Our Lady Of The Pillar School

I have three children at Our Lady of the Pillar. Our oldest son started at Pillar in the third grade and is now in sixth grade. We have a child in second grade and another child in kindergarten as well. We''ve had a wonderful experience for 4 years now and I am a big fan of the school! The K-8 academics are rigorous and individualized. Children who are able to work ahead are consistently given enrichment opportunities and differentiated instruction. A full-time Learning Consultant also helps children who are struggling (particularly in reading or math) meet their potential as well. I''ve found Pillar's academic approach to be an excellent fit for all three of my children. Pillar has a ton of extracurricular opportunities--sports teams, bell choir, singing choir, band, chess club, Lego Robotics, yoga, art club, Mad Science, Bellarmine Speech, and even Yearbook and the Newspaper for middle schoolers. Students who graduate from Pillar are moving onto top private schools--SLUH, Viz, Cor Jesu, Priory, Burroughs, Chaminade, St. Joe's, DeSmet--and parents with children who have graduated already have all told me their older children were accepted into their first choice of high schools. The school is small but enrollment has increased each year since we''ve been there. We now have a thriving pre-school with a wait list. A nice side effect of the size: everyone knows each other and children play together across the grades. The older children interact nicely with the younger children and often read to them in the classroom or help them during Mass. I find Pillar to be a loving, Catholic community comprised of strong leaders (Father Tom, Principal Fanning, Father Oscar), experienced, caring teachers, and involved parents. The Marianist philosophy and focus on education shapes the school culture. More than anything, though, I am happy with Pillar because my children are happy. I am also certain they are each being challenged appropriately academically and encouraged to love learning in the process.

Two of my children currently attend OLP and we have found the quality of the curriculum and the teachers and staff to be top notch. The small class sizes allow teachers to know exactly where your child is academically and challenge him/her appropriately. The warm school community provides a nurturing environment for our children and has been a tremendous source of support for our family. We could not be happier with our choice to send our children to OLP.