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.

Awakening Natural Relationship through Camping and Exploration

Closeness with nature begins early at Oak Grove School. The wooded campus is bordered by acres of oak groves and wetlands, and the curriculum and daily schedule provide for large blocks of outdoor activity. On a given day, Preschool and Kindergarten children explore fields in search of seasonal insects and flowers, elementary classes tend herbs and vegetables, Middle School students sketch in a rose garden, and High School sophomores spend biology class in a grove observing the web of life through energy exchange. A familiarity with and comfort in nature is emphasized across the school, and nowhere is this better manifested than in the camping program. Through a graduated sequence of trips, students build their confidence, self-sufficiency, awareness, and appreciation of beauty. Most importantly, they develop self-knowledge through a relationship with nature and each other.