Private Schools

Our daughter LOVES Country Montessori School. We moved here from the Bay Area just under a year ago. It was a big transition for our 4 year old. Her teachers, Mrs. West and Ms. Bohn, have been so instrumental in helping her adjust to a new school, new rules, and new friends. She has grown so much as a result of their nurturing and support. In our car rides home my daughter would sing all the songs she is learning in Spanish class (thank you Maestra Salas!) Our daughter absolutely LOVES her music teacher Mr. Short. The Spring Fling event was by far and away the coolest school event we've ever attended. Excellent teachers, clean facility, and awesome school.

I go to this school, and something that sets it apart from other schools is that the teachers truly care about how you are doing, not just academically, but also personally. And they want you to thrive, not just get paid

This is a wonderful place for children ALL children. I have had the benefit first hand of watching and listening to the staff work with the children. Autism included is there name and action.

"Why in the world would I pay for my kids to go to school?! I pay taxes for that." That's what I told my wife but she was very excited about the school. She told me that it is one of the best values in the county for a Catholic school. She said let's try it for a year. I agreed. My first visit, I could tell it was a great place. Great vibe from the principal and teachers. I went to pick my daughters up and the knew who they were and who's class they were in. I had never seen these folks in the office before, but they were squared away! I was highly impressed and my oldest daughter went from preschool all the way through 8th grade there and my youngest has 2 years left. Great place, great community, great values, great education!! It was worth evey penny. My oldest is now ripping up honors and AP classes at OLP! Whoo! Go Madeleine!

Morning Star Ranch is a religious community of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. You may have had their food or yerba mate at any of their Yellow Deli locations, or maybe you've tasted their Green Drink at your local farmer's market, maybe you've even seen their brightly painted bus or have been handed a copy of the Twelve Tribes Free Paper at the music festival you attended last summer. The community at Morning Star Ranch (one of many world wide) is based on the first church founded on Christ's teachings as described in the New Testament, though they do not associate with Christianity nor Judaism. It is a farming community of maybe 50 men, women, and children. Each is given a Hebrew name by the community and, in fact, Christ is referred to by his Hebrew name of Yeshua. They focus primarily on Yeshua's teachings of love and acceptance but also on ushering in the Day of Judgment as described in the book of Revelations. Some view The Twelve Tribes as a cult and others as a benign religious institution. Either way, referring to Morning Star as a "training program" or "private school" is a little spooky to me.

We have taken our little now for the full year and she loves it. We're enrolled for summer and fall 2016. Her teachers have been amazing. One thing I would suggest is for better newsletters that really reiterate or remind us of important dates such as Last Day / First Day / Re-enrollment. Sometimes it can take a little while to open up the newsletter from a smart phone. It's nice to see important dates in BOLD or CAPS letter in an email since that is the first thing I open up (before the newsletter). They did a great job with reminding us of festive days like Valentine's Day and Easter, as well as, teacher's appreciation week. Looking forward to another year at Merryhill.