A truly great school in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the upper Ojai valley. I graduated…read morefrom here 20 years ago. Still think of it with massive respect for the teachers, arts program, and connection to nature.

I hope this review will force the Board of Trustees to seriously question the school's current…read moreleadership. It needs to change; the sooner, the better. Until then, spare yourself and your child the endless frustration and misery of trying to communicate with people who simply do not respond. It's unfathomable to think about spending this kind of money only to be ghosted by a school's top administrators. Yet, since enrolling in early May, that is what has happened to our family. As a local Ojai resident, the many scathing reviews in recent years puzzled me having heard rave reviews from local friends and parents when our family first moved here in 2016. Besant seemed to have so many positive aspects, and my child was drawn to these strengths. We applied and were accepted, hoping the scathing reviews were wrong. The reviews were not wrong. We were. In choosing Besant Hill. Since I enrolled my child in early May, I have been trying for three months to have one simple 30-minute conversation with the Director of Academics about course selection. I called. I emailed. I reached out to other administrators for help. When, and if, I would receive a response, it would lack any substance often offering to set up a time to talk, only to be ghosted upon any attempt to follow up. This deeply unprofessional administration showed our family in these three months since enrolling that they cannot competently do their jobs so there's no way that I can send my child there in good conscience. We waited beyond a reasonable amount of time to hear back from them with answers to our basic questions. I have withdrawn my child from Besant Hill and enrolled them somewhere else. I received more answers to questions in four days of applying to my child's new school than I've gotten in three months from Besant Hill since paying tuition. I am confident that the new school community we just joined is thriving and the administrators and faculty there will be able to meet my child's needs. This is what private school families are seeking and deserve.

This school is great it got the job done and my kids came home happy. They loved the activity and…read moretheir leadership teacher. The campus is nice and clean with lots of school spirit. The Woodshop program is amazing and the teacher is so fun and funny. This school is amazing but the lunch food kinda sucks.

Like all schools, teachers were a hit or miss. Kids were difficult to control (a fault of the…read moreparents). The school dances and other activities were ok. I probably enjoyed middle school cause of this school far more than during elementary. My favorite people in the early 2000s though was the librarian and an English teacher, Mrs. Ludes. The library was one of my favorite places to hang out. The teacher got hell from her students when she was the sweetest and smartest teacher I had met up to that point. She nurtured my love of literature. I wish other students had appreciated her.

Oak Grove School is such an outstanding environment for a child to learn, develop and flourish…read more It's faculty and staff are top notch and truly believe in the mission of the school. OGS provides excellent college preparatory education in an environment that allows the individual to discover, question and explore. - Former Staff Member

Oak Grove is a place where every child is met exactly where they are. This is one of the most…read morepowerful ways to raise inquisitive, healthy adults. OGS is a caring, inclusive, open-minded community. Students are given opportunities to explore nature, the world, and themselves in ways few other schools are able to offer. It was my home for 8 years, and I still feel at home when I visit campus. Keep doing what you do best, and go Lizards!

I would like to provide an update of my review from several months ago…read more While our initial experience with the Montessori School of Ojai's administrative staff was frustrating and lacked professionalism, once they were made aware of our experience they made swift action to correct the situation. Not only that, but our son (~1 1/2) absolutely loves the program. We were initially skeptical that our son would take to it because he was very attached to us--his mom in particular--and would cry whenever she walked out of the room (how is he going to handle being dropped off at school for several hours?). But, the vast majority of the time (including the first day) he is excited to be there. (Special thanks to Coral and Alex!) As a parent, when you leave your kid in the care of others, you want to feel (and know to the best of your ability) that they are in as good if not better care than if they were with you. My wife and I both feel this way about MSO, and for that, I highly recommend this institution.

If you want a place for your child to be given the freedom to be themselves and get a good…read moreeducation then this is it. Our daughter graduated a couple of years ago and I still miss it, I honk every time I drive by. These people became like family to my daughter and to us. I cannot say more about the integrity of this school and the people who run it. Not many schools leave you, let alone your child, with a feeling of goodness and dignity these days. This place does. We love you Montessori School of Ojai! Thank you for taking such fine care of our beloved daughter and sharing yourselves with her and us...

oh happy chap…read more.. this was a great school for all those who could not hang with the scene/douche bags at nordhoff. being within walking distance from my house, i was able to catch up with all the backlogged requirements in my HS education, keep a parttime job and play in a punk rock band....all while keeping a 3.6 GPA. god bless the guy piasco experience! "first i get to drinkin....then i get to thinkin....then i get to a drinkin and a thinkin...." the man loved cooking italian food, JFK, playing piano, drinkin and teaching kids everyone else gave up on.

