Oregon Episcopal School

6300 Southwest Nicol Road

Portland, OR 97223

19 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-12
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on July 09, 2024

we couldn't be more thrilled with the nurturing environment our child experiences each day. We're blown away at how many opportunities he has each day. He LOVES going to school, and has so many wonderful stories to share at the end of each day.One of the most remarkable aspects of OES is its commitment to nurturing curiosity. But on top of that is the amazing growth we've seen in his social and emotional learning. A lot of smaller schools talk about good teachers and a strong community, but at OES, you see just how intentional they are about those things - they work carefully to craft an inclusive and warm environment where children feel valued and accepted for who they are. It's really beautiful to watch how empowering that has been for our son, and to be in a community where we see older students getting ready for life in college and beyond be in a place where they just flourish.
Submitted by parent on April 29, 2024

My kids attend OES Lower School so my only experience beyond 5th grade is judging at the science fair, where the Upper School students create quality projects that demonstrate the excellent science education throughout the school. The Lower School has small class sizes which allows for individual attention to each student's particular learning needs. There is excellent food (according to the toughest of judges - my kids), great spaces to play and do sports (including a brand new Athletic Center), and experiential education that scales from visits to the campus wetlands and forest (in the beginning grades) to overnight camps in the Pacific Northwest (in 4th and 5th grades).
Submitted by parent on August 24, 2022

The OES community will take the time to know your child. It is a joyful place where kids are nurtured and seen, where individuals are appreciated and honored for the unique contributions they make to the community. OES is an inquiry based and placed based education. They use the onsite wetlands and forest to encourage exploration and curiosity. The school promotes self awareness and individual impact. OES' motto of using your power for good is woven into every aspect of the school. OES produces students that are global thinkers, kind, and prepared to creatively solve problems.
Submitted by parent on May 06, 2022

Various parents have differing expectations of education for their children; we wanted an environment in which our kids were challenged, supported - both educationally and emotionally, and inspired to become exceptional societal and community members. Two of our children are at OES, and we could not have made a more appropriate choice - and we had options for several top-rated schools. The teachers have been excellent - in every class; the counselors and advisors have been very responsive on sometimes sensitive issues for kids of their age, not only in dealing with class assignments but have shown an interest in the students developing into whole persons with their individual ideas and outlook. We have become impressed as our children have become increasingly serious, interested, and intrigued about their coursework. The parent community is close but not claustrophobic, and although the head of the school will soon change from the potential candidates, we are hopeful the great work of the current leadership will continue.
Submitted by parent on April 14, 2021

Amazing school with supportive teachers and staff. I'm very impressed by their transition back to school after remote learning. Small class size and close knit community.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2021

I cannot even begin to express how disappointed I am with OES lower school. My son started there this fall and it has been a complete disaster. For over 31k a year I expected that they would have spent the summer developing an online education forum. New math topics were not introduced until the end of October. Academics has been sacrificed for community gathering and now that they are bringing them back to campus they sent us an email stating that the focus is going to be community building for the next 6 weeks. The complete lack of interest in educating our children is shocking. When I have raised concerns about the complete lack of instruction the head of the lower school mentions” Covid compromises”. There is no Covid compromise on the tuition and they seem to forget that they were hired to educate our children, not baby sit them. I expected that a school with such a good reputation would have a commitment to education. I cannot understand where this reputation comes from. It seems to be the classic “emperorsNew clothes.” The constant requests for donations is beyond irritating as I consider the 31,000 I paid for this year to be a donation as there has been no academic value. I do like the fact that the head of the lower school suggested that we could hire a tutor to fill in the gaps in instruction .... really? I thought that we were paying you to educate our child???
Submitted by parent on May 27, 2020

It was a horrible experience and revealed the true colors of the school. They are only concerned about collecting high fees and not on meeting the needs of students.
Submitted by parent on October 14, 2019

Our son attended the middle school at OES. It is easy to see the advantages that a school like OES has, however, there is a radical liberal bias within the curriculum, teachers and administration. The school promotes in vogue topics of social justice and victim identity politics. If you look at the OES website, you can see full time ‘diversity & inclusion’ staff as well as some of the propaganda; the mandatory ‘culture shock’ week, with the ‘breakout sessions’ including “Queer”, “Decolonizing Disney’s Moana” and “Fighting the Landlord”.Throughout their curriculum, a radical slant is promoted, from the discussions in history class to the literature lists. In fact, there is an ideological imprint throughout the OES experience across all grade levels and these social justice issues are deeply embedded into every aspect of OES life. Parents were encouraged to attend discussion sessions on ‘implicit bias’. One of the suggested ‘cures’ for white people is to recognize their deeply ingrained prejudice and atone for it with a life promoting social justice activism.Staff regularly participate in diversity trainings and teacher and admins wear name badges that include their requested personal gender pronouns(list of 63 gender possibilities) and verbal introductions at events include the same. I kid you not. While the values of compassion are important, the overwhelming focus upon these radical progressive issues as a substitute for developing critical thinking skills is perplexing. A student at OES will get a full dose of the evils of the white male patriarchy, and gain familiarity with the latest intersectionality ally groups, but I daresay will come away without much exposure to the critical skills of a classical education.The problem is best stated by Jon Haidt is his recent book “The Coddling of the American Mind”. The recent crises of the radicalized universities like Yale, Harvard & UC Berkeley reveal how essential it is for institutions to include perspectives from both liberal and conservative camps, and to engage in healthy dialogue from multiple points of view. Unfortunately, OES gets a failing grade as the administration promotes and at times tolerates only one point of view.
Submitted by parent on January 28, 2016

