Head of School

A Message from the Head of School

Jodi Grass

Oak Grove is a progressive day and boarding school serving students from Preschool through High School and is located in Ojai, California, just north of Los Angeles. Founded in 1975, our unique approach to education has been a model for educators around the world. Oak Grove fosters an environment where students are encouraged to ask deep questions that flower from a truth within. The expansive 150-acre wooded campus, along with our focus on self-understanding, offers a safe space for deep inquiry, affectionate communication, and openness in the face of challenge, while infusing our days with a sense of ease and joyfulness. The Art of Living and Learning expresses several overarching themes embedded in our school’s culture, curriculum, classroom practice, and expectations of student learning.

For many families, the Oak Grove journey begins in our Early Childhood Programs. Our spacious indoor and outdoor classrooms are full of open-ended materials that invite creativity and exploration. Play is the work of early childhood, and we take that seriously. The elementary program offers a progressive approach to education which is steeped in collaboration and teamwork, creativity, imagination, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Our curriculum is guided by our own framework, The Arts of Living and Learning, California State Standards, and Common Core, and is taught by a dedicated, credentialed, and experienced faculty.

Our Middle School (Junior High) program honors the delicate yet sometimes challenging transition from childhood to adolescence. Our teachers aim to tap into each student’s unique interests through an exploration of their natural creativity, asking deep and abiding questions, practicing clear communication, and engaging in vibrant thinking.

Oak Grove’s High School balances a rigorous college-prep program with a focus on self-knowledge and an emphasis on our shared responsibility to the greater world. Our engaging curriculum challenges students both in knowledge of content and in skill development. Project-based learning and small, discussion-based classes offer the space to explore topics deeply. Completion of our four-year course sequence meets and exceeds the requirements for entry into major colleges and universities.

Welcome to Oak Grove School.

Jodi Grass, Head of School, Oak Grove School in Ojai California

Jodi Grass has worked at Oak Grove School and the Krishnamurti Foundation of America in different capacities for the past 17 years. Currently, Jodi is in her fifth year as Head of OGS. In her words, “I don’t feel as though I ‘work’ at Oak Grove. I spend my days here out of a deep devotion to the Intent of the school as originally shared by Krishnamurti in 1975.”

Before Oak Grove, Jodi worked for several nonprofits, community organizations, as well as K-12 schools and a community college. She has also served on the boards of three nonprofit organizations and two schools over the past 33 years. Jodi has taught students of all ages through community education agencies that provided compensatory content to local public schools. Just before joining Oak Grove in 2005, Jodi was the Executive Director of a nonprofit organization that provided information technologies through NGOs in developing countries.

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