looking for info on Blue mountain school (Cottage Grove: homes, middle school)

[Maruca4]

We are looking to move to cottage grove in the spring mainly so our kids can go to Blue Mountain School. Is there anyone out there who has kids that go or went there, or any alumni, and if so what was your experience. The website says that if there more applicants than spaces they go by lottery, does anyone know if it is hard to get your kids in.
thanks

[orygun]

Oh, boy can I tell you about Blue Mountain. And a friend of mine who moved to CG just for that school ended up feeling the same way. I suppose there are some people who had good experiences but...

The philosophy is nice. In theory. In 2004, I sent my kids there and what a bad experience it was. First of all, I will tell you back then foul language was just fine with them. In fact the children all vote on everything so if the kids voted that cussing was ok and the majority thought it was fine, then hey, spout off! Doesn't matter that the majority of the kids were teenagers and the younger children didn't know anything. And the leader of the program took to swearing herself and didn't see the problem!

The older kids seem to rule the roost there. Younger kids are free to roam around wherever on the grounds without direct supervision. They did finally put up some fences anyway. But I was terrified for my twins as they were ADHD type of boys.

What my kids learned at Blue Mountain was how to properly say all four letter words. How to be mean to other kids. And how they didn't learn anything at Blue Mountain. I think that school is only suitable for grounded older kids. Yet I had heard that it was the delinquents kicked out of other schools that went there. Another alternative school in Dorena or somewhere is also pretty similar. Of course, Lincoln Middle School was driven by foul-mouthed kids and little leadership. No much hope for so many schools.

So my advice is steer clear of Blue Mountain if you want your kids to be in a decent environment. All they will do there is play video games and goof around. Not the intriguing learning environment I thought it would be. Unless the leadership has since changed.

[delahondonada]

I am an alumni of Blue Mountain and although I disagree with the previous poster about steering clear of Blue Mountain, I do want to acknowledge that this school does not fit everyones desires for their children, whether thats not wanting their children to be exposed to swear words (which I would argue from my experience, is a quaility found in nearly every school setting at some point) or wanting a more structure environment that resembles structure class rooms without the democratic element that defines Blue Mountain from other schools. If you desire a different approach to education based on the premise that children are capable of directing their own education in a safe, democratic setting then Blue Mountain may be the school you want for your children. If not, there are quite a few excellent choice schools in same area and towns. I suggest getting in contact with the person in charge of admissions (I assume you have seen the links on the website) to see what the waiting list looks like, but my understanding is that the admissions process is not a difficult and extended one. I hope I was helpful, if you have any other questions, just let me know.

[KatinOr]

The news a few days ago reported that the school is losing state funding due to not sticking to standards that the state required. Now, I haven't heard anything more about it, and I am not sure if that means the school is closing or not, but its something you should check into before you move out here for it!

I googled it quickly and didn't see anything about the funding issue, but I watched it with interest as I am a former home schooler and believe in the philosophy of the school.

Anyway, thought I would pass it on
Kat

[orygun]

Originally Posted by delahondonada

exposed to swear words (which I would argue from my experience, is a quaility found in nearly every school setting at some point)

This certainly does vary with each school. When my kids left Blue Mountain and attended Latham they saw a huge difference. There weren't children spouting off vulgarities on the regular basis like they heard at Blue Mountain. I had always been a fan of blending ages of older children and younger children together but it didn't seem to work well there given the foul mouths. However, when my kids attended an elementary school in Spokane, there was a lot of foul mouths as well. It isn't so much that the kids need to be sheltered from bad words but when the children at a school vote for it, then that sets a bad example. What irked me was that the democratic process there was imbalanced. There were more children in older age groups than younger age groups and of course the teens want to be able to swear and the younger kids wouldn't have a chance. It's an uneven vote, IMO, when you have such a variety in age levels and expect a democratic process to actually work. Having an instructured environment for learning is what I did in my homeschooling but I think it went beyond what I was looking for. I have a friend who moved to Cottage Grove just for that school also and pulled her kiddo out pretty quickly.

[mercedes23]

In my opinion, which I'm completely guilty of, cussing is the result of the inability to articulate a thought. Don't we want kids who are attending any school to "use their words?" I really don't think it's appropriate for kids to cuss, if it's frowned upon in the office, why should they be able to do it in their schools amongst younger children? This type of democracy worries me. Until the students are educated in the ups and downs of democracy, I don't feel it should be used unwarranted.