St. Odilia School 3495 Victoria Street North, Saint Paul, MN 55126

"We made a major mistake of sending our kids to this school. Make no mistake: religion, not education, is the primary focus of the school. So many teachers have been here for so long that they lack investment in their students and they form this strange clique amongst themselves. The principal's office has been a revolving door since Brian Ragatz left. We fled years ago to a public school with higher standards and better teachers than St. O's and it was the best decision ever. Avoid."

"Our daughter just finished 8th grade at St. Odilia. She was there from K-8. She loved St. Odilia and was well prepared for high school. The school has gone through a lot of changes over the past few years, and all of them for the better. This year's $6 million renovation of the church and school will make things even better. Looking back over 9 years, we would not change a thing!"

"Great fun school"

"We transferred our child at the end of 2016 from a Montessori school nearby which is several times the cost of St. O's. Our child was looking to make more friends and looking for a well rounded and better focused school with more to offer. We shopped schools in the area before our son ever started school and also shopped St. O's several years before. At the end of last year we gave St. O's another look and noticed many changes since our first visit. The school now under new leadership with Mr. Ragatz and has a much different feel which was easily noticeable. We were very impressed with the new direction. The kids and teachers were upbeat, friendly, compassionate and approachable. My son asked if he could start the next day following his shadow day at St. O's. His friend from the same school shadowed recently and made the exact same comment with the same reaction asking to change to St O's right away. He really enjoys math, science, robotics, Phy Ed, religion, mass, recess and the hot lunch program. He comes from a school which taught no Spelling skills and struggled with language arts to being an A student in all his subjects thanks to the careful lesson planing, homework, demonstrations, working with a specialist and his invested teachers. The school offers projects which change yearly. The kids eagerly look forward to these events and get excited because of the way projects are shared with other grades. Kids from other grades are invited to share in the discovery of the projects by attending the events and by receiving presentations from the students. The presentation of the students projects to their peers aids in kids confidence and public speaking abilities. He likes the educational field trips and his grade was invited to do a virtual field trip with the CEO and founder of a stop motion animation studio with amazing credentials. He enjoys being able to celebrate and practice his faith as a Lutheran in a Catholic School. I have enjoyed meeting the kids and families which have been very welcoming and friendly. There is a nice diversity of students from from various economic backgrounds. We have come to embrace the uniforms. Uniforms are easy, there's no hassle on what to wear and the kids don't mind not having to pick out clothes every day. The uniforms cost way less than years past school shopping by a mile. For families watching pennies there is even a clothes exchange to help subsidize the cost of uniforms. At our son's old school it was difficult to help at school unless you were writing a large check in the form of a donation. At St. O's volunteers have plenty of opportunity to help or chaperone events after attending a awareness workshop and background check. If you spend time at any of the area schools sitting in on classes and touring schools you will find St. O's is a clear choice for any parent looking for an excellent education without paying upwards $30,000 a year in tuition. St. O's is a bargain well worth the price at a fraction of the cost. My wife and I thought choosing St. O's was a no brainer and the decision of selecting St. O's for our sons education was an easy choice with absolutely no regrets what so ever!"

"I am so happy with the progress my son have made since we moved him to St. Odilia The principal has been more than supportive in helping to my son succeed. He changes and attitude have made a crucial impact in our life. It is because of him I will suggest this school to anyone I meet."