Ox Ridge Elementary School

What an amazing school...having attended private school my entire life I will say--it is a private school without the tuition! The principal has been there 20 plus years and know all the kids names. The class sizes are small...the teachers are involved and there are moms in the classroom daily. My 3rd grader's teacher typed an entire page--single spaced--off comments for the first trimester report card. The lunches are healthy and low fat--even a boars head sandwich bar for 4th and 5th graders. And my daughter's peer group is amazing.
--Submitted by a parent

I am applying to local independent schools for my three children for the 2010 school year and beyond. Ox Ridge is a depressing place to be. I'm not sure why the teachers there are teachers - they do not appear very happy. The work load and approach to learning in first grade is unacceptable - few manipulatives used in math, little collaboration, tons of assessments, and my kids watch more TV in school than at home-in music, in class, and every time there is indoor recess. The food service offerings are the worst in school food options - high in fat/empty calories/sugar, no local ingredients, minimially healthy. One teacher couldn't even spell my child's name correctly. The district is run as a dictatorship and money runs the show, not sound educational decisions. The district values test scores and sports and that's it. It is sad.
--Submitted by a parent

This school is tight-knit and allows for a fun, friendly, and safe learning enviornment for the above average academic status of Darien, CT. Any child would be lucky to go to any school in Darien, but Ox Ridge definatley takes the cake.
--Submitted by a parent