I am very rarely motivated to write unsolicited reviews for things. But I have to say my wife and…read moreI have just been blown away by this school, and I need a place to gush. We moved up to Ojai from LA this year so our 5-year-old could go to school in person. There are a lot of options in Ojai, but something gave us a good feeling about Monica Ros. As soon as we chatted with the two Kindergarten teachers on zoom, my wife and I looked at each other like "What that real?" They are WAY smarter than anyone needs to be, way more articulate, thoughtful, warm, in love with their jobs, and dialed into this developmental stage. We don't know a lot else about what's happening at the school. But I can't imagine a stronger teaching team anywhere in Ojai or LA for that matter. I'm an educator myself (for college and high school). HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION. Seriously.

Monica Ros is so amazing. My children love it so much & are thriving. It's truly a magical…read moreenvironment. The teachers & staff are so great. My son started in the yellow room (2 year old class) & now is in 2nd grade. My daughter is in kindergarten. We are now in our seventh year at Monica Ros.

Oak Grove School is such an outstanding environment for a child to learn, develop and flourish…read more It's faculty and staff are top notch and truly believe in the mission of the school. OGS provides excellent college preparatory education in an environment that allows the individual to discover, question and explore. - Former Staff Member

Oak Grove is a place where every child is met exactly where they are. This is one of the most…read morepowerful ways to raise inquisitive, healthy adults. OGS is a caring, inclusive, open-minded community. Students are given opportunities to explore nature, the world, and themselves in ways few other schools are able to offer. It was my home for 8 years, and I still feel at home when I visit campus. Keep doing what you do best, and go Lizards!

In my experience, Besant Hill School did not provide the supportive environment I was hoping for. I…read moreoften felt that certain students were treated unfairly, and I found the discipline process to be inconsistent and unclear. Communication from the administration left me frustrated, and I did not always feel that student concerns were taken seriously. I was particularly disappointed with how student affairs issues were handled. From my perspective, there was a lack of empathy and understanding when students raised concerns. Rather than feeling supported, I often felt dismissed. Every student's experience may be different, but based on my time at the school, I would not recommend it to others looking for a positive and supportive school environment.

A truly great school in one of the most beautiful landscapes of the upper Ojai valley. I graduated…read morefrom here 20 years ago. Still think of it with massive respect for the teachers, arts program, and connection to nature.

School still sucks. I graduated but those experiences still stayed with me. It's horrible there. I…read moreespecially wouldn't recommend anyone to attend boarding, it's just horrible. Education is tolerable for the most part that I could remember, sixth grade was a breeze for me. However the boarding aspect is horrid.

My son attended kindergarten last year and this year he is attending 1st grade. This school is…read moreamazing! Horseback riding, wood shop, art, music, and Spanish are just some of the classes that the 1st Graders do weekly besides the core subjects. Both his teachers are great! They work closely with all the students and are very enthusiast. I can't recommend this school enough.

The Howard School is a gem! The staff is very committed to the students, and they want these…read morestudents to be the people of the future. Students are greeted by the principal each morning and every student is known on a first-name basis. Class sizes are small allowing the teachers to focus on each child's needs and goals. If you are looking for a kind, caring community, and a wonderful emotional and academic experience then look no further.

We are incredibly lucky to have found this school in the small community of Carpinteria. At Howard…read morethere is a big emphasis in the development of children as people, not just as students. You can see this in the way that the older students interact with the younger students. They seem to really have gained strong interpersonal skills specifically - emotional intelligence, responsibility, and empathy. The small class sizes and a strong emphasis on higher level thinking within the curriculum are really what makes this school great. We've loved every teacher we've met. There is no place I would rather have my children. I can't recommend it enough.

An incredible space for young people to find out who they are and what they're here to do. We are…read moreso grateful for this "school!" My 10 year old son started at RTS a year ago after several years at a public school in the county. He was so anxious at the public school: most of the kids there would run out the gate at 3pm wanting to get out of there, with my son being very upset if I was even a few minutes late. His clothes were frayed at the wrist and knees from him chewing anxiously on them, he was labeled the class clown because he was always trying to lighten the mood. Most of the "teachers" kept asking if he had ADHD or another learning disability. We knew that he did not, and so decided to try changing his environment. We started in January (so glad that we were able to start mid-year) and the dramatic difference in his happiness, behavior, sense of connection and community has been VAST. It's such a testament to the incredibly thoughtful space Natasha and Jim Bailey have co-created. The kids can choose what they do each day, with climbing trees or chatting with friends being a perfectly valid activity (there's so much learning in everything.) My son is building things, mastering design and 3D printing, playing 3 instruments without any lessons (and no urging to practice), has created his own small business and is learning entrepreneurialism and team management. All at the age of 10. (What was he learning in the other school? How to survive the day and do what other people told him to do...) The Rock Tree Sky model (or Sudbury model, the first democratic school) isn't for everyone, but we've found it more appropriate in preparing our son for life during this modern time than traditional school was. If you have any doubts or concerns about this model, a great book I was recommended was Peter Gray's Free To Learn. Note that there are no formal lessons, no strictly age-segmented classrooms (amazing), and no "teachers" only "mentors". There are rules of conduct and there are offerings each day that kids can choose from: cooking, carpentry, sewing, gardening, pottery etc. but most of them choose their own adventure each day. Isn't that what we're all doing? Isn't that what life is about?! I can only speak with the utmost respect for this learning environment and warm community. I know that the kids here are destined for brilliant things, with so many supportive people gently guiding and cheering them along the way. Ps. You can apply to the Summit program via OUSD, which is a homeschool program integrated into RTS, which also subsidizes some of the tuition and offers a more traditional classroom experience for a couple of hours a week. It's incredibly affordable compared to other private schools here, but again - it's not for everyone. If your family values self-directed learning (and living), we highly recommend RTS!

