Co-educational Boarding School in Oregon

Delphian School:
Delphian School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school located in Oregon in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Situated 60 miles southwest of Portland, on 800 acres in Oregon's scenic Willamette Valley (approximately 4 hours drive south of Seattle, Washington), we offer college preparatory education for elementary through high school students. We also offer summer programs and a highly-regarded English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Boarding students are accepted from the age of 8, and day students from the age of 5. There are currently 240 students enrolled and 55 members of the teaching faculty.

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Boarding at Delphian School is always an international experience. Students attend our boarding & summer programs each year from across the United States and many other countries including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey & Yemen.

Delphian School is registered with the Oregon Department of Education, is a member of the Oregon Federation of Independent Schools and a candidate member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools. Delphian School is authorized under Federal Law to enroll non-immigrant alien students.

Delphian School is part of the Delphi Schools network which includes seven schools across the country. Delphi Schools, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing education through effective primary, elementary and secondary schools. Our Oregon campus is the only boarding campus and the founding school of the Delphi Schools network.

Delphian School is both a boarding and a day school; some students board during the week and go home on the weekends (five-day boarders). Boarding is available to students from the age of 8 through 18, and the day school accepts students from the age of 5 through 18. With most students boarding, Delphian School is a lively community all day, seven days a week.

Boarding School Curriculum:
Delphian School offers a well-rounded academic program with a strong emphasis on practical learning for elementary, middle & high school students. The Delphian curriculum covers the full spectrum of core academic subjects: literature, math, science, languages, history, and the arts. Students also focus on ethics and integrity, leadership, life skills, computer technology, and physical education. And they choose from an expansive selection of elective courses. We also offer English as a Second Language (ESL) programs & summer programs.

Although we have many day students, our boarding students form the core of the Delphian community, gaining independence as they learn cooperation; putting knowledge gained in the classroom to immediate use; and increasing their responsibility for themselves and others.

In a boarding environment, there is always someone nearby to help, no matter what problem a student faces. In our close, supportive community, lifelong friendships are made. And despite the distance factor, we repeatedly hear from our parents (and from the students themselves) that their parent-child relationship actually grew stronger and closer during the student’s time at Delphian School.

360-Degree, 24/7 Learning Environment:
Boarding school isn’t about “sending your child away.” It is about finding the place where your child will thrive. The 24/7 learning experience is a unique opportunity for students to build responsibility and decision making skills. The students who succeed at Delphian are those who arrive with (or develop) an independent streak. Some decide they want more from their education, or extra help in a subject. Many want greater challenge and the freedom to excel.

Life in the Delphian School community is in constant motion, alive with activity. Each dormitory is a community within itself. On any given evening, a Delphian dorm pulses with activity— students may be found working on their laptops, reading an assignment for the next day's literature seminar, planning an activity for the weekend, or perhaps just playing guitar with a friend.

Junior and senior students serve as dorm and bathroom captains who work under the direction of the Director of Resident Services to help students learn to live and work well together. The dormitory is a working team, organized to keep the space clean and make it a place the students want to live in. Many dorm members take pride in their dorm, and annual dorm skit nights, where each dorm performs as a group and competes against other dorms for awards, are eagerly anticipated.

Delphian School has nine dormitories—five boys' dorms and four girls' dorms. Most rooms are designed for double occupancy, with access to shared bathrooms. The majority of Delphian School's dormitories are in the main building; there is also an outside girls' dorm that has its own lounge/kitchen facility and laundry room. Dorm room furnishings include single beds (often bunked), dressers, desks, shelves and closet space.

Resident staff live in end units of each dorm, helping to provide a friendly, homey environment for the students.

Delphian School was founded in the 1970s by a group of educators who shared a dream of transforming education. They felt that many conventional schools were failing too many bright students, and wanted to create a learning environment that held students to high standards in both academics and personal responsibility. Our goal is to empower our students to take responsibility for their education and their lives.

A unique learning environment:
Here, you won’t find teachers lecturing while students rotely take notes. You will find students actively engaged in learning. The Delphian School Program is designed to help students relate what they’re learning to how they will use this information to succeed in life. You’ll find our students living their education from the moment they walk into our school. You’ll see lively one-on-one and small group discussions on works of literature or current events. You’ll see students creating clay models to explain a concept. A student giving a presentation on his apprenticeship experience or a topic he’s just researched. And students heading to the science lab or out into the world to test or explore a theory.

Our faculty excel at keeping students motivated and on track with their studies, and you can be assured that each student receives highly personal attention. Every student in our program is treated as an individual, and we seek to help each of them find their own purpose and use for their education.

Delphian School is located in the city of Sheridan, 60 miles southwest of Portland in Oregon's scenic Willamette Valley. The state of Oregon is located in the Pacific North West region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with California to the south, Washington to the north, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. Portland is located 172 miles south of Seattle, Washington. Portland International Airport has direct connections to major airport hubs throughout the United States, plus non-stop international flights to Canada, Japan, Mexico, and the Netherlands / Europe.

Delphian School's 800 acres of rolling hills, meadows, forest and farmlands provide an excellent resource for recreation. Athletic facilities include a large gymnasium, which houses basketball, volleyball and racquetball courts, and a weight-lifting and gymnastics room. Outdoor facilities include a horse stable and arena, baseball and softball diamonds, a soccer field and running track, four lighted tennis courts, and a playground for younger students. There is also a multi-purpose room overlooking the valley which is used for seminars, dances and events as well as Yoga, TaeBo and other group fitness activities.

State-of-the-art facilities:
Delphian School's computer facilities include a state-of-the-art audio-visual lab and a computer science lab. Filtered wireless Internet access is available on over one hundred computers in selected areas of the school and in classrooms and labs.

Other facilities include a student lounge with a full kitchen and a recreation room with a pool table, ping pong, foosball and air hockey tables. Students can purchase food and snacks in the recreation room, as well as school items from the school store. The recreation room is also equipped with wireless Internet for students with laptops.

"After homeschooling our kids and trying other private schools, we enrolled one of our daughters at the Delphian School in Oregon. Since attending Delphi, she has grown in more ways than she ever would have at home. She has become the student body president and a great leader."  C.E.


"I have to say the Delphian School saved my son's life! After just his first year there, something magical has happened. His interest in the world around him has expanded greatly, and he has become increasingly responsible for ensuring he really understands what he's studying. Gone are the times I had to push him to do more, as he is doing more on his own. He is taking responsibility for his own life and for getting a meaningful education." R.S.


"I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of the staff at the Delphian School for the incredible work you do, and particularly all that you have done for my daughter.....The combination of the academic program, practical program, student council and athletics have contributed to a very rich and valuable educational experience. My daughter now has so many tools to help her achieve her goals in life and in work."  E.G.