• Moving to the Bay Area - which school district?
• How does the elementary school system work?
• Moving to the Bay Area - where should we rent for a good school?
• One parent's observations (1997)

• How to Evaluate a Public School
• Private School vs. Public School
• Public Schools near UCB campus
• Special Education in Public Schools
• Transferring from/to other school districts
• Using a false address in a better school district
• Moving to Albany for the Schools
• Moving to Piedmont for the schools

Moving to the Bay Area - which school district?

Hello Everyone, I just have to say that I love this newletter. My family and I are returning to the Bay Area and looking for a great public elementary school for my 5 year old who will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. Can anyone recommend any? We are looking into Concord, Plesant Hill, and Walnut Creek. We would like a school that has a strong curriculum, resources, etc. Also, does anyone have a preference of which of the three cities they recommend? And any advice on renting a house? Thanks so much! Janeth

(1) Realize that CA's school funding formula -- which requires local funds to go to the state for redistribution -- makes schools terribly underfunded generally, and increases the inequity (rather than decreasing it, as was meant) because PTA's and local education foundations end up making the schools ''livable'' by raising money from the surrounding communities. So, sadly, what you're looking for is a financially generous community. This not only means that the community members have disposable income, but also means a low percentage of people who opt out and send their kids to private school as well as a high percentage of community involvement. (And you can go to the state website to get Annual Yearly Progress scores, which will give you an idea of the AVERAGE intellectualism of the students, though not much else.) You also should be thinking that you'll put in a minimum of $200-500/child annually in parent night requests for cash and other fundraisers.

The neighborhood I'm in -- which has top schools, but isn't in your area -- is $1000/month more expensive than an adjacent neighborhood with a worse (not terrible, just average) school.

(2) Renting: craigslist.

Last year saw 110's for a week in the area you're mentioning -- and it didn't really cool off much at night. Energy is expensive and getting more so. So I'd choose the smallest and most energy efficient space you can be comfortable with, and unless you're all VERY good with sleeping in a hot room, I'd recommend requiring air conditioning.

Get school district maps for attendance boundaries, and have them handy so you can know whether what you see on craigslist is in your target attendance area or not.

You can also call the school PTA and talk to them about the pros and cons of the school. (You should do a bit of volunteering for your PTA when you arrive anyway to connect to the local school community.)

(3) Also as for budgeting, keep in mind that since land is so expensive, everything is: supermarkets, dry-cleaning, etc. - Sticker-shocked, but still happy to be back

How does the elementary school system work?

My wife and I grew up and were schooled in Europe. We've now been through the US experience of day-care waitlists for our now 10 month old. Although I *hope* we are addressing this in time we are now thinking about schools for him. Could someone provide a basic summary of how the system works, at what age the child goes to school (about 4 in europe) and anything else we should be thinking about at this point. In case its relevant, we live in montclair. Thanks
ian

Most public schools have Kindergarten through Grade 5 classes. Grade 6, 7 and 8 are Middle School. Grades 9, 10, 11 and 12 is High School. Some charter and private schools include middle school grades in their program, so the children don't have to go to a separate school.

Next to public schools, you can also check out Charter Schools and, of course, private schools. The following is just my opinion and is therefore very personal. I am not impressed with California's public school system. The current system focuses very much on reading and math only. The system is based on passing tests and teachers teach their students to pass tests - not to learn something comprehensively. Sports, music and arts are at best after- school programs and that can only be funded if the school has a very active PTA (Parent Teacher Association).

Wikipedia had a pretty good description of what a charter school is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_school They are basically a public school, receiving funds through their school district (there are no fees to enroll your child), but usually they have a ''private'' curriculum. They often use different teaching methods that are only found at private schools. They are accessible to all students. They often use a lottery process to allow children into their school. This means that children of teachers/staff get first priority, followed by siblings of current students. Children who live in the school district have priority over children outside the school district.

The Bay Area has many private schools to chose from. If you plan on going that route, I would probably already start doing some research on those, because you may find that they have long waiting lists or they may have preschools that your child may be able to attend.

Socio-economics vary greatly in the Bay Area. Though the average income is fairly high compared to the rest of the country, there is also a large group of people living in poverty. The school system seems to reflect that perfectly. Public schools in poor areas have little or no parent involvement and often perform poorly. Schools in more affluent areas often show heavy parent involvement and the students seem to perform accordingly.

Private schools can offer amazing programs. They can be very costly, though. The private schools that I checked asked between $12,000 and $17,200 per school year. I found a couple of websites that helped me in my search http://www.greatschools.net/ In the upper right corner you just type the school district that you are interested in and it will give you all the schools (public, private and charter) for that district. Another good site to check is this: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/si/cs/ap1/imagemap.aspx This shows what charter schools are in your county. JOJ

Moving to the Bay Area - where should we rent for a good school?

