Southeast

I cannot stress enough how much we love this school. My daughter started in kinder and graduated into middle school last year and my son is a current 3rd grader. Edgewood is the epitome of a community school- many teachers and other staff have their children there as students. The administration is supportive, communicative and collaborative. The teachers and other staff work as a team with their primary focus being the kids’ education and success. We have a new principal coming in next year and my hope is that the school thrives the way it always has during my family’s time there. Im confident it will- Tanya (our magical secretary) will always keep things on track!

I wanted to share our family’s experience with Charlemagne French Immersion Elementary in the hope that it helps other parents make informed decisions. Our autistic child attended Charlemagne from kindergarten through third grade, and despite spending nearly three full years at the school, he left academically at a kindergarten level.Throughout those years, we encountered significant resistance from staff when it came to supporting his individual learning needs. Despite having an IEP in place, the school routinely failed to follow it, and our efforts to advocate for the accommodations and support he was legally entitled to were often dismissed or ignored. Instead of partnering with us to help him succeed, it felt like the school was more focused on preserving their high test scores than ensuring all students — especially those who need extra support — received a meaningful education.Most concerning, however, was the school’s willingness to go to extreme lengths to remove students who don’t fit their mold — including making false allegations against families. This, combined with the lack of adherence to his IEP and a clear resistance to working with neurodivergent students, left us deeply concerned about Charlemagne’s priorities and overall approach to student care.We’ve since moved on to a different school, but I wanted to share our experience for any parents considering Charlemagne. If your child is autistic, neurodivergent, or has an IEP, I strongly encourage you to ask very direct questions about how the school supports diverse learners and whether they consistently follow legally mandated accommodations. Every child deserves to be supported, valued, and given a fair opportunity to learn — not just tolerated or pushed out.

Our kiddo (autistic pda profile and non-binary), just finished kindergarten at ridgeline. We were thrilled with how the first year went. Our teacher, Kristin, is absolutely fantastic. Our kiddo learned so much and had a wonderful time. The community of parents is also wonderful. Like most public schools, the staff-child ratio is more than it should be, but Kristin made it work. We received IEP services and loved John Boita. There was turnover with the EAs and special ed teacher, and little communication about that, but ultimately kiddo still had a terrific year and made huge strides in areas that had seemed intractable. Kiddo uses they/them pronouns and the staff was great about respecting that choice—plus there are so many other LGBTQ students, parents, and staff that kiddo has felt really safe and seen.

I have mixed feelings. While the teachers can be truly wonderful, the parent culture is very ‘Eugene’: wealthy hippies who don’t tell their children no, give rewards with no merit, and believe kids should raise themselves. This produces a herd of children who are very entitled, badly behaved, and often cruel, because their parents allow them to self direct, with adverse results. The school can’t control their student population obviously, but the Waldorf teaching attracts this type of family because it’s more in touch with spirituality, nature and feelings. Also the focus is not on academics at all. My kids fell far behind in their time here. However, if academics are not your focus, and you want a school experience based on play, this could work for you. Just don’t expect your child to succeed in another school afterward unless you offer serious academic support at home.

We love Parker. Our daughters started here in 2009, in the fifth and second grades. My youngest is now in a 4/5 fourth grade year. She gets Spanish, an hour a day, 4 days a week. She gets art, music, PE and an elective, In Elementary School. She has loved her teachers and her classmates. She is excelling in all aspects of her education. We could not be happier. The strong parent community of volunteer support is amazing. Great people spending lots of time and energy. This has really been a great experience for our whole family.