 3) English development is integrated into all content areas.