My daughter attended K-12. I do not like to spend money, and I am not the type to console myself by rationalizing shortcomings because I have forked out a lot of money. But as tight as I am, and as self-critical as I tend to be, it was no mistake selecting OES for our daughter.I'll pass one observation and leave it at that.Long about 7th/8th/9th grade I got an inkling of the academic confidence that she and her cohort were developing. By mid HS, it was apparent to me that most of them, deeply and truly, believed that anything put before them in good faith, they could learn. And not just to competence, but to mastery.It is this self-confidence, built over time, and tempered by humility, that carries the OES graduates successfully into nationally ranked colleges and universities, where the vast majority do quite well.
Submitted by parent on April 28, 2015

Awesome school ! Prepares their students to be good citizens of the world. Excellent academics !
Submitted by parent on January 27, 2014

I am writing pertaining to the elementary ("Lower") school as I have no direct experience about the middle or upper (junior and high) schools. My experience was that everything depended upon the teacher whom the child got for the year. I was disappointed in the school's ability to handle a child with special needs. I would recommend this school for those with fairly typical children. I would not recommend this school for those whose children have special behavioral or learning needs. Their response to my child has ranged from heavy-handed to confused to un productive. They do not appear to be equipped to handle a wide range of behavior and learning styles.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2013

OES is a very special place, It has strong academics, yes, but it also values service to the community. The service is authentic and compassionate. The kids grow and learn to identify who they are (a force for good) as human beings in this world through service learning. Let's face it, book learning is important and OES does an job challenging the kids, but the type of learning that remains through adult hood is the kind that is learned through experiences. OES allows the kids to experience many things in a safe environment. My child went to middle school and will be in the high school also. I volunteer and participate in school functions and am blown away by the dedication and love the teachers and staff have for the kids. I am not wealthy, but all the parents I have met and worked with are down to earth, care about the kids and support the school. I would highly recommend this school. You as a parent and your child will get the most out of the OES experience if you volunteer and participate at school. I just keep wondering why all schools don't function at the level of OES. I don't think it's money. I think there is not enough will by you and me to make it happen.
Submitted by other on June 03, 2013

Oregon Episcopal is as delicious as Chocolate Explosion Cake. It looks amazing from the outside and is chocolatey and gooey on the inside. It lived up to all of my expectations and has really helped me with some organization problems I had. They have an amazing writing program and help young writers expand outside of the OES community. I love Oregon Episcopal School and plan to stay hear through high school.
Submitted by other on June 03, 2013

This a an amazing school. It has lots of opportunities for students to branch out. In middle school you can choose from three languages. Chinese, French, and Spanish. It is in the top three schools in oregon.
Submitted by parent on November 08, 2011

This school has exceeded our expectations. The overall attention to detail, level of communication with parents, and quality of teaching all serve to make this an incredible school. Our son could not be happier here.
Submitted by other on October 28, 2011

I have been at this school for my whole life. It is absolutely the best school I could ever imagine. The academics are amazing, the athletics are strong, the arts are great, humanities and languages are fantastic, and the math and sciences are incredible. You really cannot go wrong with OES because it has something for everyone. I love my school, it is my home and family. Now in high school, I am realizing how much my teachers and peers have shaped me as a person and I am truly grateful for that.
Submitted by parent on May 04, 2011

As a parent of two children in the lower elementary school, we have experienced small nurturing classrooms, with excellent teachers. There is such a wide range of enrichment activities in arts, music, and sports that complement the strong academics. My children also enjoy the beautiful campus with the wetlands, woods, and the all-weather play areas!
Submitted by other on March 07, 2011

The training I got at OES, in academics and also in life, helped me succeed at college and beyond. I found my voice at OES, because I was constantly both challenged and supported. An amazing school, with a closeknit community and teachers I will admire for the rest of my life.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2011

We removed our son from this school after one year. This school lacks leadership, structure and the staff is out of touch. I am so glad we got out when we did. Our son is bright and finally being challenged at his new school!!! A big sales pitch that did not follow through.