Oakwood

My boys have had an amazing experience at this school. The educators are exceptionally good and set standards that are high, but achievable. The community is excellent, and the campus and extracurricular offerings are great.

My daughter still attends Oakwood Kindergarten, but after the first trimester of sixth grade we withdrew my son so he could attend a public charter school where they use and follow 504 plans. As a parent of a child who flourished in Oakwood’s Lower School (he attended 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th) because of attentive teachers and small class sizes, I was sorely disappointed that the few accommodations we asked for would not be honored in Middle School. I feel strongly that my daughter will do well at Oakwood for the next few years, as she is neurotypical and quick to understand things. The community is good, but now I have a lower school 5 star/​upper school 1 star split. Very sad that in Silicon Valley where 2E (twice exceptional) kids are becoming the norm, Oakwood can’t adapt and help all students.

I did not choose any schools lightly. If you followed my previous preschool reviews, I’ve gone to THREE parent-​participation coops concurrently just to compare which is the best for my child. I went to IVF clinics up and down the coast to compare protocols of every doctor to see who rules supreme. Choosing a Lower School for my daughter is no exception, we went to almost 20 schools from Menlo Park to Morgan Hill to see which one fits her profile the best, and I am happy to report I landed at Oakwood. I live in the catchment area of the highest performing public K-​12 schools in Santa Clara County, and I give them up over a heartbeat to drive south 30 miles every day.
Let me first elaborate on the criteria of selecting a school. I don’t want a school where knowledge is packed and compressed to be crammed into these fast developing little brains. I don’t want a school full of competitive tiger parents who are constantly comparing which kid can master math operation by age 6. I don’t want learning to be turned into a series of drills, and my daughter can only derive satisfaction from scoring a 10. And I don’t want a child stressed, depressed, basing her self worth entirely on whether she can get into an Ivy.
However, I do want a serene, expansive campus basked in the morning glory, where classrooms are spacious, bright lit and facilities abundant. I want discipline, respect and honesty to be instilled at a very young age, and most importantly an inspired mind that always churns out inquisitive, original questions and rejoices in the process of finding an answer. I want a very small class, a true luxury nowadays, that fosters strong bonding among the children and ample attention from the teacher. I also want supportive and more laid back parents who understand that bringing up children is half work, half going-​with-​the-​flow; and our parenting goal is not about where they go to college, but how they find their unique calling and inner strength. Oakwood has delivered for me.
I am not saying the school is perfect. Those who are Challenger fans may find the academic curriculum less, well, hasty, but Oakwood’s Lower School is by all means much more advanced than my high performing public school. Incidentally, Oakwood is also adapting very quickly and ramping up academic rigor, it recently switched to Singapore Math and revamped Lower School language art curriculum. What I particularly like is the plethora of opportunities to be exposed to performing art from preschool onwards, hopefully it will round out the edges of my daughter’s STEM-​oriented DNA.
Oakwood also reminds me of my coop experience where parents are enthusiastically involved and supportive of each other, making it more of a tight-​knit community than just an institution where you drop off your kid and be done. I find this little gem very precious amidst the cut-​throat, intense academic jujitsu of many so-​called high performing public and private schools in the area, while the percent of clinically depressed students keeps escalating. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want my daughter to shun competition, I just want her to be grounded in her pursuits and compete on her own terms. And here is where the grounding will happen.

The community at Oakwood was one of the things that impressed me most when deciding on a school for our children. I was looking for a preschool where they could continue seamlessly to higher grades, would be challenged academically, and where learning through play and hands-​on activities was embraced-​all of these aspects are fostered at Oakwood school, but so is a strong sense of community. The students are reminded that they are citizens and a part of: the school, the town, and the world. When I saw the middle and high school students come out of class to watch and clap for the pre-​school costume parade at Halloween I knew without doubt we’d made the right choice.
The teachers at Oakwood encourage the students to achieve their best while nurturing the student as a person. It’s refreshing to see teachers with so much heart and passion. Oakwood also has great enrichment classes — an art studio, science lab, elementary drama performances-​each with specialized instructors. I liked that my Kindergartener would be traveling to Spanish class with a dedicated Spanish teacher, and would be conducting experiments and making observations in a functional science lab.
The administration and faculty are very present, involved, and approachable. The middle and high schools have active sports programs, there are interesting field trips K-​12, heartfelt community events throughout the school year, and an abundance of competent and caring adults and students across a beautiful campus. I’m glad a school with so much to offer is here in MH.

