OUSD School Choice & Open Enrollment
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Nov 2007
A couple years ago I was told by an official at OUSD that
neighborhood children who had a sibling currently enrolled at
school would be admitted first, so we thought we'd be fine when
it came time to enroll our second child. Now I've been hearing
rumors that ''neighborhood siblings'' will be in the same pool as
all other applicants from the neighborhood and may not be
assigned to the same school at their older sibling. Has anyone
else heard this or had this happen? Are you aware of any other
school districts that don't prioritize siblings who live within
the school boundaries?
Just want my kids to attend the same school!
No! I went to an OUSD meeting two weeks ago with the head of
the schools and issues realted to the options program. (I can't
remember his name.)
He was very clear that neighborhood siblings do NOT get
priority over regular neighborhood kids. The computer program
that runs all kids who apply to each school picks neighborhood
kids first, then, if spaces are available, chooses siblings,
then moves to other groups of kids. You older one's little
brother or sister has the same chance of getting into that
school as any other neighborhood kid does. This OUSD man
expressed his frustration that the same family could be sending
different kids to different schools, but that is just the way
it is. I have a child entering kindergarten in Redwood Heights
in 2008. The numbers show that Redwood Heights will not be a
problem this year. Next year, however, is going to be a
problem. I have another little one who will be in school in
2010. I plan on pressuring OUSD to change their policy on
siblings for 2010. I would imagine, if they change it at all,
it might take that long!--but one never knows. Good luck!
anon
Oct 2007
My son is zoned for a less than desirable public school in
Oakland so I am going to try out the lottery system as we
cannot afford a private school.
I am looking at Montclair, Joaquin Miller, Sequoia & Redwood
Elementary schools as they are close to where we live (near
Joaquin Miller Park) and seem like pretty good schools from
what I hear.
I wanted to get some feedback from parents on:
-school recommendations
-how to approach the lottery system
-any ideas on how to improve my son's chances of getting into a
school (i.e. - joining the PTA of the school now)
-which schools afterschool programs are ok, good & great
Thanks for sharing your experience with me!
Marcy
We have been Sequoia parents for 9 years now (older child in
middle school and younger one still at Sequoia), and we have
been extremely happy with the school. The teachers are
excellent and are very experienced at dealing with a wide range
of situations. We have always felt they have been very helpful
and eager to work with us to help our children. The current
principal is excellent and very helpful. I highly recommend
Sequoia.
long term Sequoia parent
Dont' target Redwood Heights! This school was way
oversubscribed last year and 16 neighborhood kids were
displaced. Although these kids were later admitted into the
largest K class ever at the school, there was absolutely no
room for families through the open lottery. As a smaller school
than most in the hills, Redwood Heights will likely continue to
be fully subscribed by neighborhood children over the next few
years.
The best quality schools to target through the open lottery are
Kaiser and Glenview in my opinion. I know people who got into
both schools through the open lottery this past spring. If you
are denied initially, act quickly with an appeal and be
persistant and patient. Good luck!
Redwood Heights Parent
Hi there,
My child will not start kindergarten until next fall, but I have been involved with my
neighborhood school, Sequoia, for several years now. Through volunteering and
attending school events, I have found a wonderfully diverse and interesting family
population, a very talented, stable staff, and an accessible, intelligent, energetic
principal. The school has been designated an Alameda County Arts Anchor School,
and you can see new art going up inside and out. There is a thriving garden
program and an active Dads' Club, among other things. And two brand-new play
structures were installed over the summer, which are getting a lot of use!
Sequoia does not have test scores as high as the other schools you mentioned, nor
does it raise as much money as those schools. This may work in your favor as far as
the lottery goes, as those seem to be the determining factors as far as which
schools parents most frequently request. As a teacher myself, I believe there is more
to a good school than test scores, and I like much of what I have found at Sequoia. I
think Sequoia is one of the best-kept secrets in OUSD and feel lucky to have access
to the school without having to try and get in via the lottery.
To find out more, you could check out www.sequoiaschool.net, or attend the
Prospective Parents' Night at 7pm on Tuesday, November 13th. There are also very
current posts from parents at www.greatschools.net.
Good luck with your search!
April 2007
Hi, I thought that one's child was eligible to go to a
particular Oakland public school based on home address, but I
see BPN members talk about Oakland public school assignments,
options, and being turned down on application forms. Can someone
explain how the system works? Thanks.
Rose
Here is how Oakland works. Parents fill out the options form
listing up to 6 schools in order of preference. If you like
your neighborhood school, you would probably put that as the
first one on the list. Oakland accepts those forms until close
to the end of January and then proceeds to issue school
assignments. The assignment priority is as follows:
1. Children who currently reside in the neigborhood boundary
of the school and who have siblings currently attending the
school are admitted first.
2. If space remains after the children in (1) are admitted,
other children who currently reside in the neighborhood are
admitted next.
3. If there is not enough space for the children in (2), there
is a lottery system to pick the names of the kids in category
(2) who will receive the remaining spaces. The rest of the
children under (2) are assigned to schools based on how they
filled out the options form. If the parents of those children
did not select another school option, the child is assigned to
a nearby school in Oakland Unified.
4. If there is still space after the neighborhood children are
assigned, the school will accept next siblings of students
currently at the school but who do not live in the
neighborhood.
5. After that, children who do not have a sibling at the
school and who do not live in the neighborhood would be
accepted. Children whose neighborhood school is a program
improvement school would then have priority over other children
whose neighborhood school is not a program improvement school.
If you fill out the options form, your child is not assigned to
your first choice, and you reside in the neighborhood, you can
be placed on a waiting list in case someone who was admitted
moves or chooses another school option. Admissions occur right
up until school starts or even later.
If this year is any indication, there are several schools in
Oakland that will likely have too many children seeking to
enroll in kindergarten based on the spaces available for
2008/2009. This year that happened, but because the district
could have done better at communicating with parents that they
are not guaranteed their neighborhood school, the District has
made accommodations this year for folks that were confused and
that appealed their child's assignment.
It would be prudent for 2008/2009 for people to list other
Oakland public schools that would be acceptable in case your
neighborhood has a large entering K class and to consider
applying to private schools also.
The good news is that even when other public school assignments
are needed, the kids are generally placed together at a very
nearby school (usually closer than the nearby private schools)
so there remains the neighborhood feel and the ability to have
playdates with kids from your class in the neighborhood and
there is also diversity and broader experiences available. So
the best advice is to fill out the form, visit all the schools
that are nearby your home and consider all of your options!
anon
April 2007
I am in the Oakland Unified School district..the elementary
school my son has been assigned to is Santa Fe....unacceptable
according to lots, including people who work for the district. I
filled out an ''options'' form listing Peralta as my n8mber one
choice...but we were turned down for everything...all six
options. I filed an appeal, but was again turned down. I cannot
afford a private school, didn't win the NOCCS lottery...I feel
totally helpless. I cannot send him to a school that I would have
considered a nightmare as a kid.. I went to all public schools in
Berkeley...including continuation high school, so I'm no prude.
anyone have any ideas? thanks, tresca
tresca
I am assuming that Santa Fe is your neighborhood school. It was placed
on PI starting in the 2006-2007 school year. This probably didn't
assist you in the lottery, although it would give you lottery priority
if you were to delay and re-apply next year (is this an option for
you?) If you reapply, then make a more conservative first choice, not
somewhere so wildly popular as Peralta, Chabot, etc that can't even
accomodate siblings. My understanding of the lottery is that choices
2-6 on your list are basically ignored because the lottery tries to
assign everyone to their first choice first and that fills all the
seats leaving no room for 2nd choices, 3rd choices, etc.
There are more charters than NOCCs: Lighthouse, Berkeley Maynard, and
EBCC are all in North Oakland. You have missed that application
deadline, but all are posssibilities if you go for it again next year.
Berkeley Maynard (in the old Golden Gate School on San Pablo) is new
(so not wildly popular YET) and accepted applications until the start
of school last year: check with them, thay may have space available.
Good luck
-Parent in the Santa Fe neighborhood
March 2007
I need advice on what tack to take to get my child into
kindergarten at our local school, Hillcrest. Although we have
lived in the area for years and registered on time, this year our
child and several others were turned away. (The rumor is 25.)
