OJCS is clearly meeting his needs

OJCS is clearly meeting his needs

My priority with respect to a good school fit for my son has more to do with the character of the school (its warmth and respect for children and families) than with the academics. I wanted the option to provide my son with a fluent bilingual education. But his emotional well-being came first. And so OJCS was "on the table" this past fall, as an option I felt we needed to explore.

My son rated his happiness last year (at his previous school) as a 2/10. In the fall of 2019, at that same school but with a new teacher, his satisfaction was rated 5/10. I told my son I thought he deserved to enjoy school more than 5/10, and wanted him to see some options. He told me “There’s no use mom, I’m just a kid who doesn’t like school”. I felt very sad and hoped to prove him wrong.  My son had a trial day at another private school which offered him the opportunity to achieve full bilingualism, and it was abundantly clear that this was not a good fit. By contrast, it was obvious that he truly enjoyed himself at his two brief trials at OJCS.  OJCS's teachers and curriculum, of their own accord, had a lot to do with his enjoyment; but I credit Jennifer G. for making his trial an over the top success.  She showed compassion and flexibility to accommodate some requests that, as a child who is painfully shy in new situations, would help my son feel at ease during his OJCS trial.  Changing schools can be very nerve wracking.  However Jennifer put my son and me at ease; she was so warm and welcoming, and made sure to introduce us to lots of people at the school on our tour.  OJCS could not have a better person working in admissions. I truly don’t think any school can be everything to everybody, but I really like the direction that I see OJCS is moving in.  One week after my son started OJCS I asked him for his rating of his new school; he told me OJCS scored 7/10.  This is a big relief to me as OJCS is clearly meeting his needs much better than they have been met elsewhere.  Two months into OJCS, my son is engaged and has apparently been a teacher’s dream.  OJCS is not the road we initially thought we would take for our son, but we have been very pleased with our decision! 

Sandi, parent

Ottawa Jewish Community School, OJCS
2020-04-29T12:26:32-04:00

Sandi, parent

...the school has been open and interested in knowing about his learning strengths and needs.