I didn't know anything about Montessori before enrolling my kids at Sunstone. I am now a…read morefull-fledged convert to the Montessori method. This school has been fantastic for our children--not only are they learning but, more importantly, they are developing a love of learning. They have gone from feeling indifferent to school to doing long division at home for fun, or begging us to sign them up for after school classes.

We didn't know much about Montessori before enrolling our son at Sunstone Montessori four years…read moreago. We've appreciated the wealth of parent education nights that have informed us about the absolute brilliance that is Montessori education. Wow, Maria Montessori. Each time we're at the school for parent education or some sweet gathering for families, we feel starry eyed and grateful to be able to have our kids at a Montessori school. On top of that, Sunstone is a great community of compassionate people. The year is full of sweet community events and seasonal gatherings. My kids look forward to school the great majority of their days and come home proud of the research/math/knitting or other awesome things they've done. The guides are all excellent, committed and caring, and clearly like family with each other. Truly my only complaint is that I wish we could walk there! And I wish they'd start a high school!

Here is a haiku about Puddletown: Perfect, wonderful…read more and exciting just as well you should join right now! I joke, but it really is an amazing school. I have attended for 9 years and the community, the experiences and the curriculum are all great. Please enroll in the middle school program there so I am not a lonely 8th grader next year... - A Puddletown Student

My daughter joined the Elementary program at age 6 after enjoying several years at another…read moreMontessori preschool. The transition was very smooth and now in her 3rd year there, she's still doing wonderfully. The community (parents, administration, teachers, support staff) are all relaxed and intelligent people that clearly love and value children. The Montessori philosophy and learning environments are authentic and beloved by the children. There's plenty of interaction between the children and the outdoors, with fun interactive garden experiences and an interesting outdoor play area. Tuition is the same as most other Montessori schools, and they offer before and after care, and plenty of opportunities for parents to volunteer. Good times!

We've had such a great experience with the preschool at St. Ignatius! We get daily updates through…read moreSeesaw, as well as reminders. The teachers, Matt and Ash, have been fantastic - so kind, patient, and clearly love what they do. Our child feels safe, supported, and excited to go to school every day, which says a lot! They have gone above and beyond to make sure she thrives both socially and academically. Also, because it's a PreK-8, they get access to library, PE and Music class! She comes home every other day with a story about something she learned in PE, a new song that is stuck in her head or wonderful book that she wants to tell us about. We also love that the preschoolers get chances to interact with the older kids during their family group time - This is going to help make the transition to Kindergarten a lot easier! Since our daughter is just about to turn 4, she will be completing a second year of Pre-K in the 2025-2026 school year and we are all very excited she gets another year with Matt, Ash and many of the friends she has made this year!

Our child is only in pre school at St. Ignatius, but we have been very happy with their pre school!…read moreWhen looking for a pre school in the neighborhood, I Googled things like "Portland preschools near by" and St. Ignatius did not pop up. Many of the pre schools that did pop up were small mom and pops with little or no availability. With no previous experience with St. Ignatius, I finally specifically searched this local school after getting waitlisted elsewhere and we signed up for it. The teachers and staff are amazing. Very loving towards the children and communicate excellent with families. They even provide multiple pictures every day via the Seesaw app so we know exactly what she is doing every day! Highly recommend St. Ignatius!

I loooooove to blame any and all social retardations I might have today on the fact that it all…read morestarted in grade school. Goddamn, kids are mean! And guess what? Some of those things that they say...and some of the crap that they pull...it sticks with you into adulthood. I'll tell you a secret: No one ever told me I was cool until I was in high school. And I was shocked the first time it happened. Anyway...my experience there alone has had me debating for about 45 minutes how many stars I would give this school. Two? Three? Is that mean? What if people from there read this? I mean, my fam's still part of the parish. Okay, so after a long think, I've decided on four stars. And it's not the fear that someone I'm connected to through the school/parish will read this. Because really, I'm rating the education I received, too, not just the snotty, rich classmates (several of whom now seem to be very nice people and productive to society). My life has been sort of one long chain of events, and looking back, I can see how one has affected the other. I had an edge in college because I went to St. Mary's Academy and worked ridiculously hard. And I had an edge at St. Mary's because of the rigid curriculum I was put through at Holy Family. You heard me. It was a rigid curriculum! I can't say that I loved all of my teachers, but I was doing manual long division in fourth grade. I can't honestly say that I can even remember how to do that NOW because we're all so dependent on calculators. Everyone feared sixth grade because that was when everything changed...you were in the upper-grade wing...and you had homework to match your new status. (And in eighth grade, my parents invested in my reliable Kelty backpack just so I could carry all my books.) I took writing classes there (hell, I was learning MLA in seventh grade!), my creativity was encouraged to grow (I still have an eighth-grade art project framed on my wall), and I gained major critical-thinking skillz (they even had a class devoted to it!). When I moved on to high school, I thought, "Heck! Is this *IT*?! I've had harder tests in Mrs. McCarty's science class." The other thing that I love, in retrospect, is that the classes are relatively small, and you really get one teacher for most of your classes each year. And they've made Spanish-language classes a requirement. And a lot of kids from Tucker-Maxon went there, so we were also introduced to the deaf community. So really, if you take out the social aspect (and the fact that I leached onto altar serving and youth group as a consolation), Holy Family really did give a very good education that I would recommend to any parents in the Southeast area.

Holy Family is a game changer! It welcomes everyone in with a smile and a "Hey there how's your day…read moregoing?" I would totally recommend going there to any parent that's scared about their son or daughter changing schools trust me it's great! My daughter changed schools in first grade and now she's in 6th she has made so many memories and loves it there!

Absolutely fantastic! I wish every child had a school experience like ours. Kindergarten has been a…read moredream, very play based, lots of art. The curriculum is introduced using the story line approach. The school follows positive discipline techniques for behavior challenges. We feel listened to when problems arise and supported.

We are so grateful that we found Osoberry School! After feeling like a large Kindergarten classroom…read morewouldn't be the right fit for our son we decided to enroll him at Osoberry and are so happy with our choice. He is happy and thriving at school. It is clear that Emily intentionally works to establish a supportive learning community that not only enables our son to learn effectively, but also has fostered his social and emotional growth.

We're so happy that we found Osoberry! Our kid tried Osoberry camp for a week during the summer and…read moreliked it so much that he came home and said "can I go there for school?" And after talking with Emily, we were sold. He has loved his experience there - having a smaller setting has been really great for him as a kid who's on the quieter side. He came out of his shell very quickly and talks a ton about the other kids and teachers. They do so many creative projects and activities, and the approach to reading and math is much more hands on and intuitive than the worksheets he experienced in his kindergarten. He says he really loves the art they do there.