They have also decreased the class size by 10. I immediately got
on the waiting list, but the district didn't give me any
information about how that list works. The principal and staff
are being evasive.
The school he was enrolled at is much farther from our house, and
not what we want.
Can anyone tell me how we can find out how many children were
turned away, how the waiting list works, whether the school has
to at least go back to the class size it had last year to
accomodate a few more children, whether it can use its large
excess funds raised by the PTA(over 100K) to help accomodate
displaced children? Does the school have any legal
responsibilities to neighborhood children? Who in city
government can advocate for us?
Has anyone else been displaced from their local school in
Oakland, and if so what did you do about it?
We cannot afford private school, and really didn't think would
would have to.
disenfranchised
Check out the Tues March 20 SF Chronicle. There's an article about
Redwood Hts and how 15 local families were redirected for
Kindergarten. They had an emergency PTA meeting and it appears that
the school district is going to put in a portable and let all these
families in. I think it's a Chip Johnson or CW Nevius column? Maybe
the Redwood Hts PTA can give you advice.
anonymous
The principal at our Oakland Public School sent out an e-mail
reminding parents who are disappointed about their assignments that
there is an appeal period (which apparently has to be done through the
District Student Assignment Office--Portable 15). She has also told
parents that when that process is over, parents can request to be
placed on waiting lists. If a family is willing to wait until the
last minute for an assignment or will accept a transfer at any point
during the school year, it is very likely you can end up at your first
choice school. In her experience, there are always families who move
out of the area, transfer their child to a preferred school or choose
to send their children to private school, so spaces will open. Our
principal says parents who keep in touch weekly and are eager to
enroll in a particular school often can make a change. She wants to
keep our school fully enrolled because it keeps the money flowing. So
she enrolls children throughout the school year. She also wants to
enroll families enthusiastic about attending our school because their
participation is so much stronger than families who wish their kids
could go somewhere else.
To be honest, I wish families who don't want to go to our school could
transfer out to their first choice school. Instead of working hard to
create the school experience they wish for, some dissatified parents
just discourage and sap the energy of the rest of us. Even the best
schools aren't perfect.
I know a lot of us don't want to upset our Kindergartners by enrolling
them at the last minute or moving them after they get settled
somewhere. But you can work to prepare your child for that
eventuality if you think your first choice school is the best place
for child to attend. When we didn't get the Kindergarten assignment
we had hoped for, I chose to keep my child at her assigned school.
It's actually worked out very well for us. But I know others who have
transferred and it's worked out well for them, too. Even a mid-year
transfer can make sense if you think your child will attend the school
of your choice for many years. A child could be at their elementary
school for six years. So several months out of so many years may not
be that significant for many children.
I think you deserve to send to your child to your neighborhood school.
(I read in Tuesday's Oakland Tribune that a family who did not get
into their neighborhood school was told it was a mistake by the the
District Assignment Office and assured that their child would be
re-assigned. So you might find it easy to get your child
re-assigned.) But where ever your child ends up going, I hope you can
make it a great experience for your child.
OUSD Mom
You are not alone. This has happened across many ''hills
schools'' in Oakland. I live in Redwood Heights and 16 families
in our neighborhood were redirected to an underperforming
school nearby. In our case OUSD and the principal had stated
previously that all neighborhood kids would get in. That,
combined with pressure for the displaced parents and other
concerned citizens, led OUSD to reverse its decision and make
room for all children within the Redwood Heights School
boundaries. Official letters have not gone out yet and they are
trying to figure out how to accommodate a huge number of
incoming kindergartners. If I were you, I'd get together with
displaced parents and others in your neighborhood and demand
that your children are admitted through any means possible. One
final consideration: there are families that use false
addresses to enroll their children in the desirable ''hills
schools''. OUSD should be encouraged to do surprise home visits
to deter this practice. It's only fair that legitimate
residents of the neighborhood are admitted first.
The SF Chronicle wrote about what happened in our neighborhood:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/03/20/BAGPSOOA7F1.DTL
Redwood Heights neighbor
Unfortunately, we hear that there were over 65 kids trying to
get into Hillcrest this year. Given that there are normally 2
classes of 20, that means that the excess represents even more
than one extra class. It may seem like the principal is being
evasive as you noted but this is really a district issue. She
can't make space when there is no space at the school. It seems
that they did a lottery after they let siblings of current
students in the neighborhood in, which sounds reasonable. Also,
they placed those who did not get into Hillcrest very close at
Chabot and Kaiser. Both of these are excellent, nearby schools
with good test scores. I recommend that you get on the waiting
list for Hillcrest just in case some people who got in don't go
there and that you visit the school to which you were admitted.
You will find that they are both great and that your child will
have other kids from the neighborhood at the school. I think
that being in a small classroom at one of these two schools
would be better than being in an overcrowded classroom at
Hillcrest.
anon
February 2007
We are hoping to send our son to public elementary school next
year. Does anyone have any current information on how open
enrollment works? Is it hard to get into your school of choice?
How soon do you have to apply? We are debating whether to move
to another area with a better elementary school or to stay put
and hope he gets into one of the schools we prefer. We were
thinking of listing about 6-8 schools. Is there a good chance
we will get one of them? Our local elementary is in the low
600s for API performance, and we are not very comfortable
sending him there, but we want to send him to public school.
Thanks.
As far as I know open enrollment applications had to be in at the end
of January,
with assignments being mailed in mid-march. If you do not want to
attend your
neighborhood school the best thing to do is call the placement
specialist at OUSD. If
you are okay with your local school go talk to the administator as they
always hold
spaces for late registration/late moves to the neighborhood.
Just an aside - don't judge your school by the numbers. Go for a tour,
meet the
parents, etc... we have two children in the public schools in Oakland
and have been
very impressed and happy.
Maggie
Open Enrollment ended in January. I'd contact the district to see what
the next step for
you would be.
-Good luck.
Jan 2007
We live in Oakland a few blocks outside of the Crocker Highland
Elementary School
district line. Is there anyway to get our children into Crocker
Highlands Elementary
since we live so close without moving? If so, what is the process?
Please let me know.
Thank you!
You should call Noah Bookman at the OUSD assignment office.
Things might be different this year but last year the process
was like this: You get up to 7 choices of schools in the ''Open
Enrollment'' process--which, if you are wanting to opt out of
your assigned school--is a lottery. At some date, I think in
March or April, you will get your assignment. It will most
likely be your assigned neighborhood school. You then can
appeal it, and choose 1 school on the appeal form. Fax in your
appeal right away, because waiting lists form in order
received. (Last year we got our choice, Kaiser, on appeal a day
or two after I faxed in my appeal). If your appeal gets turned
down, there is one more shot, after the first week or school or
so, when the schools find out what their actual enrollment is.
If you are high on th waiting list you have a good shot at
getting in (lots of folks in the better neighborhoods enroll
but end up sending kids to private school or follks move etc).
It really pays to stay informed: be a pain to Noah Bookman,
let him know who you are, ask as many questions as you need to
to understand the process. Call and visit the school or
schools you are interested in. Talk to the principals to get
their take on what they think their enrollment will be. Some
schools keep a list of interested families, to call after that
first week. The fact is, OUSD wants enrollment and especially
middle class enrollment. Last year I was in touch with 10-12
families all involved in the process and wanting to get out of
our assigned school and all of us eventually got into a decent
school. It is nerve wracking but you need not despair! You may
not get in to Crocker Highlands but you will get in somewhere!
(I highly recommend Kaiser!)
Jan 2007
We are thinking about moving from SF to Oakland in the next few
years for the schools but are not sure about how the neighborhood
school system works. If we move into a home that would be in the
district for, e.g. Crocker Highlands, before the application
deadline, are we guaranteed a spot as neighborhood residents? It
wasn't clear from the OUSD website whether living in the
neighborhood is more than just a priority ranking.
Also, is it difficult for families in the ''more desirable''
school neighborhoods, like those funneling to Crocker, Joaquin
Miller, Chabot, etc., to get their kids into their local school?
