Portland Oregon Metro Area Private School Information

Portland Private School Information

Portland Metro Area Private Schools

Three Acclaimed Private High Schools

Founded in 1869, the Oregon Episcopal School (OES) offers a preK-12 program with a strong academic as well as extra curricular activities. The boarding program at OES serves students in Grades 9-12. Boarders comprise nearly one-quarter of the Upper School student body, and about one-half of our boarders are international students.

Another well-known private school in Portland is The Catlin Gabel School. Besides the high school, it enrolls preschool, elementary, middle school students. They have a strong extra curricular activities program ranging from theatre to athletics. Over 60% of the students are on interscholastic sports teams according to biology/chemistry teacher Paul Dickinson. The 54-acre wooded campus has four soccer fields, a state-of-the-art track, two outdoor tennis courts, two indoor tennis courts, gym, and weight room. Other information:

25% of the students identify as people of color.
More than 80% score above 1200 on the combined SAT I, and 30% score over 1400.
100% admitted to college and 60% admitted to first-choice college.
More than 20% national merit semifinalists or commended scholars.
Advanced honors courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. 90% of seniors pursuing advanced math, culminating in Calculus 2.

Founded in 1859, St. Mary’s Academy is Oregon’s oldest continuously operating secondary school, and one of about 500 all-female schools in the country. St. Mary’s is the only school in Oregon to receive three U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program Awards. Located in downtown Portland, the school provides a college preparatory curriculum and a complementary and enriching co-curricular program to a diverse group of about 600 young women. St. Mary’s has won 17 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) state championships in five different sports.

Noteworthy Private Middle and Elementary Schools

Ecce Veritas This small, coed private school (grades 7-12) in inner Northeast Portland gives students a classical education in the Catholic tradition. Ecce Veritas – which means “behold the truth” in Latin – doesn’t technically call itself a Catholic school because it’s not directly funded by the archdiocese, but by private donors. The annual tuition in 2008 was $2,500 with the promise that no student will be turned away based on financial need. Ecce Veritas, along with Portland’s Grant High School, is the only Portland public school with a Latin program.

Portland Jewish Academy PJA is a community Jewish day school that serves about 325 students from preschool through eighth grade. PJA is a Blue Ribbon School, given by the U.S. Department of Education. In 2008, 3 out of the 10 Portland High School valedictorians were graduates of PJA. The Portland Jewish Academy was accepted as an International Baccalaureate World School candidate in 2008 and is the first school in the Portland to have the International Baccalaureate Program in its primary and middle school.

Catholic Schools

This Web site, Archdiocese of Portland, will link you to a list of all the catholic schools in Oregon. There are over 20 catholic elementary schools in the Portland area plus six high schools. Below are five of the high schools (St. Mary's Academy is mentioned above):

Jesuit High School A Catholic, college-preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition. Jesuit became coeducational in the fall of 1993 and has now grown to a student body of more than 1,000 young men and women. Jesuit High School has a strong sports program and the Crusaders are a frequent state tournament entry. In June, 2009, Sports Illustrated named Jesuit as the 2nd best "High School Athletic Programs for 2008-09" in the nation.
Central Catholic Central is located on the eastside and the school educates students that come from diverse economic, cultural, religious, racial and ethnic backgrounds. They have a strong athletic program.
De La Salle North Catholic High School Located at 7528 N. Fenwick Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
La Salle Catholic College Preparatory Located in Milwaukie, in most years 100 percent of La Salle graduates attend college.
Valley Catholic School Located in Beaverton, Valley Catholic School is a PreK-12 private, Catholic school.

Other Private Schools

The State of Oregon Department of Education has a directory of registered private schools on their site which you can find at Oregon Private Schools.

Mt. Hood Academy Mt. Hood Academy is a fully accredited private high school for students pursuing a rigorous academic program while developing their skills as alpine ski racers. The students, from throughout the Western United States, live, study and train at the Academy from early November to April while on leave from their regular high schools.

Waldorf Schools To learn more about Waldorf Education, visit the Web site of Bob and Nancy. Waldorf Education now has four schools in the Portland area: Cedarwood School (Pre-K/K-5) in Southwest Portland, Portland Waldorf (Pre-K/K-12) in Milwaukie (SE Portland area), Shining Star School (infant to age 14) a co-op family school in NE Portland, and Swallowtail School (Pre-K/K-8) in Hillsboro.

Westside Christian High School Westside Christian High School is a non-denominational high school founded in 1981 and located in the suburban community of Lake Oswego. Westside offers AP classes as well as a full compliment of music and theater activities. According to Scott Ball, Academic Dean, about 40% of the students take AP or honors classes and 90% of the graduates are admitted to their 'first choice college.' In 2010, the choir won state for the fourth year in a row. The drama department produces two main stage performances each year.

