Cadence Preschool Academy

When our family enrolled at The Marylhurst School, we were looking for an alternative to public education: a small school with a strong sense of community and an excellent education. In many ways, Marylhurst delivered on the first. Unfortunately, those strengths were ultimately outweighed by serious concerns about early literacy instruction, transparency, and accountability.If your child learns to read easily, you may never question how reading is taught. Ours did not.Over two years, I repeatedly asked how reading was taught, how mastery was measured, how progress was monitored, and what interventions were available when students struggled. I never received clear answers.Marylhurst's early literacy program is not aligned with the Science of Reading. Students are not provided explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, cumulative review, or decodable texts- the foundational skills essential for learning to read.When I raised concerns about adopting a Science of Reading approach, the Head of School was explicit: "We will never do that." When I requested a scope and sequence and a clearly defined intervention process for struggling readers, none was ever provided.Our children struggled to learn to read. Rather than receiving structured intervention, our family, and other families we know, turned to private tutoring while continuing to pay full tuition. Some families privately paid Marylhurst teachers to tutor their children on campus outside the regular school day. Parents should not have to pay tuition and then pay again for the foundational reading instruction their children need because the school's core instruction is not meeting their needs.Rather than addressing these concerns, I was dismissed and told by the Head of School that "this school isn't a good fit for you or your family." When I brought my concerns to the Board President, I was informed that the Head of School had "100% authority" over instructional matters. My request to address the Board and to have my written statement entered into the Board record were both denied. There was no meaningful avenue for independent review.Leaving Marylhurst meant our children left friends they loved and a community we had hoped would be their educational home. That was difficult. The decision to leave was not. Once we understood how our children were being taught to read, and how our concerns were handled, staying was no longer an option.