Do neighbors living in the area by the application deadline ever
(or routinely) lose places to applicants from other areas? One of
the reasons we're thinking of moving from SF is to get away from
the uncertainty of the SFUSD's assignment system and we'd hate to
move into Oakland only to face the same.
Thanks for any insight -- and any recommendations on elementary
schools!
East Bay bound?
Yes, I know, that same OUSD ''explanation'' made me nervous too. But
it seems that,
at least for now, your kid gets priority in your neighborhood school,
if you get your
application in by the proper deadline. Of course, the hill schools
tend to be full, so
this doesn't guarantee you a spot.
Please think at least somewhat carefully before you choose Oakland for
the schools.
Be sure the system there is one in which your child will do well. All
of the schools
are required to use the Open Court reading curriculum pretty
religiously. Even in
my school (one of the ''better'' ones), this results in what I consider
an inordinate
number of worksheets, homework, and assessments. My son, who is plenty
smart
but has writing difficulties, hates kindergarten halfway through
(although he loved
preschool, and loves his current teacher) -- he hates the work and it
is too hard and
too boring, at the same time!
A kid who's better at both sitting still, and writing, would probably
do a bit better.
Karen
Information from my experience 2006-2007: You are not
automatically enrolled in your neighborhood school: You need
to choose it as one (your first one, I would guess, for the
popular schools) of your choices in the school option period,
although you have priority. If you don't already live in the
district, I think they keep some spaces open for move-ins. YOu
should call Noah Bookman in the OUSD assignment office, and he
can give you all the details. It is a bit of a pain but not an
impossible system.
OUSD mom
Only a few Oakland schools get full with neighborhood kids. As
of three years ago, these were only Hillcrest & Manzanita
(elementary schools) and none of the middle or high schools.
In all other schools, if you registered before the late-January
deadline you are pretty much guaranteed a spot, although it
does not say ''guaranteed'' on any paper since any school is
limited to its capacity (but some schools do use the
word ''guaranteed'' in the public forum). If you are in the right
neighborhood and do paperwork on time, you have nothing to
worry about.
In good schools there are good teachers. They teach great under
Open Court or any other system, with lots of support from
parents, and lots of school support (including individualized)
for high-performing children, of which in good schools there
are very many.
maria
I have two quick comments on your question. First, someone
else suggested you call Noah Bookman at OUSD. Unfortunately,
he is no longer with OUSD. The current head of the school
assignments office is Elizabeth Hensley.
Second -- if you're going to move to Oakland for the schools,
you might want to read some BPN reviews on the middle and high
schools here. Your child will not be in elementary school
forever. Obviously, opinions on the grade 6-12 options here
vary, but unless you're SURE you want to move again in 6 years,
I think you ought to at least think about the schools beyond
elementary. You may or may not find them acceptable, but I
think it's worth at least thinking about.
Good luck!
Diane
Regarding elementary schools in Oakland, I wanted to mention
that IF your address assigns you to a NON-program-improvement
(PI) school, it is very difficult to transfer to an ''already
excellent'' elementary school that is not in your Oakland
neighborhood. If, on the other hand, you are assigned to a PI
school -- and there are more than 20 elementary schools in
Oakland that this applies to -- it is very possible to transfer
to an ''already excellent'' school. Without getting into the
merits of this direct effect of the No Child Left Behind
legislation, as applied in the OUSD, it does mean that non-PI
kids have very few schools available to them, outside their
neighborhood school. (Of course, it also means that the PI
schools lose a lot of neighborhood kids.)
One thing to do if you find yourself in this situation is to go
through the recent OUSD ''Options'' process -- results of this
will be out in March -- and if you receive none of the choices
that you requested, appeal and get your child on a waiting list
at one of your school choices. Then, you have to wait it out,
sometimes until August, or even the first week of school.
People do this and it is risky but possible. (Note that for PI
kids who don't get their choice of school, appealing the
Options outcome is an excellent strategy -- the PI kids are put
on a waitlist that is entirely separate from the non-PI kids'
waitlist. In other words, the PI waitlist must be exhausted
before any non-PI kids are taken.)
The other thing to do is to think about what would make you
comfortable sending your child to your neighborhood school,
even if it's not a ''10'', or even a ''7''. What if there were an
active PTA, and several other neighborhood families that were
open to sending their kids to the school? Or what if you don't
feel comfortable with your immediate neighborhood school, but
you've heard that there are some good things happening at
another school close by -- would you consider sending your
child there for kindergarten, knowing that you could try for a
transfer again at 1st or 2nd grade if things didn't work out?
If in March, PI or non-PI, you find yourself with a difficult
decision to make, please consider Piedmont Avenue Elementary
School. There is a new-ish, very active PTA doing some good
fundraising; there are neighborhood families sending their kids
to the school as well as lots of Oakland families who've
transferred into the school because of some of the good things
going on there; and the school's physical facility is
excellent, unlike some OUSD schools -- no portables, well
heated and maintained building, safe neighborhood, and lots of
garden and playground improvement in the works.
If you'd like to hear more about the school, or would like to
follow its progress, please sign up for our Yahoo group -- send
an e-mail to walktoschoolPANSA-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Thanks for your interest,
Philippa
October 2006
Though we want to support our Oakland neighborhood
school, we might want to attend someone else's Oakland
neighborhood school. I want to make wise choices in the
lottery, raising our chances rather than lowering them. I've
heard enough negative stories, are their good stories? If we
have to attend our neighborhood school, so be it, the
system won't get better if we don't support it .
among the ususal ousd requested schools we put down glenview
since a friend of ours lives in that neighborhood. that is the
one we got! aside from the drive out there we really like it.
my daughter is in kindergarten and to start, we are very happy
with her teacher. the diversity is exactly what we would have
wanted in any school for her. there is near equal
representation of white, latino, african american and asian
families. there are mixed races families, lesbian/gay families,
hetero families, single parent families, all sorts. and a lot
of these parents are very involved in the school and are doing
what they can to better it. next weekend there is a big
gardening event. most of the tired old plants have been removed
and are going to be replaced with natives and drought tolerant
plants. I think this will make a HUGE visual improvement which
in turn will further school pride among the students. score
wise it is doing quite well, I believe it received 814 in the
last round of testing. at the first parent meeting of the
school year the principal called glenview ''the best kept secret
in oakland''.
so if you are going to go public, which I am glad we did, you
should check out glenview.
gael
May 2006
We live in the Chabot School District. But from reading
various posts, I'm beginning to get concerned that my daughter
may not get in, regardless. Is it possible that she won't get
in even if we live in the district??
Anon
Our daughter is currently a K student at Chabot; we live in the
district. It is a fabulous school, and thus very popular for
transfers. As long as you follow the new district guidelines for
registering--most importantly, doing it early--you should be
fine. Next year, from what I am told, there were 70 in-district
kids who enrolled. That left only 10 spaces for transfers.
Good luck!
Elizabeth
Yes-- it is a possibility that you won't get into your
neighborhood school. It happened to us this year, even though
we registered when we were supposed to, along with everyone
else. We've lived in our home for over 10 years, not that this
has anything to do with the process. However, I do not think
people are getting bumped from Chabot. Usually your child gets
bumped to something somewhat close by. We weren't thrilled with
what we were bumped to, although there is nothing seriously
wrong with the alternative that was offered to us. We've
decided to go elsewhere, after this experience with OUSD.
---anon
Is anyone else getting the feeling that Oakland Unified is quietly
implementing a
''choice'' system similar to Berkeley and San Francisco? Although
officially we have a
''neighborhood school policy'' the district has taken over the job of
enrolling students,
which used to happen at the school sites. I would be interested to hear
other
experiences.
Anon
I don't live in the Chabot district, but I live in an Oakland
neighborhood with a very good elementary school. I have the
same concerns that you do. The number of people (living within
the neighborhood boundaries) applying to our local elementary
school seems to have doubled in just a handful of years.
Everywhere I turn in the neighborhood, new families are moving
in and most of them want to send their children to the local
school. My own theory is that private schools are less
affordable with the rise in housing prices and mortgages.
