The Oxbow School Curriculum Guide

News + Notes

The Oxbow School Curriculum Guide

01/25/22

“Going far off from where you started in encouraged.”

Our new viewbook is out, attached below, made with our friends McFadden & Thorpe with a tie in to our new, original #oxbowjourney films made by Bay Area filmmaker Whitney Legge, @whitneylegge.

The Oxbow semester is an exploration of artistic inquiry combined with innovative academics. The experiential semester provides students a unique opportunity to take a semester away while also completing high school on time in preparation for college and a rewarding life. Through a wide range of projects and activities, Oxbow students learn that knowing how to learn is as important as what one learns, like Portia and Ethan, featured in #oxbowjourney on our IGTV channel and our YouTube channel.

Students leave Oxbow transformed. We support them in their journey towards gaining skills in independent living, taking ownership over their own learning, and developing meaningful relationships that last a lifetime.

Our daughter graduated summa cum laude from NYU with a double major in Studio Art and Art History. She is now working for Calvin Klein. She is contemplating getting a law degree and pursuing a career repatriating art objects. She still keeps in touch with several of her Oxbow classmates and they have regular reunions in Manhattan... I would say that Oxbow was the best semester that any of my four children spent in their cumulative 16 years of high school. Our daughter was the right kid, and for the right kid you do a wonderful job. You changed her life. Thank you.

— John Powley, Parent

It's been a whirlwind week, but also a time when I sang the praises of Oxbow to my colleagues. I've been thinking much about how Oxbow is an exemplar of true education. That art centers the curriculum is hardly surprising, and for those of us who work within the traditional educational mold Oxbow offers a gold standard of focused project based learning. Beyond the school's approach to immersive experience are the intangibles which make Oxbow different. The sense of community and of working together, even as each student retained their strong individual presence is palpable. The feeling of warmth and trust between the adults and the nearly adults in the Oxbow community could be felt throughout the campus. The openness of the architecture and interconnectedness of the three studios in themselves speak of the Oxbow philosophy and identity. More than form follows function, the physical attributes of Oxbow have a distinct warmth and invite exploration.

I'm sure that the ongoing challenges of leading and reinventing your school might sometimes keep you from having the time to see Oxbow with the fresh eyes of a visitor, but your steady presence and vision are really visible in every detail. Thank you for inviting me to one of the most profound experiences in my career.

— Ken Rush, Visual Arts Department, Packer Collegiate Institute

Oxbow forced me to create, and by creating, I established foundation for my thought.

— Jamie Roux, Spring 2003

A School Like No Other

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