Napa County Recycling and Waste Services recognizes Oxbow for our outstanding recycling and compost efforts in the community. To win a city award, nominees were surveyed to learn how much non-recyclable trash was in their recycling bins as well as the reverse. On May 4, 2011, Oxbow received the California State Legislature Certificate of Recognition and the Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. California Congressman Mike Thompson, State Senator Noreen Evans and State Assembly Member Michael Allen made the presentations to Tracy Bates, our Head Chef and the person responsible for coordinating our campus recycling program.
This award was made possible through the efforts of ALL Oxbow - faculty, staff and students. The award included a cash prize that was used to add a new air curtain from our Dining Hall to the dining deck.
Thanks and congratulations!
Oxbow gave Will a voice and a community. Under the nurturing attention of his wonderful teachers, he learned that he had the intellectual capability to express himself and that his unique point of view was, in fact, an asset.
— David Becker, Parent
Oxbow was, without a doubt, the best part of my high school experience. A year after leaving, and I still feel as though it were yesterday that I was sitting on the lawn, eating in the dining hall, and laughing with my friends in the studios.
— Julia Weir, Fall 2015
The art that goes on in most high schools is usually relatively skill-based. At Oxbow, there is more emphasis on looking and seeing and more critical thinking about what you are doing, the human connection, that personal element. Through art you can begin to understand yourself better. That may be the biggest eye-opener for students. It is almost a preview of college. Get out of the mechanical factory high school education and get into something open, new, and invigorating in a small environment.
— Bill Barrett, Former Oxbow Board Member, Former Executive Director of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD)
A School Like No Other