Other Private Schools

Arbor School of Arts and Sciences Non-profit elementary school in Tualatin.
Children's Hour Academy The Lake Oswego academy serves infants and toddlers in the preschool development program and they also have an K-6 elementary school.
Montessori Schools Sixteen Montessori schools are in the area.
Mt. Hood Academy Mt. Hood Academy trains alpine ski racers, ages 13 and older.
Northwest Academy Serves grades 6 through 12 and located in northwest Portland.
Pacific Northwest Academy PNA is a K-5 school that is located in Wilsonville, and serves families that live in the south and southwest suburban communities.
Portland Family Freeschool For children ages 3-7 - located in NE Portland.
Portland Friends School Located at 7426 SW 53rd Avenue, Portland, Oregon. 97219-1331 Phone: (503) 245-8164
Touchstone Elementary Lake Oswego - part of Noble Learning Community.
Tucker-Maxon Oral School Tucker-Maxon is a school for both deaf and hearing children talking, learning, and achieving excellence together. Hearing children benefit from their low student-teacher ratios (8:1) and an environment where individual attention is the norm.
Veritas School Located in Newberg, Veritas offers a K-12 classical and Christ-centered education. Students study Latin starting in 3rd grade, Logic in 8th grade, and Rhetoric in high school.
Village Free School The school is built upon the concept that children of all ages learn from each other, and so the school is not segregated by age or grade, which allows for significant peer mentorship.
Woodmont School for Dyslexics The school is located at 8660 SE Foster Road, Portland, OR 97226. Telephone: (503) 771-0002.

Religious Affiliated Schools

Archbishop Howard Archbishop Howard School is a Catholic elementary school located in Northeast Portland.
Crossroads Christian School Crossroads Christian School is a private Christian school in Portland, Oregon that serves students from pre-school through 8th grade.
Horizon Christian High School Horizon is a private, nondenominational, evangelical high school located in Tualatin and accredited by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools.
Portland Lutheran School Portland Lutheran School is an independent private pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school dedicated to the intellectual, spiritual and emotional development of its students.
St. Agatha Catholic School Located on the eastside at 7960 SE 15th Avenue. St. Agatha offers classes for grades K-8. Telephone" (503) 234-5500.
Veritas School Located in Newberg, Veritas offers a K-12 classical and Christ-centered education. Students study Latin starting in 3rd grade, Logic in 8th grade, and Rhetoric in high school.

Schools Offering Foreign Languages

Portland provides a wide variety of private schools with a range of philosophies, educational approaches, and standards.

The French American International School (FAIS) has two academic divisions. The French American School (FAS) is a preschool through fifth grade French immersion school accredited by the French Ministry of Education. The Gilkey International Middle School (GIMS) is an international sixth through eighth grade program. Students can study one of the following languages: Chinese Mandarin, French, German, or Spanish.

Another French school located at John's Landings is the Portland French School. L'Ecole Française de Portland, founded in 1989, is recognized by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of France. L'Ecole Française offers classes for preschool through the eighth grade.

The German-American School offers classes through the fifth grade. Two schools offers Saturday classes are the Springleaf Chinese School and the Portland Japanese School at Park Plaza West − telephone: (503) 644-9579.

Other Private Schools Offering Foreign Languages

Chiquitos School The Chiquitos School is located in the Cedar Hills area of Portland. They are a Spanish Immersion school for students up to the third grade.
The International School The International School provides a multicultural environment where children are fully immersed in Spanish, Japanese or Chinese language and culture. Children become fluent in another language, at home in other cultures, and engaged in math, science, social studies and arts. The International School was founded in 1990 and today educates nearly 400 elementary age students. The International School has been an IB World School since March 2010. It offers the IB Primary Years Program.

Preschools

Ready Set Mom has a guide for childcare in the Portland area. It's the area's most comprehensive guide to preschools and daycare providers. You can select the area of town where you need care from a list, and browse the listings. Or, enter keywords in the BlogBar search engine.

Children's Hour Academy The Lake Oswego academy serves infants and toddlers in their developmental program.

One of our readers wrote this about the Mulnomah PlaySchool: If you have families that are interested in a top notch preschool in SW that feeds into schools like Bridlemile, Maplewood and Stephenson, please let them know about us! The Web site is www.multnomahplayschool.com .

Enrichment and Tutoring

Saturday Academy’s (SA) innovative programs are open to all students in grades 4 through 12. SA offers enrichment programs in locations through out the Portland metro area.

SA emphasizes math, science, engineering, technology, and healthcare because these disciplines are integral to the future children will live and work in.

Mathnasium is a learning center where kids go after school to boost their math skills. The program is for kids in grades 2 through 12. Students attend once or twice a week, for about an hour. Like a gym or health club, members pay a low monthly fee and can drop–in anytime. Mathnasium's goal is to significantly increase your child’s math skills, understanding of math concepts, and overall school performance, while building confidence and forging a positive attitude toward the subject.

Home Schooling in Oregon

Between 12,000 and 13,000 students are home-schooled in Oregon , according to the Oregon Department of Education. The Web has proved to be a powerful tool for home-schooling parents, giving them access to math, science, and other lesson plans and offering their children a world of research opportunities. Most of all, it has brought home-schoolers together as never before, creating an electronic bulleting board to list home-school events, ask questions and exchange ideas.

Most home-schoolers in Oregon use the discussion group called ORSig and Portlanders use the Greater Portland Homeschoolers site as well as OHEN (Oregon Home Education Network).

Private School Directory

Directory of Oregon Private Schools

Catholic Schools

Archdiocese of Portland Catholic Schools will link you to a list of all the catholic schools in Oregon. There are over 20 catholic elementary schools in the Portland area plus five high schools.

SAT Scores

Portland Metro Area
SAT Scores

School Enrollment

Portland State University's Population Research Center regularly conducts demographic studies in support of school district planning. Studies can range from brief, simple, and inexpensive to complicated and expensive.

Saturday Academy's innovative programs are open to all students in grades 4 through 12. SA offers enrichment programs in locations through out the Portland metro area.

Public Interest Web Site

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