We are relocating to Bay Area this summer from Boston and we are trying to find a place to rent close to a (public) Elementary School since my son will be entering K this fall. My question is (since we already signed him up here i Boston a LOOONG time ago) - how does it work in the Bay Area? Are you ''guaranteed'' a slot for your child when you move in to an area? It would be quite a disappointment if we found a good school and a nice house and it turns out that the Elmentary School close to the house is ''full''..?! How can I find out if a school has openings? Do I call the principals office? Any help and hints around this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance :-)
Camilla

As to how the assignments are made I could explain that BUT it would take up a bunch of space...so.... that info (and a bunch of other info) can probably be found in the archives of this list serve AND through the Parent Access/ Admissions office at the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) main office. The web site (with maps and forms and etc.) is http://www.berkeley.k12.ca.us/OS/OS_enroll.html.

I recommend that you call Francisco Martinez and his staff at BUSD Admissions at (510) 644-6504 to see what schools currently have room, and what the process would be for you if you were to rent in Berkeley. The Principles have no control over admissions in Berkeley, and may not even know the number of new students they are getting yet.

We love our kids' elementary school, as do many families at many public elementary schools around Berkeley. However, if you want certainty in attending a specific school, you may do better to rent in an adjacent town.
BUSD Parent

One parent's observations (1997)

RE: local schools

My children have been in the Berkeley public school system since
kindergarten - 9 years altogether - and I have generally been happy
with their schools and their teachers.

To the parent who is just coming into the area, here are remarks I
have heard over the years from other parents and also my own biased
impression of the general situation:

There are a lot of excellent academically-oriented private schools
but they are expensive ($500 and up per mo) However, it is possible 
to get a private school education at public schools around here.
And don't forget all the wonderful "supplements" of the Bay Area:
concerts, cultural events, museums, parks, recreation, etc.

One person's ranking of local public school systems (1997)
----------------------------------------------------
1. Piedmont
	Just as good as private school but housing is EXTREMELY expensive
	and you may object to elitist "rich kid" mentality (which also
	may be found at private schools) Virtually no rental housing.
2. Albany
	Great schools but most neighborhoods are very homogeneous: white 
	and Asian middle and upper-middle class semi-suburban. Sizeable 
        contingent of grad student families and foreign students from
        University Village. Housing a bit higher than in Berkeley (?) 
	(this varies) Rental housing can be scarce - mostly 
	homeowners and single-family dwellings.
3. Berkeley
	Many schools are great but it can be very variable; neighborhoods
	range from rich Claremont/hills area to poor flatlands. Not much of 
	a middle class. More desirable elementary schools are in the
	wealthier neighborhoods: Emerson, LaConte, etc. Many families in
	these areas do support & attend public schools. For some reason,
	affluent neighborhoods in N. Berkeley don't seem as supportive
	of public schools as the ones in Claremont/Elmwood neighborhood
        so local schools there (like Thousand Oaks) aren't as of this writing
	considered as good as in SE Berkeley. Poor neighborhoods closer 
	to the Bay contain schools with lesser reputations.  However, this
	changes from year to year depending on level of parent involvement
	and principal, staff at schools.  Both junior high schools 
	(Willard, King) are considered pretty good now, with many private 
	school students returning for the 6th grade. Berkeley High is 
	considered alternately great (college prep academics, music, arts,
	team sports) and terrible (PC politics, racial polarization)
4. El Cerrito/Kensington
	Reportedly similar to Albany situation with more working class
	neighborhoods in El Cerrito. Few poor families. Kensington is 
	considerably more affluent but is in the Contra Costa school 
	district - I don't know much about what happens after 5th grade.
5. Oakland 
	Very variable. Depends on the level of parent involvement.
         Wild variations between affluent hills neighborhoods
	like Montclair & Rockridge and depressed flats. Oakland school
	district always in trouble financially so class sizes in even
	the better schools can soar unpredictably and resources can
	suddenly disappear. School board is prone to wacky political 
	pronouncements. Many elementary schools in "better" neighborhoods
	are great and, like Berkeley, are supported by families that can 
	afford private schools, but be prepared to pay private school
	tuition in some neighborhoods especially after 5th grade.
6. Richmond
	Some great neighborhood schools.  In other areas,
	be prepared for private school tuition.

Note: many people choose to move over the hills to Moraga-Lafayette-
Orinda. These are affluent neighborhoods reportedly with great public
schools, but: you have to enjoy the suburban life, living around a 
whole bunch of white people who are politically more conservative
than in the East Bay cities.  Housing is expensive, with few rentals.