Orinda Academy

We moved to the East Bay from NYC during the pandemic to be close to grandparents. It was challenging for everyone, particularly our children, 16 and 12. We found Orinda Academy, the lovely and healing environment we needed. Our 16-year-old entered in 11th grade, made friends, and excelled academically. OAs combination of nurture and rigor was just what we needed! The parent community is open and supportive. We also value an environment where teachers, administrators, and the entire school community know and care about our children. Our daughter is now 18 and in college and our younger one, now 14, just entered 9th grade at OA. So far so good! They are making friends and love their teachers. Our second time around and we could not be happier!
Oct 26th, 2022

Amazing school! Im constantly impressed with the school. When all schools closed last Spring due to Covid I was extremely impressed by how quickly they pivoted to online learning. Thank you for everything!
Feb 7th, 2021

The chairs are uncomfortable
Mar 21st, 2019

My daughter attended Orinda Academy for 5 years starting from the 8th grade. She is thriving in college now and we both appreciate the support from teachers and staff. She gained confidence, dived into extracurricular activities such as student government and school spirit events and worked hard on academics with teachers who were ready to help with constructive feedback on homework, focused attention during office hours or breaks and helpful nudges as she explored different interests. The kind culture at OA also helped her reach out to peers and make friendships among students of all years beyond the usual high school boundaries.
Feb 7th, 2019

My son (a junior) has thrived at Orinda Academy, and has achieved a high level of success and newly found self motivation. The teachers are great, and make the effort for every student. The classes are small, and no student gets "lost in the system." Sue Porter, the new School of School is making big improvements in this school which has a 35 year history of quietly delivering quality education for kids with learning differences. It is a great school, highly recommended.
Jan 14th, 2019