College Hill

My children both attend Eugene Waldorf School and I can’t tell you enough how deeply the teachers at this school care for each and every student. The teachers use the Waldorf understandings of child development to create their curriculum anew every year to best meet the needs of the individual children before them that year, so the education is always meeting the children where they are at. I also attended a Waldorf school myself through high school and can share that I still remember things I was taught in elementary school, because they were brought through stories and we did our own writing about whatever we were learning, which helps you digest and really integrate information. Math and science are learned through experiences, so the children can truly feel the concepts underlying what is being taught, as opposed to rote memorization. Because the class stays together each year children are forced to work through challenging social dynamics when they arise with a long term view.

Sending my child to O’Hara Catholic School has been a deeply heartbreaking and disappointing experience.When you sacrifice nearly $1,000 a month per child, you expect a nurturing environment. Instead, tuition spikes every year while classrooms grow more crowded than local public schools. The financial strain is relentless. Fees skyrocket out of nowhere like the facilities fee jumping to $275, and the pressure for donations is constant. On top of that, working families are penalized by a rigid 32-hour volunteer mandate. If you cannot fulfill it, you are charged an extra $1,600 a year.It is deeply concerning how little support the children actually receive. Despite the premium price tag, there is no school nurse, no counselor. Academically, the curriculum is weak and inconsistent. We, along with many other families, have to pay out of pocket for private tutors just to fill the gaps. There are no world languages and no meaningful cultural education.Most devastatingly, the school has lost its soul. Despite the Catholic label, it does not feel faith-centered. The environment feels less like a spiritual community and more like a flashy, superficial business. You are paying for status and appearances, not academic excellence or authentic values. Our children deserve so much more.