Berkeley Parents Network: Transferring to the Albany School District

Berkeley Parents Network

Transferring to the Albany School District

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > Albany Public Schools > Transferring to the Albany School District

Transfer policies

May 2005

I attended a PTA meeting at AHS on May 2 for a presentation by the school board and the school superintendant. Among other interesting things they said, was that the school district's policy is NOT to take transfer students in middle school or high school (except, perhaps, to replace other transfer students who leave). They do accept new students at those levels who live in (have moved to) Albany. However, they DO accept transfers at the elementary level-- and then, once you're in, you stay in all the way, unless the student becomes an attendance problem. Warning: practically every school in Albany is overcrowded, and the latest estimate is that over 40% of all new K-1 students are English language learners. It's not clear if there's funding for ESL teachers. concerned

I just wanted to add something that someone posted this week, regarding Albany's transfer policy with respect to elementary schools. They are very strict about transfers, and do check addresses and make sure everything is current. We were Albany residents and our children attended the Albany elementary school in our neighborhood for four years. We moved in August, to Berkeley, and received a phone call one week later from the Albany school our children had attended saying that our children could not attend school in the fall (which was starting the next day!). Though they had attended the school for four years, Albany refused to allow them to attend school while Berkeley Unified attempted to place them at the last minute (they ultimately missed three weeks of school, though we fou! nd Berkeley Unified to be kind and sympathetic). If you do transfer into Albany schools from another district, I would make very certain what the rules are, if you have to re-apply every year, and what will happen to your child if the schools become impacted. From our experience, the well-being of your child may come last on their list of priorities. Happy to be in Berkeley

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