Unfortunately neighborhood schools aren't required to take
neighborhood kids, although in the recent past this usually
hasn't been a problem. With the current ''baby boomlet'' or trend
to support good neighborhood schools, some neighborhood kids
will probably not be offered spots at their local school. (It
also doesn't help that there are those who cheat & lie to
obtain spaces, depriving others of spots - you may have
followed the recent thread about this issue). I would like to
know what Oakland will be doing to accommodate neighborhood
kids in the future
Concerned mom
The OUSD ''options'' assignment process has been confusing and
frustrating for me too, but I have found the Student Assignment
Office to be pretty responsive to my questions. If you have
questions or concerns about the process, the numbers &
statistics, waiting lists etc. call the assignment office and
talk to Noah Bookman or send him an email ((510) 879-8111;
enroll[at]ousd.k12.ca.us). There are a lot of rumors and
misconceptions floating around -- if you want to get to the
bottom of it, contact the District
Christie
March 2006
Our son is starting Kindergarden in the fall. Our lease will be
up after he starts, and we'd like to consider buying a house.
What happens if we move, within Oakland? Must our child switch
schools? At the beginning of the next school year, would we
face the interdistrict transfer lottery? Once a child is in a
school, can he stay there until he graduates (so long as he
lives in Oakland)?
We haven't called the OUSD office because we have been told
more than once not to trust information from the OUSD office.
We like our current district school and wouldn't want him to be
forced to move. What are the rules? We're not trying to game
the system, but may likely buy in a less-desirable area.
anon
We moved within Oakland when my daughter was in 1st grade and
had no problem keeping her in the school where she'd gone for
kindergarten. I think we discussed it with the principal
before we enrolled her in the school to begin with, since we
were renting at the time and didn't know how long we'd be
staying, and I think that the principal told us that it
wouldn't be a problem keeping her there if we moved as long as
we stayed in Oakland. If I were you I would check with the
principal of the school where your child is going to
kindergarten.
I don't think you'll need to change schools. But, with the new
''Options'' plan (only for
kids entering K & 5th) I might be wrong. You won't get incorrect
information if you call
OUSD and talk to Noah Bookman. (Or, sometimes it's even better to
email him - his
address is on the OUSD website.)
Alison
March 2006
A group of North Oakland/Temsecal parents who did not get their
Oakland school lottery choices are attempting to join forces to
make Emerson Elementary School (located in the vibrant Temescal
neighborhood) a viable option for our prospective
kindergarteners. (Emerson is the neighborhood school for most
of us; my daugher's local school is Santa Fe). We would love
to hear from any other Oakland parents in or out of the
neighborhood (the school is currently underenrolled) who would
like to help us make Emerson a vital school. You can email me,
or better yet, show your interest at
EmersonSchoolNeighbors[AT]yahoogroups.com. Thanks
I think that not getting in to your Oakland elementary school of
choice if you don't live in the neighborhood of one of the higher
rated schools is a problem of supply and demand, rather than a
problem with the Oakland School district registration office.
There was a report in the Montclarion last fall that quoted
several principals of local schools saying that the new
registration process would have little or no effect on their
schools because the students all or mostly come from the
neighborhood. As long as my children have been in the OUSD,
Hillcrest has not offered spaces to children outside the area,
and this is now true of Thornhill. At Joaquin Miller, there have
been only a handful of spaces open in kindergarten each year to
children outside the neighborhood (and a long waiting list).
In previous years, parents registered at the local school so you
knew where your child would attend elementary school, and it was
a given that the open enrollment period to change schools would
result in only a few available spaces at the coveted schools. My
feeling is that the new central registration process has given
parents false hope that there are suddenly more spaces available
at the top rates schools, leading people to believe that there
was a better chance of getting in than in previous years. From
what I see, this isn't the case. Montclair and Rockridge are
full of little kids (''baby boomlet''?) and, as the cost of private
education and life in the bay area gets more expensive, more
people in these areas will send their kids to public school. For
the first time in several years, Joaquin Miller has 3
kindergarten and 3 first grade classes.
Mom and supporter of Oakland schools
I also applied through the OUSD Options process for several of
the high performing elementary schools -- for the record, I
think there are at least 8, and probably 10 or more. However,
our neighborhood school, Piedmont Avenue, is not Program
Improvement, and there isn't an older sibling already attending
one of the schools we applied to... You guessed it, we were not
given a spot anywhere except back in our neighborhood. After
the process was over, I exchanged e-mails with Noah Bookman, who
is the architect of the Options process for OUSD, and who had
already answered questions for me via e-mail prior to the
Lottery taking place. He let me know that ''At kindergarten, 278
students were admitted through the open lottery round or
approximately 12%. However, almost none of these admissions
were at our most sought after schools. We had approximately 250
students assigned to their neighborhood schools because they
were not admitted to one of their selections.''
We also applied
to a charter school, only to find ourselves competing
(unsuccessfully) with 74 other families, for 5 kindergarten
spots! To me, it seems pretty clear that we will not be able to
transfer to an already excellent public school outside of the
neighborhood, this year or in the near future. Therefore, I am
hoping to feel comfortable sending my child to our neighborhood
school next year -- we're doing 1 more year of preschool, for a
number of reasons. For those who live in the Piedmont Avenue
Elementary School neighborhood, and are thinking some of these
same thoughts, I hope that you will sign up for the Yahoo group
I started. Here's the information:
Group name: walktoschool
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/walktoschool
Let's talk about what we can do together so that our kids really
can walk to an excellent Oakland elementary school.
Piedmont Ave parent
March 2006
Can anyone give insight to what is happening to the Oakland
Public School kindergarten transfers? All the letters seemed
to have gone out after the 15th and most people I have talked
to did not get any of their choices, but their neighborhood
school they wanted to transfer out of. Was there an
overwhelming amount of applicants or was it the new system? If
anyone knows what happened your insights would be appreciated
by many upset and frustrated parents. Thanks!
Anon
There are only four decent elementary schools in Oakland. Not
coincendentally, these are the same elementary schools that are
NOT underenrolled. Consequently, there are only one or two
kindergarten spots available at each school. Compare that to
the numerous failing schools all accross Oakland, and the
hundreds, maybe thousands of parents who want to get out of
them. You do the math. I was personally very dissappointed
with the results of the open enrollment process.
I would also like to put in my two cents on another, slightly
related subject: It seems to have become unfashionable to put
stock in standardized test scores (I saw two postings this week
in which people discounted poor test scores). I would like to
point out that while there are many aspects to a child's
development (social, emotional, etc.), the objective of school
is (or should be) academic development. Standardized test scores
DO measure academic acheivement (allbeit not perfectly), and
what they show about the Oakland public schools in general is
dismal. I just read a fantastic book that I would recommend to
anyone who is frustrated with OUSD. It is called ''Cheating our
kids, how politics and greed ruin education'' by Joe Williams.
-frustrated
I didn't see the original question posted here, but it was
disheartening to see that
only one person answered and his/her opening statements were ''There
are only
four decent elementary schools in Oakland. Not coincendentally, these
are the same
elementary schools that are NOT underenrolled.'' This is patently
false. (And it
makes me wonder which schools they are referring to.) I'm surprised
that the
moderator let this slip through the cracks. There are
''underenrolled'' schools that
have excellent test scores - just go to greatschools.net and check it
out - Kaiser, for
one, is a hidden gem that almost no one in the neighborhood attends,
has a ranking
of 9 out of 10 and high, high scores. And, this is just one. The
beauty of this
network is we parents get to give and receive very helpful information
to one
another. The problem with it is that sometimes the information given
is simply not
based in fact.
-Happy OUSD mom at an ''underenrolled'' school
I want to respond to the post regarding Oakland kindergartens in the
April 2nd
Schools digest. An annonymous parent stated, '' There are only four
decent
elementary schools in Oakland. '' I don't believe this statement to be
true.
There are several schools in Oakland, Peralta and Sequoia among them,
that
are centered in less affluent communities than the hills school, but
are
wonderful educational environments. We applied for an intradistrict
transfer
before our daughter started kindergarten to generate options for her
before
making a decision where she would go. After she ''won'' a space in one
of the
sought after hills schools we did our research and school visits. In
the end we
enrolled our daughter at Sequoia Elementary, our neighborhood public
school,
and have been very pleased with the both the education offered and the
culture
of the school. Our daughter is being well educated ( as well as her
friends in
Montclair ) and loves school. The kindergarten teachers at Sequoia are
special
jewels, and the new principal is fantastic. We can't wait for our son
to start
kindergarten at Sequoia next fall, so that we can all experience the
magic of
kindergarten again.
