The Marylhurst School

I have two very different elementary school age children at the school. The school has been fantastic in how they consistently meet the needs of not only my children but every child in the classroom. Every learning style is honored and kids are free to learn in the best and most comfortable way for them whether kintically, visually, orally, logically or a combination thereof. The classroom activities are flexible to take advantage of the learning that is going on right then and there. There are days where the kids become so energized around math that the rest of the schedule is cleared for them to keep going with the lesson and run with it to it’s logical end point. The progress reviews (in lieu of report cards) are invaluable and hold pages upon pages of great information that is quite useful. The administration is fantastic and has been very helpful when for some reason we’re late getting the kids or one of my kids is sick and I need the other one walked out to the car, etc. It is a welcomed change from our prior Waldorf school where we were treated more like a number than part of an extended family. We are very happy at this school.

As a parent, Marylhurst offers a strong emphasis on community and a student/​teacher ratio that is better than any school in the area. Their teachers are some of the most dedicated that we’ve ever been around.

Marylhurst has been the perfect place for my two children to kick start their life long journey to learn, play, explore and become a part of a community. The staff and teachers are caring, empathic, understanding and creative. Whether it was my son’s 3 year old Robins class or my daughter’s kindergarten class, I felt confident that my children were being educated, were being played with, and were safe.

Marylhurst understands human development. If children are free to explore and learn through following their interests and joys, they grow into older children and adolescents who do increasingly well in all academic subjects. Most adults do not understand children, but Marylhurst does.
Put simply, children need to play in mud now to do calculus later. That does not mean the children at Marylhurst do not study academic subjects – they just do it in an engaging way.
Philosophy/​Curriculum: Children are free to move about the classroom at appropriate times. Pursuing their interests («emergent curriculum») promotes self-​esteem, good citizenship (identifying feelings, being kind to others and compromising, working in groups), and intellectual ability.
Before starting first grade this fall, our daughter’s homework over the summer was to build an ecosystem (science), play dice and card games for addition, subtraction, and multiplication, and take photographs from the point of view of an ant (social communities). The children are respected and honored, and they accomplish amazing things.
Individualized Attention: Every class has at least one teacher and one assistant (several classes have two teachers plus an assistant), so the adult-​child ratio is low (usually 9 to 1 or fewer), which is the number-​one predictor of student success at school at every level. The school’s «Bee Hive» before– and aftercare program has engaging learning activities and relationships of its own.
Structure: Every class has a schedule of activities each day. For example, a class will do thirty minutes of exploration, then circle time, then an academic subject made fun, then lunch or recess.
I can’t thank Marylhurst enough for providing my children the freedom, nurturing, and intellectual engagement with the world around them that children and adults need to thrive. I wish all education were like this, up to and including university.

We drive all the way from Lake Oswego to Oregon City so my son can attend kindergarten here. It’s such a wonderful place! The teachers are amazing, and the kids get a lot of individual attention. Most importantly, my son really feels at home there and his confidence has risen. He is learning so much but in a fun way where all the kids are involved. The communication we get from teachers and staff is great. In fact, they encourage parent involvement and have always been great about listening to concerns and asking for feedback. At Marylhurst School I feel he’s getting a top-​notch private education without the snootiness of some other private schools in the area. We feel very lucky to have found this place.