Our family has been a part of the Oakwood community for 6 years and I feel fortunate that we found such a wonderful school for our 2 boys. Both of my children started at Oakwood in middle school and are continuing through high school (currently 10^th and 12^th grade).
When we first looked at middle schools for my oldest son, we researched several possible schools in the area. He attended a public K-​6 school and had a good experience, but the step to middle school is a big one and we wanted to be thorough with our decision. We researched many options; public, private, charter, flex, etc. My goal was to enroll him in a school that met his unique needs.
At first, I did not think Oakwood was an option because of the cost. I am so glad I did not dismiss the school because of that concern. Oakwood worked with us and made it financially possible to enroll. We are so grateful and have since seen that it was the perfect choice for our children and our family.
On the first day of school, my husband and I walked on campus with our son. We were warmly greeted by the upper school principal who knew us all by name. In addition, I was impressed with the small class sizes, the variety of electives, easy communication with teachers and administration, attention to student needs, ability to volunteer and be involved on campus, and the incredible passion of the teachers to teach each and every child. Most importantly, as the school year progressed, it was wonderful to see my son happy at school and thriving academically!
When it came time to decide where my second son would attend middle school, we researched his possible choices and let him choose. He shadowed at Oakwood and quickly decided he wanted to attend Oakwood as well. We could not be more pleased with his journey and the academic strides he has made.
This is our 6^th year at Oakwood and both boys are in high school. I can honestly say that my children are happy, thriving young men. They have both been greatly influenced by the positive environment and role models at Oakwood. They are supported by an incredible staff and team of teachers, they are provided with opportunities to travel the world (my older son has traveled with Oakwood to China and Europe), they are surrounded by a diverse student body, and so much more. For our family, Oakwood has clearly been a perfect fit.
My 12^th grader will be graduating at the end of this year and I can say with confidence that Oakwood has prepared him incredibly well to succeed in college and beyond!

In the «Not Recommended» reviews, Bea explained in great detail, how her special needs child was not «invited back» to advance to middle school. Our ADHD child was not a disciplinary problem. In fact he was achieving A’s & B’s. Apparently, private schools can discriminate against students with disabilities.
My wife and I experienced the exact same issue when our older son was ready to advance to Middle School. We were preparing for his advancement, when in May, we were suddenly blindsided by the administration. They do this just before the end of the school year, so that parents cannot raise a ruckus.
But it also placed a great burden on our family, to transfer our children into public schools. The public middle schools had already selected their courses for the following years. Also trying to get our students into the proper public school was difficult — gathering records, establishing a 504 plan, meeting with district psychologists, etc… all within the last few weeks of their school year.
Oakwood’s short sighted approach really negatively impacted our family and placed a great burden and stress upon us.
Their approach towards disabled students, goes against the Christian teachings of the very Mormon Faith the Schools Founders and Administrators practice. We were very disappointed in the administration’s late notice and handling of their notifications. They were insensitive and callous.
We withdrew our younger child as well. Both prospered in public schools, the oldest is now in College. As a high school freshman, the youngest son received straight A’s and played on 2 Varsity sports.
When our second son graduates from high school in 3 years, we will have saved over $ 600,000 by not paying Oakwood tuition.
In fact. we have paid off our house and have SAVED ENOUGH CASH TO PAY FOR COLLEGE for both children !
Oakwood is a perfect place for your kids if you are looking for a 99% white Upper Middle Class School — so long as your children are PERFECT.
It’s all about the money.
If your child requires extra effort on the school’s part (tutoring, assistance, learning disability, speech pathology, hearing impairment, ADHD, processing delays, Turrets, Dyslexia, or other handicap) expect to be shown the door.
If your child is attending Oakwood, do not ask for special assistance from the school you are paying $ 30,000 plus per year to. If you desire to keep your child enrolled in Oakwood, seek private outside assistance and keep it to yourself.

I understand people have different experiences but some people are treated differently at Oakwood. This school is 9X% Caucasian and they do not provide a level playing field for minorities. We were told our son had «issues» on day 2 of being at Oakwood. Over the course of the next 18 months we were «advised strongly» to have assessments, observations and heard a consistent drumbeat from the school of how our child was always, 100% at fault for everything. The assessments and observations provided no support of the school’s accusations, so we were dumbfounded. Oakwood was the only place we heard of these challenges.
We discovered in year 2 that our child had been being bullied for months. We shared our concerns with the administration, who flat out said we were lying, that no way were the other kids capable of that behavior and did nothing to support our child. Even the teacher, when our child asked for help, told him to just «handle it» and provided no support. Really? This is in response to a child asking for help from being repeatedly kicked and threatened by another student?
It was very saddening to watch our child struggle. We left for another environment that is working out so well — controlled parent involvement (vs. influential parent drama), focused time on learning, accountability for discipline at school and a normal, pleasant, discriminatory– free community.
We have not had ANY concerns brought to our attention since we began at a new school several months ago. In fact, we are told our child is well-​behaved, helpful and respectful. Amazing!
This is what our child wrote at his new school on a paper about courage:
«I showed courage when I started a new school and made friends and did my best work and I am happy and I like it instead of being afraid».
Oakwood was a heartbreaking experience for our family.