Great school! Superior academics, and a small close-knit community. The best Catholic High School…read morein Ventura county.

Every experience in life is relative - and in that sense, relative to the Ojai Valley and Ventura…read moreCounty in General, Villanova Preparatory School remains your best bang-for-the-buck in private high school/prep-school education. The class sizes are small and there is still a cap on the number of students who may be admitted. The campus is absolutely beautiful, much like a small college, and there is an abundance of open space. The facilities are steadily (albeit slowly) being upgraded and improved upon, and the safe, quiet environment certainly promotes a sense of peacefulness and promotes learning. Through review of recruiting literature it's obvious that the school enthusiastically promotes it's International Baccalaureate (IB) Degree program which was put in place a few years back. And while this program may be of some value to international students (and a very small number of domestic students) it seems to be more of a "prestige marketing ploy" geared toward the well-off parents of foreign students who pay a ton of money to educate and board their children at VPS for 4 years. The bottom line is that although taking IB classes (or obtaining IB certification) may "look impressive" on a students college admission application, it's next to meaningless to the vast majority of United States based colleges and universities. These institutions would much rather see "AP" or "Honors" on that high school transcript next to the course title.....not "IB". Unfortunately, being such a small school with a small staff, VPS didn't have the capability to do both, and chose to phase out it's AP and Honors programs as it went "all-in" with the IB program. This, unfortunately was a huge disservice to those American kids who were / are likely to attend an American-based college or university that could honestly care less about IB. For a such a small school, there are many athletic options within which to participate, and there is an abundance of academic, service and social clubs run by students and overseen by a chosen faculty member. VPS is both a day and boarding school, with approximately a third of it's students living on campus. Most of these students are foreign nationals from around the world, and this obviously brings an interesting and engaging dynamic to the to the prep-school experience - not unlike college. These students share their culture and are readily immersed into the VPS community and ultimately become part of the family for life regardless of where they may go in the future. Many lifelong international friendships occur as a result. This love of sharing, acceptance and diversity in the Augustinian tradition has been happening at VPS for decades - long before the toxic "cancel-culture" and "woke" extremism we see today. In general terms, the VPS faculty and staff are quite qualified. And being blessed with smaller class sizes and motivated students, they will routinely out-perform their peers elsewhere. In all fairness, a handful of the teachers are absolutely phenomenal - some wearing multiple hats as teacher, coach, advisor, etc. There are of course a small minority of teachers and staff who seem to have a personal agenda beyond that of educating the students and preparing them for the real world. Determined to find a "racist" hiding behind every tree and united in their hatred of America, our military and the police...they form an increasingly vocal element devoid of truth and honesty, but full of parroted phrases and slogans. The obvious hope is that this too will pass, and that both the headmaster and the Board will keep the stupidity in-check.

I've been here for only five weeks so far in the 9th grade but I already love it. Two weeks in and…read moreI found the person I'd like to believe is my soul mate. While some teachers might be on the stranger side, they all have your best interest at heart. The snacks aren't "heathy" but you wouldn't really expect health from a public school. There is little to none bullying. Spanish 1 isn't good this year on the count of the fact the my teacher is very undisciplined and I constantly getting migraines. But over all this school is awesome, is better than most private schools accept for thatcher and Villanova but they are quite expensive and you would expect excellence from a highly expensive school (not counting ovs)

Nordhoff did a great job educating me and preparing me for college. A lot of my writing skills that…read moreI have to this day were honed at Nordhoff by the great English teachers. A lot of the advanced classes, especially history, were more in depth than college classes. I have fond memories. Great sports and extracurriculars too.

Love this place. Been here for 6 years, all 3 kids go here. All teachers we have had have been…read moreamazing, tremendous energy, engaging and caring. Small class sizes. We are so lucky to attend.

This school is as good as it gets. They have the resources…read moreto give our children the best of the best. Small class sizes, violin lessons, science lab, organic gardens, parent education classes, student trips to DC, teacher in services at Harvard....I could go on and on. This is a public school but is better than most private schools. We are fortunate our children go here.