Katherine Barahona is a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at University of California, Santa Cruz where she is also a research assistant. She's an academic and ACT tutor and Senior Case Manager at Central Central American Resource Center (CARECEN).
At Oxbow, I got to try inquiry-based learning for the first time. This allowed me to control the amount of rigor and the depth of research in my topic, as well as picking a topic that I found most interesting. From going through this new process of learning, I feel excited to go back to the rigor of my sending school to apply the inquiry-based perspective to my classes.
— Meave Cunningham, Fall, 2015
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
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