Urban Mamas

I am interested in learning more about this school as well. Is it very exclusive (wealthy parents)? We are not wealthy but are considering financial sacrifices for private school. Assuming we could get in, my concerns are that the student body may be too homogeneous (in class, ethnicity) and also transportation (I heard there is a bus from Portland?). That said, the school looks amazing. I'd love to hear from families who go there!

Their process is fairly similar to the other private schools in the area. It is very difficult to get in since siblings take priority (which is common in any school setting).

I did recently hear that they tend to draw from a few select preschools in NE for some reason. Kind of strange since the school is in Tualatin.

Thanks for your response and for sharing your experience. I really appreciate the information.

We applied (and didn't get in) two years ago. The process began with a school tour and group meeting with the registrar. Then came the written application with a sample of student work followed by a parent interview. Then, if selected, your child goes to "play" in a classroom with other kids in a screening process. They are subtly testing and checking out the children at this point. I may have made it harder to get in than it needed to be, but I found the 6-8 essay questions challenging and the interview required both parents to be fully engaged and interested in Arbor school which unfortunately my husband wasn't. I also think my child didn't want to do the rhyming games or other activities set out for her as she was not used to this classroom format.