Check out parent reviews for Seqoia at www.greatschools.net
www.greatschools.net/modperl/parents/ca/256/?ref=membership
A well educated mother of a well educated child...
Susan Stoeffler, LMFT
I respectfully disagree that there are only four decent
elementary schools in Oakland. I have spent time in OUSD
elementary schools and have observed some wonderful teachers and
well run schools. If you have a specific experience, by all
means share it. Generalizations are not helpful to anyone and
negative generalizations are hurtful to many.
anon
I found ''frustrated'''s posting on this topic to be needlessly
alarmist, as well as elitist. There are more than ''four decent
elementary schools in Oakland.'' Without thinking hard, I can
name twice as many. I assume the poster's four are Hillcrest,
Thornhill, Joaquin Miller and Montclair. But look at the
postings just in the same newsletter praising Crocker Highlands,
Kaiser, Redwood Heights, and the teacher with wonderful things
to say about Carl Munck. Happy parents have posted recently
about Chabot, Glenview, Peralta (check the Archives) and various
Oakland charter schools which are, after all, public schools.
The poster is certainly entitled to his/her opinion; however,
except for the book recommendation, the posting didn't include
any concrete, helpful information for the many worried parents
who read and post to this list. What led the poster to conclude
that there are only four? Test scores? rumors? personal
experience? School decisions are so emotionally loaded for
parents. They don't need more to worry about. There ARE very
good public elementary schools in Oakland. My daughter is in
one (probably not of one the poster's fabulous four).
Oakland Public school mom
I am sorry to hear that you didn't get into one of the 4 schools
in Oakland that you consider ''decent''. Have you considered
renting in a district with very high performing schools?
I was curious to read your post in favor of putting more (not
less) stock in test scores. In light of the current scandal with
the Educational Testing Service (ETS) incorrectly scoring SAT's
for thousands of high school seniors and the subsequent cover-up
of the scope of the problem, I have even less confidence in
machine-scored tests than I did before. I am also deeply
concerned that we have entrusted our high stakes testing to a
handful of largely unregulated for-profit businesses.
Should schools be held accountable for teaching children to read
and do math? Of course they should. But in order to do this for
the least amount of money possible, schools now rely on
dumbed-down tests that can be read by a machine and the
curriculum is geared toward ensuring that students score well on
these tests.
States who prefer to include essay questions on their test which
cannot be machine scored are forced to convert to bubble-in
answer scheets because the feds want annual testing. And the
people who largely benefit are for-profit test providers and
for-profit Supplementary Service providers.
I would rather spend less time on test prep, taking tests, and
sweating test scores, and have more time for literature, dance,
music, art, and science in public school classrooms. Maybe that's
a fashionable view or just a cynical one but after 4 years as a
public school parent, I see a few benefits from ''accountability''
but many troubling trends too.
I also take issue with the person who wrote ''there are only
four good schools in Oakland''. We live in Montclair, and were
assigned what many refer to as a ''good school''. We really
wanted to send our child to our local school. Howver, after
getting a tour and visiting various classrooms, speaking with
the principal and staff, talking with other parents already at
the school, etc. we realized we'd be much, much happier at a
school like Peralta, Crocker Highlands, Kaiser, or Chabot.
Unfortunately, because our neighborhood school isn't failing,
we're stuck (no chance of transferring out from our school,
even though we tried!) and have actually decided to move, since
we really don't feel the so-called ''good school'' is a fit for
us. I strongly urge you to visit schools (if you haven't
already) before deciding what is good or not good. We were
surprised by what we found after doing so.
April 2005
I recently decided to enroll my daughter in public kindergarten
instead of continuing with her private school. When I called
the school to inquire about registering, I was told that the
school is full and that I should call Oakland Unified to get
assigned to a school with space available. This is our
neighborhood school, btw, not one we were hoping to transfer
into.
Has anyone else had this happen? What stategies did you use to
get your child enrolled? Do I have any legal right to enroll
in the school that is in my neighborhood? Any advice at all
would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Just because you live in your OUSD public school neighborhood,
you are still required to go through the standard registration
process in order to enroll your kindergartner in your local
school. This is true for everyone in the neighborhood, even
those with siblings already attending the school. Good public
schools in Oakland are in high demand, so the spaces that are
not filled by neighborhood kids are quickly filled with transfer
students. Meeting the registration deadline is the only way to
guarantee your place in your neighborhood school, which must
meet enrollment levels in order to receive full funding and
continue the level of educational excellence. Residing in the
district won't guarantee your place if you haven't gone through
the process. People who move into the neighborhood during the
school year face these issues all the time.
The first thing you should do is schedule a meeting with the
principal to learn about the waiting list process. OUSD schools
don't have an actual enrollment count until around the third
week of the school year, so there usually are unanticipated
openings. Sometimes people move away during the summer and
don't notify the school; sometimes parents get accepted to
private schools... there are a myriad of reasons that create
last-minute openings.
Rather than pursuing any type of legal action, which may or may
not get you the desired result (and likely leave a foul taste),
you would be better off to work with the principal and show your
willingness to be involved with the school and an active and
positive member of the school community. Principals have more
pull than one might think. I know of at least one case in our
high-demand local school where the principal went out of the way
to enroll a transfer kindergarten student simply because his
parents were so enthusiastic about being part of the community
and it was clear that their unabashed involvement (which was
not, I might add, financial) would make a great addition to the
school. As it turned out, there was an opening to accomodate
him anyway, but the principal added him without knowing that
because of the perserverance and enthusiasm of the parents.
Also, be willing to have some flexibility to enroll in another
Oakland public school in hopes that something will come up at
your neighborhood school. Chances are better than one would
think that even at the highest-demand public schools, there will
be an opening at some point (even a few days before the school
year). Yes, it can be frustrating and stressful for you and
your child. However, I would be willing to bet good money that
if you stay on top of things, are patient and work in
partnership with the principal and can be flexible right up till
the end, that you will be able to enroll your child at your
neighborhood public school. Patience, pathos and perserverance
will pay off.
Knows whereof I speak
We have been looking into this issue of legal rights to enroll in
your neighborhood school and as it turns out you do not have any
legal rights to your neighborhood school. We have this issue in
Pacifca, which is an all open enrollment system. Also look to
the SF School district for other examples. The school districts
are required to treat everyone equally and to of course provide a
spot at A school, but not necisarily the school you want. If
your child has some disability and it just so happens your
neighborhood school is the only school in the district that can
accomadate your child then you would have a legal basis to demand
enrollment in that school. But other than that there is no legal
basis to demand access to your local school.
Joe G
I put my kids through my neighborhood elementary school, which
is one of the more popular ones in Oakland. To my knowledge,
neighborhood children are given priority to register through a
certain date, which I believe is sometime in March. At that
point the school opens the unreserved spaces to the out-of-
neighborhood children on the wait list. If you decide, after the
deadline, to put your child in the school, they put you on the
wait list. You might go to the top, but they won't displace
anyone already given a space, which certainly seems fair to me.
I know this is after the fact in your case, but,a word of
caution to others: If you think there's even a slim chance
you'll use your neighborhood school, register your child early.
You can always call the school and tell them you won't be
attending. The logistics of assembling classes is mind boggling.
The schools have no choice but to set limits for the good of all
children.
OUSD parent
March 2005
I have several friends and acquaintances who have children
starting kindergarten in the fall. They put in intradistrict
transfers, since their assigned school was considered really
awful by most measures. None of them got accepted to any of the
schools they listed on the intradistrict transfer forms. I also
have a daughter starting kindergarten this fall, and I put in my
forms for transfer as well, but can probably kiss that (already
mediocre) solution goodbye, as I didn't even make the open
enrollment deadline. I have also applied to three different
charter schools in the area, all three of which have admitted
that they have received around 100 applications for anywhere
from 5 to 15 spaces, with decisions made by lottery. I have
even looked at numerous private schools, though I cannot afford
them. I am overwhelmed, stressed, and full of anxiety about
what my daughter's education will hold for her next year. As a
single, working parent, options are limited, so the really
wonderful cooperative schools and homeschooling are,
unfortunately, out of the question for now. But I am desperate
not to put my daughter in our assigned school, (Emerson
Elementary), which I've heard horrible things about. A couple
of people have mentioned being in similar circumstances. What
is the possibility of forming a small group of parents to hire a
kindergarten teacher? Has anyone heard of anyone doing this
kind of thing? Or does anyone have any other advice for me? I
could really use any information anyone can offer! Thanks!