Jim Bailey and Natasha Efross put together this amazing school that both my 9 & 11 year olds…read moreattend. "Self Directed Education" and that's exactly what it is. The school sits in 2 beautiful locations in upper Ojai and your finding space for your little one may prove to be slightly difficult, so I highly recommend that you get on that wait list STAT. The teachers/mentors are the very best of the best and the kids are amazing. This is one of those schools that your child will never want to leave. I honestly don't have the ability to write all that needs to be said so I will leave it to you to go and give it a visit. Oh, their logo happens to be pretty damn beautiful too. 5 stars.

Great school! Superior academics, and a small close-knit community. The best Catholic High School…read morein Ventura county.

Every experience in life is relative - and in that sense, relative to the Ojai Valley and Ventura…read moreCounty in General, Villanova Preparatory School remains your best bang-for-the-buck in private high school/prep-school education. The class sizes are small and there is still a cap on the number of students who may be admitted. The campus is absolutely beautiful, much like a small college, and there is an abundance of open space. The facilities are steadily (albeit slowly) being upgraded and improved upon, and the safe, quiet environment certainly promotes a sense of peacefulness and promotes learning. Through review of recruiting literature it's obvious that the school enthusiastically promotes it's International Baccalaureate (IB) Degree program which was put in place a few years back. And while this program may be of some value to international students (and a very small number of domestic students) it seems to be more of a "prestige marketing ploy" geared toward the well-off parents of foreign students who pay a ton of money to educate and board their children at VPS for 4 years. The bottom line is that although taking IB classes (or obtaining IB certification) may "look impressive" on a students college admission application, it's next to meaningless to the vast majority of United States based colleges and universities. These institutions would much rather see "AP" or "Honors" on that high school transcript next to the course title.....not "IB". Unfortunately, being such a small school with a small staff, VPS didn't have the capability to do both, and chose to phase out it's AP and Honors programs as it went "all-in" with the IB program. This, unfortunately was a huge disservice to those American kids who were / are likely to attend an American-based college or university that could honestly care less about IB. For a such a small school, there are many athletic options within which to participate, and there is an abundance of academic, service and social clubs run by students and overseen by a chosen faculty member. VPS is both a day and boarding school, with approximately a third of it's students living on campus. Most of these students are foreign nationals from around the world, and this obviously brings an interesting and engaging dynamic to the to the prep-school experience - not unlike college. These students share their culture and are readily immersed into the VPS community and ultimately become part of the family for life regardless of where they may go in the future. Many lifelong international friendships occur as a result. This love of sharing, acceptance and diversity in the Augustinian tradition has been happening at VPS for decades - long before the toxic "cancel-culture" and "woke" extremism we see today. In general terms, the VPS faculty and staff are quite qualified. And being blessed with smaller class sizes and motivated students, they will routinely out-perform their peers elsewhere. In all fairness, a handful of the teachers are absolutely phenomenal - some wearing multiple hats as teacher, coach, advisor, etc. There are of course a small minority of teachers and staff who seem to have a personal agenda beyond that of educating the students and preparing them for the real world. Determined to find a "racist" hiding behind every tree and united in their hatred of America, our military and the police...they form an increasingly vocal element devoid of truth and honesty, but full of parroted phrases and slogans. The obvious hope is that this too will pass, and that both the headmaster and the Board will keep the stupidity in-check.

If I could I would give 0 start to this place. This is one of the worst schools I have ever…read morevisited. The lady who was supposed to give me a tour was very unprofessional and rude. She was offended that I had some questions to ask. The school itself looks horrible. Tiny and very dark with a very small outdoor place.

Our son loves going to school (well...most days, anyways). The learning environment is really…read morecatered to each child's ability so there's a lot of encouragement both from the teaching staff and from the older students. From math and science (his favorite subjects) to yoga, gardening and sports day - the school really strives to develop the whole child and their place in the world. And the camaraderie that the parents develop is great - the school board really does listen to the parents and it shows in the content of the monthly newsletters as well as some of the projects that we are asked to participate in to spruce up the school grounds. Definitely glad we are a part of this community!