Ojai Valley School

I attended OVS lower campus as a day student ages ago. Some background : I was on the road to juvenile delinquency with California's public schools as I'd relocated from a state that was about 2 years ahead of California. Being bored, I just decided not to go to school unless there was a test. This wasi before the government figured out that maybe they should deduct a student's grades who has many absences. After getting straight A's but missing roughly 75 days in 7th grade. It was decided by the district and mom that I needed private school. I attended OVS as a day student for the 8th grade. It was an amazing experience for me. This is far and away the best school I've attended This includes my University experience at UCD . Received my first B at OVS which was a good thing because I was finally feeling challenged. i thrived. If upper campus had been just slightly larger I may have gone to OVS for high school as well. There were less than 20 students in the 8th grade and OVS upper campus had a few hundred students across 4 grades. So i went to a public high school that on the surface looked questionable but ended up being a great school as well ( just not as good my OVS experience. )I still remember being in classes at OVS and loving that at the time it had a much more collegiate feel for how classes were run. When I was attending OVS most of the students were boarding so I can't comment on that experience. Now to state the obvious... It's an expensive school. But it took a kid who was literally hanging out with beach people on beaches in Ventura County on many weekdays to someone who went on to graduate from a UC school. p.s. typos and grammar oddities are not a reflection of my education or lack thereof. I blame my tiny phone screen, old eyes and big thumbs.

i was an 8th grade student when i attended this school. i was a boarding student, and had never attended a private school beforehand. the transition was very harsh for me, because they had so many rules that i had never even seen before. I was sent to the vice principal's office nearly every other week. My phone was taken from me the majority of the time, so i lost contact with every single one of my friends but one. I gained lots of weight due to their large portions of food and not being allowed to skip meals/eat my own food. I was constantly supervised, and about halfway through the year it felt like no matter what i did, i would get in trouble. Boarding at this school has traumatized me. To this day, I still have trouble with disassociation and a general distrust in authority. Do not send your child here.

We love and appreciate the OVS experience because of the small classes, outdoor ed opportunities, fine arts, thoughtful teachers/admin, friendly staff, parent club involvement, challenging academics, aftercare/club childcare coverage, and amazing lunches!I like that my kids learned to read early on. They learned the sounds first, then progressed to reading simple books and eventually chapter books, all while learning sight words, spelling words, and vocabulary as decoding, fluency, and comprehension developed. Both of my kids love reading. The school also has a "reading buddies" program where older students read to and befriend younger learners. This builds confidence and companionship. PE at OVS challenges students on the field and in the pool. Outdoor ed provides additional opportunities to develop skills by way of class hikes and semi-annual camping trips. I like that students get up on stage early on--to showcase things they've learned, to sing and perform for an audience. This develops courage, talent, and public speaking/comfort at a young age. I enjoy seeing student council members speak over the mic. They are great models for younger students. The Parent Club is also a neat way to give back to the school. The school offers a variety of healthy and colorful options during meals. The food is fresh, homemade, nutritional, and thoughtfully prepared in order to accommodate diverse diets. Students of different ages interact during after-care and recess, including themed clubs held after school. OVS is my kids' home away from home. I can trust that they are safe and comfortable there. They are stretching themselves academically, athletically, musically, creatively, linguistically, artistically, and social-emotionally. I also like that parents are welcome--invited and involved.P.s. Check out the summer camp program in addition to the academic year's offering. Summer camp is well rounded with academics and activities indoor and out.

A majority of the best memories of my life are those of experiences I had at OVS and lessons I learned there that I am now teaching my own children. I did not graduate recently, nor do I have a child there (yet), but many of the teachers I had are still there and a few of my fellow classmates have returned as faculty, so to me, that shows that my experience is still very relevant.

The best you can have. Ojai Valley School provides a foundation to pursue anything you choose. The experience enriches your life and those around you for your entire life. Former Student