My advice is to visit the school (whether elementary, middle or
high school) before becoming desperate. If the school does not
allow visits, ask the office or PTA if there are any
opportunities to volunteer in a work day, the library, or to
read stories to younger students. In the course of my job, I
have visited several schools with horrible reputations and found
them to be just fine, schools to which I would send my child.
liz
that sounds terrible. There is a public school or two in
Oakland that have open enrollment, and need students. One is up
near the top of Broadway near Claremont -- can't think of the
name right now, but its reasonably close to berkeley. you can go
on line to the oakland school district and find it. its a really
good school. also, though at this point its getting really
really last minute, you can apply to a private school or a
Catholic Private school and ask for tuition assistance and you
would likely qualify. That is what we do, and what many of the
people I know do who don't have the extra funds for it. We are
very grateful for the support and help, and it makes a huge
difference in our ability to go to an independant school. I
think of it this way: if we were to go to a public school (in
oakland) I'd be spending the same amount of money on after
school care plus other enhancements.
Feb 2005
Our child attends a private Kindergarten. We recently moved
into the district of a desirable elementary school. When I
went to register my child for Fall, 2005 in first grade, I was
told that there would only be space if one of the current
Kindergarteners didn't attend first grade at the school. I've
learned that as many as one-quarter of these Kindergarteners
are inter- or intra-district transfers. As we live in the
neighborhood, doesn't our child have the right to attend the
school, even if it means displacing a current transfer
student? Trying to get an official statement out of the
superintendent's office is challenging. Is there a written
policy? Any advice would be welcome!
Thanks,
confused
The OUSD is confusing and impenetrable. As a result of this, each school has it's
own creative procedures. I recommend going to the principal or secretary of your
local school and letting them know you are very interested in the school. (Don't be
put off by busy or monosyllabic desk people, get all your questions asked.) They'll
tell you that the window period for open enrollment is already over, which is true.
BUT, each school saves a number of slots for last minute neighborhood enrollers.
They have to let you in! I think you're entitled to sign up right at the school. Don't
be intimidated by the desirable school thing, many families leave after kindergarten,
desirable or not. You may have to also go downtown and enroll with the people
there. The secretary at your school can tell you where that actual downtown person
can be found, it seems to change every year. Volunteer at your school before you
are enrolled, ask if there are any garden or pta tasks you can help with, attend a pta
meeting, make yourself known & get a feel for the school at the same time. Good
luck! You're welcome to contact me if you wish.
Happy OUSD parent,
Jenny
Feb 2005
We went through open enrollment in the Oakland Unified School
district this year and didn't get into any! of the six schools
we applied to. What do we do now? Private school is simply
not an option (due to lack of $), and I feel awful about
sending him to our local school (Parker elementary). The
school district said we can't reapply for any potential spaces
in the fall unless he has a sibling that already attends the
school we want. What have others done in this situation? If
you ended up sending your child to your local school, did you
regret it? I have to work full-time, so spending a lot of time
in the classroom is not realistic for me. Does anyone have
anything *good* to say about Parker? If you sent your child to
private school, how did you come up with the $? Did you move
to a better school district? Even if you haven't been in this
exact situation, any words of advice or encouragement would be
greatly appreciated.
-kindergarten blues
Call Sequoia Elementary school in Oakland and set up a visit and a time to talk
with the Principal Kathy Maloney. I believe that Seqoia still has spots open for
the fall. We had the opportunity to transfer our daughter out for Kindergarten
and are very glad that we didn't. Please check out the parent feedback on the
Great Schools website. Please feel free to email me if you have
specific questions.
Sequoia Elementary School
3730 Lincoln Ave
Oakland, CA 94602
(510) 879-1510
There are several charter schools in Oakland that have an
entirely different enrollment process and I know are now in
process of taking applications. They fall under OUSD so there
are no tuition costs. Enrollment is also based on lottery but
the lottery is just for those applying at each individual
school. From preliminary research on my part, some of these
schools appear to be quite good. If you look on the OUSD website
you can find all the charter schools currently in Oakland. I
know that several are having open houses within the next few
weeks.
Parent in similar situation
One of the options I chose was to put my child in private school
and apply for scholarship. It is still a big stretch for me, but
I have a gifted kid, and I work in the public schools, and just
couldn't see sending him there. Many of the private schools have
generous scholarship assistance. Public school can be a backup
if you don't get it, but i believe you must fill out the
paperwork now if you want it for next year. It certainly can't
hurt to ask, and several private schools want more diversity,
both cultural and economic, so....give it a try.
kv
I know it's difficult, but your best bet is to be patient. While
you may not have gotten your choice in this round it is very
likely that you will before the beginning of the year.
I know many, many parents who have registered at their home
school and by being patience and polite and keeping in contact
with their first choice schools have gotten in. In fact, I don't
know of a single parent who has not gotten a transfer into a
school that they felt perfectly fine about.
It's a little bit of playing chicken, but I know both Croker and
Redwood Heights both had openings in the first weeks of school
this year, and I bet Chabot and Thornhill both did.
As for Parker, I know there are good things that happen at almost
any school, but having worked as a volunteer at Parker, I have to
say it would be difficult for me to place my child there. This
seems to be a school in a constant state of flux with very high
teacher and administrative turn over, very challenging population
and a fairly high number of non-credentialed teachers.
anon
I would encourage you, or anyone looking for an exceptional public school in
Oakland, to check out Kaiser Elementary School (25 South Hill Court Oakland,
94618). It is a small school... in a very safe neighborhood....with an extremely close
knit community feel. The staff and teachers are diverse and dedicated. The test
scores are very good. Parents are welcome to come by the school at any time. Just
check into the office or call.
Renae
You are not finished with OUSD yet. Open enrollment is the very first step, after
which comes the inter-district transfer process (using the same form as the open
enrollment form, just check the inter-district transfer box, and where prompted state
a reason for the transfer). I am not positive when the transfer process begins and
ends but I know that it follows open-enrollment (check their website for the dates
and procedures). Then you wait for an answer to that form, too. And after all that,
or alongside that, I have been told repeatedly by the principals at a couple of
schools (specifically Kaiser and Peralta) that if a parent is truly dead-set on their
school, that they do have some personal pull in the process. I have also heard
stories of determined parents, with the help of the principal, getting admitted as
late as a few weeks before school starts to their school of choice. These principals
seemed to want to honor a family's desire to go specifically to their school within
the scope of this huge administrative and random process. I believe that there may
be some schools where this is not the case (I didn't get the same impression from
Chabot) but if you have a strong first choice where you want your child, I would
make your personal presence and desire known to the administrative staff there
and attempt to solicit their help (as well as jumping through the designated hoops
of the inter-district transfer process). Hope this helps and good luck.
Went to the OUSD info meeting
April 2004
I am interested in learning what parent experiences have been
with school district transfers within Oakland. I'm wondering
particularly if it has been difficult to get kids into specific
schools if you don't live in the school's district? We would
consider buying a house in Oakland if we could send our kids to
one of the better 8-9 elementary schools.
From what I know, transferring to a 'good' school in Oakland
is possible, but not easy. Each year a lottery is held, but
preference is given to kids from underperforming schools. (You
can get more info on the lottery process at the OUSD website.)
We have been told by a couple of principals that if you really
want to get into a certain school, things usually 'work out'.
Basically, after 'losing' in the lottery, you need to contact
the principal and lobby them on a regular basis. We really
wanted our son to go to a certain public school, but the
principal said it would be August before she would know if she
had any openings. We didn't want to risk it, so enrolled in
private school.
