Trojan Story
Becky and Matt Trojan have been part of the Oak Hill community since their oldest child joined in elementary school. With three children who have attended Oak Hill, their family has experienced firsthand how strong relationships, small class sizes, and individualized support can shape a child’s academic and personal growth.
Q: How did you discover Oak Hill School and what led to you enrolling?
A: Well, my daughter, who is now 20, was in second grade at the local French immersion school. At the end of the year, we realized that she had not completed any of her math books. Nobody in class noticed because she was kind of a quiet, “cause no problems” kind of kid. So, we put her in a math program over the summer to try to catch her up.
At the end of the summer the teacher told us that she was a grade behind, which was surprising because she's a smart kid.
Something had to change so we reached out to Oak Hill to get a sense of what the school was like. We came to Oak Hill for a visit on the first day of school and we moved her over right then.
Q: Did you know that Oak Hill was a place that could catch your daughter up and give her the attention she needed?
A: We wanted a smaller class and a place where she wouldn't be lost. She had 32 kids in her second grade class at her previous school, which was just not a good fit for her. There were 16 kids in her class at Oak Hill.
We were also tired of having to run around after school doing all of the things we thought she should be doing at school. For instance, physical activity, music, art, languages, math help. At Oak Hill, she got all of that at school which gave her more freedom to just be a kid!
Q: What's something that you feel Oak Hill does differently than other schools?
A: Oak Hill has a lot of specialists, so students get to do a lot of different things during the day. We really appreciate the fact that they go to PE every day and get to experience foreign languages in particular. You get some of that at the language immersion schools, but we get to have that in a standard, traditional school.
Students also get to know those specialist teachers over the years. Those specialist teachers are a continuous presence in their lives and that has been an unexpected benefit.
Q: What would you tell a prospective family who's considering Oak Hill for their child?
A: It's a warm place where everybody at the school knows all the kids—no one gets lost academically or socially. The academics are strong. My kids developed a strong foundation for writing. They've learned how to do homework. I think it's served them all well. I have a senior in high school and a junior in college and what they got out of K-8 at Oak Hill really set them up to be successful.
Q: Is there a moment or anecdote or story that comes to mind when one of your children felt especially supported by the community?
A: My youngest has a medical condition. It doesn't affect his schooling at all, but he had to miss a bunch of his 4th grade year because of it. When he was gone, his teachers were so supportive. He felt loved! When we got back to school, his teacher helped him tell his classmates what was going on. Their guidance spilled over into other parts of life and has really given him the tools to have difficult conversations with his peers. The school counselor at Oak Hill was also a very supportive presence and anytime that Zach was feeling uncomfortable, that counselor was right there and super helpful to him.
Q: Your family supports the school and the Oak Hill Fund through monthly giving. Tell us about why you give to the school?
A: Oak Hill has always met our kids where they are. The school has filled the need that our kids had to learn and to feel part of a community. Ever since we moved our first kiddo there, it felt like it was the right thing.
As for supporting the school, I know that running a school is an expensive proposition and Oak Hill doesn’t receive tax dollars or church funding. Because of that, the school has the freedom to be what it wants to be. It's important to us to support Oak Hill in that way so that it can be everything that we want it to be.
Q: Any final thoughts about Oak Hill?
One of my favorite things about the school is that kids get to be who they want to be. The kids have all kinds of different interests and that's accepted. There's no pressure there to be someone other than who you are. I've really seen that my kids have come out of that experience going into high school as their own unique people. It’s a hard thing to achieve, but Oak Hill does it really well.
Q: How did you discover Oak Hill School and what led to you enrolling?
A: Well, my daughter, who is now 20, was in second grade at the local French immersion school. At the end of the year, we realized that she had not completed any of her math books. Nobody in class noticed because she was kind of a quiet, “cause no problems” kind of kid. So, we put her in a math program over the summer to try to catch her up.
At the end of the summer the teacher told us that she was a grade behind, which was surprising because she's a smart kid.
Something had to change so we reached out to Oak Hill to get a sense of what the school was like. We came to Oak Hill for a visit on the first day of school and we moved her over right then.
Q: Did you know that Oak Hill was a place that could catch your daughter up and give her the attention she needed?
A: We wanted a smaller class and a place where she wouldn't be lost. She had 32 kids in her second grade class at her previous school, which was just not a good fit for her. There were 16 kids in her class at Oak Hill.
We were also tired of having to run around after school doing all of the things we thought she should be doing at school. For instance, physical activity, music, art, languages, math help. At Oak Hill, she got all of that at school which gave her more freedom to just be a kid!
Q: What's something that you feel Oak Hill does differently than other schools?
A: Oak Hill has a lot of specialists, so students get to do a lot of different things during the day. We really appreciate the fact that they go to PE every day and get to experience foreign languages in particular. You get some of that at the language immersion schools, but we get to have that in a standard, traditional school.
Students also get to know those specialist teachers over the years. Those specialist teachers are a continuous presence in their lives and that has been an unexpected benefit.
Q: What would you tell a prospective family who's considering Oak Hill for their child?
A: It's a warm place where everybody at the school knows all the kids—no one gets lost academically or socially. The academics are strong. My kids developed a strong foundation for writing. They've learned how to do homework. I think it's served them all well. I have a senior in high school and a junior in college and what they got out of K-8 at Oak Hill really set them up to be successful.
Q: Is there a moment or anecdote or story that comes to mind when one of your children felt especially supported by the community?
A: My youngest has a medical condition. It doesn't affect his schooling at all, but he had to miss a bunch of his 4th grade year because of it. When he was gone, his teachers were so supportive. He felt loved! When we got back to school, his teacher helped him tell his classmates what was going on. Their guidance spilled over into other parts of life and has really given him the tools to have difficult conversations with his peers. The school counselor at Oak Hill was also a very supportive presence and anytime that Zach was feeling uncomfortable, that counselor was right there and super helpful to him.
Q: Your family supports the school and the Oak Hill Fund through monthly giving. Tell us about why you give to the school?
A: Oak Hill has always met our kids where they are. The school has filled the need that our kids had to learn and to feel part of a community. Ever since we moved our first kiddo there, it felt like it was the right thing.
As for supporting the school, I know that running a school is an expensive proposition and Oak Hill doesn’t receive tax dollars or church funding. Because of that, the school has the freedom to be what it wants to be. It's important to us to support Oak Hill in that way so that it can be everything that we want it to be.
Q: Any final thoughts about Oak Hill?
One of my favorite things about the school is that kids get to be who they want to be. The kids have all kinds of different interests and that's accepted. There's no pressure there to be someone other than who you are. I've really seen that my kids have come out of that experience going into high school as their own unique people. It’s a hard thing to achieve, but Oak Hill does it really well.
Located on 72 wooded acres in Eugene, Oregon, Oak Hill School is an independent, secular (non-religious) private school welcoming pre-K to 8th grade students.
