An Oak Grove School Update • October 2024

Above: 8th grade students visit with their Preschool buddies

October 2024

A Message from

The Head of School

As a school, we care deeply about each of our students' education and about their future ability to have meaningful relationships and careers that reflect their talents, skills, and personal interests. But more importantly, we care how each of their individual lives will impact our world if, through their education, they have discovered and understood how they are connected to and, therefore, responsible for the world in which they exist.

The truth is that Oak Grove is not focused on simply preparing our students for the world they will someday inhabit. We are honoring them as they are today in the world in which they live now. Yet perhaps most importantly, we are preparing our students to change that world for the better – for all the world’s inhabitants. We already see this with our alums, like the ones highlighted in our many publications and the ones who are now Oak Grove parents and members of the faculty.

There are so many requests for you to respond to the needs in our world (natural disaster relief, hunger, devastation from war and violence. . . ). We must be able to both respond to the critical, emergent needs surrounding us and simultaneously support those efforts needed to heal our world. Growing children to be intrinsically guided to live their lives in a way to alleviate suffering – to prevent it – is radical work, and Oak Grove, at its core, is a radical school.

Please join us to deepen this work and continue providing this education to children. Our world needs more people who have benefited from an Oak Grove education. We cannot do this without your support. Please donate today.

Support the School

Parent Perspective

Why We Give

We are Chad and Oona Caldwell. Our children are Finn and Scarlett Caldwell. We have felt connected to the Oak Grove School community since the very start of our journey here, 10 years ago now. Our whole family has grown up together on this campus. Watching our children learn and grow on this campus is something we will forever be grateful for. The nurturing environment at school has been a place for our kids to explore what their interests are. They are encouraged to take risks in the classroom and set goals for themselves that they may or may not be able to achieve. This has allowed them to stretch in what they believe they can achieve. We feel that the more deeply we know ourselves the better prepared for life we are. Oak Grove School supports students to know themselves, and this is something we value as parents.

With gratitude,

Chad and Oona

Can a School be

Non-Competitive?

There are many wonderful schools in Ojai. In fact, there are nearly 30 schools including preschools, elementary, middle, and high schools. Oak Grove is honored to be one of them. We are also grateful that our school has been recognized for the eighth year in a row in the Ojai Valley with warmth and positivity as the “Best Private School in Ojai.” It is thoughtful that the community continues to express its gratitude for Oak Grove in this way, but it is also perhaps a bit ironic. No?

I shared this before when we received this honor. Through our educational practices, Oak Grove emphasizes the absence of competitiveness, comparison, punishments, rewards, and incentives. The purpose of our emphasis on non-competitiveness is a focus on creating an environment where students can look at their own motivation for what they do.

Self-reflection is most vivid when we can remove external impetus. That is not to say we are completely free of competition, particularly the more subtle forms like verbal and nonverbal expressions of praise and disappointment. But we also practice some traditional and overt forms of competition like our secondary school sports program and Student Council elections. We look at these facets of our program and tell ourselves that these are opportunities to look at the contrast and reflect on what it feels like to not win and to win. There are many ways to look at how competition and comparison form our identities and distract from a true sense of understanding of ourselves. Is it possible to live without competition or comparison of any kind?

— Jodi Grass

Open House

In Service to Our School

Opening your doors and welcoming guests can be a lot of work. Especially when your home is a massive 150-acre campus and the guest list numbers in the hundreds. Luckily, there were many helping hands to make this year’s Open House and All-School Showcase a smashing success.

Gardening at Oak Grove

"The overarching philosophy of the garden program is to teach students about the complete life cycle of plants."

At Oak Grove School, our garden program offers first, second, and third graders the chance to get immersed in our school garden, learning about every aspect of plant care. The program is overseen by our Gardening Teacher and OGS alumna, Arianne, whose return to our campus has been somewhat of a homecoming. “It feels really good to be back on campus and caring for the garden — it makes my heart happy, and it feels like home,” she says.

Read & See More

Environmental Science

"What the hands do, the heart learns."

Recently, our 9th grade Environmental Science class took a trip to Poco Farm, a local nonprofit regenerative farm that opens its doors for hands-on learning opportunities. Their mission is to cultivate the compassion, connection, and skill sets needed to thrive on our changing planet, and to create a culture of ecological inquiry and meaningful learning through growing plants and raising animals on a biodiverse farm.

Sports

Oak Grove's middle school sports program has grown over the last few years. View some photos and video of recent volleyball games, as well as a flag football game.

Video & Photos