The Community

Arbor School serves children ages five to thirteen. Each class is limited in size to assure individual attention through low student-teacher ratios. Mixed-age grouping is an important feature of Arbor education; we believe that combining ages creates classrooms that focus on individual talents and collaborative learning rather than on grade-level norms.

Children remain with the same teachers for at least two years of their schooling and also form important bonds with older and younger students to create a sense of community that spans all grades.

Toward a More Just Society

Recognizing a moral imperative in striving for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in our school community and curriculum, we at Arbor are continuously working to expand our own cultural competencies as we address issues of race and gender. Read more about our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work.

Giving to Arbor School

Support our mission with a contribution to one of our three funds: financial aid, the ACT fellowship, or Arbor’s general fund.

About Arbor School

Founded in 1989, Arbor School of Arts & Sciences is an independent K-8 school located on 21 acres of wooded farm land in Tualatin, Oregon.

Arbor is also home to the Arbor Center for Teaching (ACT), a two-year teacher residency program which offers an innovative teaching apprenticeship in a laboratory school setting. ACT also publishes the Arbor Algebra Series and a series of guides to our thematic curriculum.

Located on 21 acres of wooded farmland...

Sitting just outside of Portland's Urban Growth Boundary, our campus retains the rural character of the original 5-acre horse farm with which we began in 1989.  The buildings we have constructed over the years have a rustic and functional aesthetic, and all our classrooms provide ample natural light and views of our forests, fields, and gardens.
Take a tour of the campus.