Also, several of the better schools (Thornhill, Hillcrest)
weren't accepting any transfers this year. Your safest bet
would be to buy a house in one of the school neighborhoods
you're interested in. (And research that carefully -- we were
told by our real estate agent that we were in the Chabot
district, but we're not.) You might also visit some of the
schools you're interested in and talk to the principals to make
sure it's worth your while to move.
I'm afraid, since the No Child Left Behind law was passed,
interdistrict transfers in Oakland are far more difficult,
unless you live in the area of a low-performing school. The
district is required to give preference to those whose
neighborhood school is low-performing (I believe the district
publishes a list of these schools). If you live near a school
that is merely mediocre, your chances of transferring in are
slim. So if you are looking to buy, you might want to look for
the areas with the really bad schools to increase your chances.
When we went through the process several years ago it was
frustrating and unpleasant, I think they are trying to be a
little more user-friendly now but don't expect much in the way
of information or help from the district offices.
I suggest you try to buy in the district of those 8-9 schools
that you would find acceptable. That is what we did and we are
very happy with our neighborhood school, Joaquin Miller.
an OUSD parent
March 2004
Can anyone give recent feedback on the process of getting
permission for an interdistrict transfer from Oakland to
Berkeley public schools for Kindergarten (and beyond)?
I read what is on the website but it is a few years old and some
of the posts are conflicting. My oldest will be starting school
in 2005 but we are looking at housing options now and wondering
if the changes going on with OUSD will affect our ability to get
permission to leave OUSD and how possible it is to get into the
Berkeley system, should that end up being our best choice. Does
anyone have recent experience or informed predictions?
I'm also curious if the changes at OUSD will reduce the ability
to transfer within OUSD to Peralta - the closure of other nearby
elementaries may mean Peralta is going to be more crowded?
I realize this is probably a gamble, but I'd like to at least
know my odds!
I have a special needs child who went to OUSD from 2001-2003 -
I was very happy with services offered through OUSD during that
time. In 2003 I had very specific reasons why an interdistrict
transfer would be necessary for my child. I was aware that in
the past these were approved if the reasons were compelling.
We went through the proper channels requesting the transfer and
had doctors, teachers, etc. stating the transfer would be in
the child's best interest. After numerous phone calls, letters
and threating a lawsuit we received no response other than the
same form letter that they are reviewing our request. (In the
past response from the OUSD was immediate.) We began legal
proceedings but decided that moving would be in our child's
best interest. We were able to move into a new community one
week before the start of the new school year. It was a
stressful time but we definately made the right decision.
Granted, our issues occured during the district shake-up, you
may have more luck. Good luck.
Sandy
I'm not sure how difficult it is to transfer systems and am not
sure where you are located in Oakland.
The Hillcrest School in Upper Rockridge is rated as one of the
top elementary/middle schools in the district and is the only
school in the district that rates similarly on a test score
basis as Piedmont and Orinda schools. Over 60% of students'
parents have masters degrees or higher level of education and
there is a significant amount of private funding for the
school. As a result the cuts in the Oakland school district
have no effect on Hillcrest. The music, language, arts, and
extra programs are all privately funded by local residents. I
believe the schools raised over $500,000 this past year.
Anyway you have to be a resident of Upper Rockridge to get into
this school but if you are it is definitely an excellent
program.
Upper Rockridge Resident
I can't advise regarding inter-district transfers out of Oakland
Unified School District, however, I do have some information
regarding intra-district transfers from your neighborhood school
to another school within the district.
During this past open enrollment for intra-district transfers, I
found out that priority for granting requests for projected
available space at schools within the district is given in the
following order:
1. First priority is given to students requesting transfers
from schools that have ''underperformed.'' This is in compliance
with the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
2. Second priority is given to siblings of students already
enrolled at the requested school.
3. Third priority is given to those children needing after-
school care, since not all district schools have after-school
programs.
4. If there is still space available at a requested school,
then a traditional lottery is held.
I was advised that due to the No Child Left Behind Act, intra-
district transfers are highly unlikely due to the enormous
number of requests from parents with children attending these
underperforming schools. That is not to say it is impossible,
just highly unlikely. I was advised that the best alternative
for having my child attend our school of choice would be to move
into that neighborhood. Hope this helps, and good luck with
your housing decision.
Charlotte
Sept 2003
I was just wondering if anyone has done an inter-district
transfer (we have a 4-year-old heading off to kindergarten in
Fall 2004)in the Oakland? We've heard about ''lotteries,'' but no
response from the Oakland Unified, with which I left messages
for a callback. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!
Kathy
Don't expect friendly and responsive treatment from the Oakland
School District. They HATE transfers and picky parents, we are
all so whiny you know (I was told that by a Principal at my
daughter's former public school).
Did you know that you don't need a transfer to apply to a
public Charter school? There are many in Oakland. My 12-year
old goes to a terrific small school called Lighthouse Community
Charter School in Downtown Oakland (on Telegraph at 19th St.)
They only take new kindergardeners and 6th graders each year,
and occassionally have a spot open in an existing class, but
there may be a long waiting list for those. Lighthouse is very
clean, safe, college-prep focused, Spanish, P.E., and art all
included and they have an extended day/free afterschool program
until 5:30pm 4 days a week.
I have heard good things about other charters also, like West
Oakland Community Charter School, and Conservation Corps. To
find more info about Charter Schools in Oakland (or anywhere
for that matter) check the CANEC website (don't know if that
is .org or .com...) The folks at the Oakland Public School
District don't know much about the charter schools and if they
did, they wouldn't tell you. They are under the mistaken
belief that charter schools are bad. They are only bad for the
district's highly paid administrators and teachers union.
Great for parents and kids who want a small school/ safe school
environment.
Good Luck!
Mother of 3 in Oakland
It used to be easier to get a transfer to another school within
Oakland Unified, but that's changed over the last couple of
years. The transfer application process still exists, but
priority is now given to kids whose home schools are
considered low-perfoming schools (I've never been
successful at getting a definition of that term!). I'm not sure
whether siblings of existing students get secondary priority,
but they probably do ''unofficially'' if not officially. After this,
there is a lottery - but there may not be any spots available at
any of the schools you want.
Neighborhood Parents Network sponsors an annual
forum/fair of North Oakland elementary schools, and this
school year it will be held in January (date to be
determined). It will be listed in the Berkeley Parents Network
announcements digest as soon as we have a date.
We are hoping to get Randy Ward, the new state
administrator in charge of the district, to speak, as well as a
kindergarten teacher and others. We will also invite PTA
representatives from as many schools as possible to take
part in an effort to give incoming parents a chance to meet
parents already at the school and get the ''low down''.
Another good source of information is
http://www.schoolwisepress.com. You can buy profiles of
individual schools for $6, compare different schools, and
get good general information about testing, etc.
Lysa
Correction to my previous post:
To clarify some things on the recent post about transfers:
Under the No Child Left Behind Act, districts are obligated to provide
options for parents wishing to transfer from schools that are
Performance Improvement Schools 2 years in a row, and which receive
Title I funds. PI schools are
schools that have not met their API (now AYP) targets 3 years in a row.
Districts should have sent out (sometimes vaguely worded) letters to this
effect to ALL parents of PI schools that receive Title I funds (most PI
schools do). Althought they are obligated to allow parents to move their
children from these schools, there are few guarentees that districts in all
actuality have places to move these children TO, particularly in grades
K-3 receiving class size reduction funds. The Chronicle has done
several articles recently about the difficulties districts are having
meeting
these Federal requirements. But if your school meets the requirements,
they must send you a letter and allow you to move...somewhere. The
API/ AYP will be posted on the California Department
of Education website in October; past years are posted now.
A note about the comment on charter schools...check them out
carefully. The state is closing charter schools more and more frequently,
and for good reasons, notably fiscal mismanagement and failing to
provide adequate instruction, often due to unprepared and
uncredentialled teachers. I am a teacher in a non-OUSD district, and
some of the students who have come to us from Oakland charter
schools have been far below grade level in all academic areas, despite
report cards to the contrary.
educator
Aug 2003
I have been househunting in oakland and am using the school
district as one of the main requirements, so mainly we have
been looking in Rockridge, Trestle Glen, upper oakmore, and
montclair. And while there is nothing wrong with these
neighborhoods I finds myself drawn to the lower price tags and
level back yards of Piedmont ave, lower Oakmore, and Off Grand
ave. Which are in the lakeview, and glenview school districts.
(Though these may not be bad schools my main worry is that by
the time our son is in school the great schools will just be
okay, and the good ones will be terrible.)
So my question is considering our son is only 18 months old is
basing our move on a school district unnecessary, and if we do
decide to live in an okay school district (instead of a great
one) how hard is it to transfer your child into a good one, if
we decide to do so? Also since we are planning to have 3 kids
if we do get into a better school district, are siblings
allowed to follow?
Thanks in advance
I had a lot of the same concerns as you when househunting (with
an infant) and we too liked Glenview and Oakmore a lot. In the
end, I was concerned about the school district enough to start
looking in other neighborhoods. We ended up buying a place in
Redwood Heights, which has a very good elementary school (not as
great as Montclair schools, but a close second). We also found a
home with a flat backyard, another one of our critiria. We love
this neighborhood -- in addition to the school, it's got a great
community feel with lots of young families, a mom-baby playgroup
and neighborhood softball teams (both thru the Redwood Heights
Improvement Association), a nice park, good access to 13 and 580
and so on. So, maybe the answer is to expand your househunt to
include other areas.
Redwood Heights Mom
First of all, I think basing your housing location decision on schools is a
great thing to be doing even though your son is young. You don't want to be a
situation in a few years where you feel like you HAVE to move. I picked my
house because of the neighborhood school and didn't even have children at the
time! Secondly, while theoretically possible, it is REALLY difficult to
transfer into the best public schools in Oakland (Montclair, Thornhill,
Hillcrest, Joaquin Miller) and I certainly wouldn't count on it. That being
said, I have friends with children at Glenview and Lakeview and they're happy
there; there's more to school than test scores. You need to live in a house
and location where you feel happy, too. Good luck with your decision!
- been there, done that
My daughter starts Kindergarden at Crocker Highlands Elem. school
next week, so I'm sort of a novice. But I watched plenty of
people I know try to get interdistrict transfers. Some were
sucessful (those in the most underperfoming school districts),
but most were not if they lived near a decent school. One freind
did get a transfer from Piedmont Ave. elem. to Crocker, but ended
up going private for other reasons. Then I have a friend who
lived here when her first child started school, but not when her
second was about to. She was actually denied a transfer at
first, but ended up getting in. Kids from underpeforming school
districts get preference over siblings. That said, I was told
early last year at some meeting about OUSD that persistence and
patience re; transfers usually pays off. Good luck.
There are so many criteria to consider when buying a home, and
schools is certainly an important one, but not necessarily the
most important,in my opinion. I wouldn't assume that schools are
necessarily going to go down in quality over the years. There are
a number of neighborhood movements, groups working to improve
their neighborhood schools so that families can feel comfortable
sending their children to the school in their own neighborhood
along with neighborhood friends. Redwood Heights did this and
it's now a very strong school, Peralta is currently doing this as
well as Glenview, which is where our son is starting next week. I
have the sense that Glenview will only get better over the years,
due to more and more parent involvement. However, if you do find
that you want to transfer to a school outside of your immediate
neighborhood, the success rate seems to change year by year. This
year, everyone I knew got into one of the schools that they
requested, though it wasn't always their first choice school.
Siblings are not guaranteed entry, but they're given priority
over some others. I have heard of a few families that were not
able to get siblings into the same school. Good luck!
Johanna
Another option, rather than moving into a neighborhood with a
top rated school or choosing the neighborhood you like and
transfering to a top rated school, is to get involved in the
school in your neighborhood and make it a top rated school.
Families are doing that in my neighborhood (Glenview) and it's
pretty exciting. Many families have been involved in the
parent's group at the school despite having children who are a
few years away from kindergarten. This year, there's a big crop
of middle class families from the neighborhood entering
kindergarten, some of whom, incidentally, applied for transfers
to the top-tier schools, got them, and decided to stay in
Glenview and invest in their community instead. It's always hard
to make the leap first, but making the leap in the company of
others is much easier. And of course, since income is the
biggest predictor of test scores, if middle class people sent
their kids to their neighborhood school, the test scores would
go up. By the way, I love living in Glenview -- it's the most
neighborhoody neighborhood I've ever lived in. Good luck,
wherever you end up!
nelly
hi there,
just wanted to say that as both a new mom (to a baby) and new
stepmom that i've been through the moving and school search and
believe my hindsight might help.
as a new stepmom our son (now in middle school) has suffered
from young and naive parenting and his sister will undoubtedly
be spared the mistakes we made.
the question and some of the responses refer to Lakeview
Elementary...
without a doubt one of the worst decisions we made was sending
him to Lakeview elementary a couple years ago. i think
sometimes being young and liberal clouded our heads a bit, as
well as having to move at a time that was inopportune to
thoroughly investigate private schools and other options. i
think we thought our ''involved'' parenting would help buffer some
of the less desirable aspects of the school.
but in the end, sending him there set him back academically and
in other ways (socially, emotionally, developing good school
habits and attitudes) a few years. i know it sounds harsh but i
still feel bad for him about it.
i'm also not a supporter of test scores determining the goodness
of a school - but if they are testing that poorly it does
reflect much of what is or is not going on there. and our son
was one of the top two kids test-wise in his class and his
scores were pretty bad. he missed 18 out of 19 questions in
some sections and did only around 50-65 percentile in the few
sections he did well on.
also, when i would go over homework with him, i would find
(several times) there were things that his teacher was telling
him that were wrong. like when they were preparing for those
darn tests, they went over the answers in class (after a
practice) and he gave them the wrong answer. when i looked at
the answer and talked with him about why it was wrong, he was
confused because the teacher had done it with them! and it was
the ''close'' answer, not the right answer, so i could see
how ''someone'' would get it wrong, but not the teacher!
and, by the way, he had a great teacher who really cared and
worked hard to create a good environment in the classroom. but
the academics just weren't there (the teacher was young and had
little mentorship resources). they were 5th graders going over
math and reading - ONLY. they suspended the science and social
studies because the kids were so far behind. they were still
doing phonics - the class, not just the kids who needed it. i
had a friend on the school board and asked him about that and he
was astonished because they had even purchased new science books
(which i saw in the class and the teacher thought it was funny
since they weren't going to use them). so the communication
between the district to the classroom is not working as it
should be. and, he also said ''we just don't know what to do
with lakeview.'' (!)
also, he had learned/witnessed very poor attitudes and behavior
from some of the other kids who rarely or ever did their
homework, did not do very good quality work and talked back to
the teacher. i'm not saying these things to be judgemental, but
it is hard to persuade your kid to do things way outside
the ''norm'' of their environment. the district policy is also to
call the police whenever a violent incident occurs and i saw the
police there quite often when i passed by or stopped to drop
something off at the school - i think this is to record each
incident in the case of a lawsuit or something. but seeing an
officer called because a 6 year old threw something at another
boy, the boy crying and freaked out - (let alone a young boy of
color having to deal w/ the police at such a young age) was just
depressing.
i have friends who teach in the district and they wouldn't send
their own kids to the schools they work in.
anyhow, now that we have him in a different public school the
differences i see are astounding. however, the struggles we
went through this past year - transitioning from low
expectations/academics to high (from the school) - had a lot to
do with his previous experience at lakeview - and lakeview
doesn't even have ''underperforming'' or now deemed ''high need''
status because their scores are just above that threshold. at
his new school we worked intensely with his teachers to get him
on the right track. and part of our success was only due to the
fact that he is a bit older now and maturity is starting to take
hold, with a younger kid it may be much harder.
of course some of our circumstances are extreme or different
because he had a difficult background up until recently ,
switching schools often etc. but regardless, i think our
experience made us get our act together and made the school the
number one priority for where we lived. (and we did try the
transfer thing and there is very little likelihood of getting
them, let alone the chase you have to go through to be denied
anyway).
again the great problem is that good school areas have really
high rent/housing costs. so you may consider living somewhere
cheaper the first few years until your kid is ready for school
and then move - because it is really expensive!
good luck
anon
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