Re: Choosing between Oakland Tech and private high schools
Consider a charter school for your son. The Oakland charter high schools have smaller class size than both Oakland Tech and the private schools. Your son can get the individual attention he needs to advance in all subjects. He won't be another face in the crowd, in physical danger (a friend's child was ''jumped'' on his first week at Tech), and you can save your money for college. My daughter attends Envision Academy - which we are thrilled with, but I know others who are happy with Lighthouse and Native American. Due to Oakland's foresight with the small schools initiative, there are many more small public high schools to choose from than in other communities. But look around now. Schools fill up early. Jenny

Re: Seeking small charter high school
Envision Academy (formerly Urban Renaissance) is the best charter school I have found so far. My daughter has been going there since they opened in September. Since they have a small student:faculty ratio, they have the time to work individually with the kids who need it. They work with the parents and district on IEP requirements. In addition, they offer a challenging curriculum no matter what the abilities of the child are. My daughter went from getting C's and D's in middle school to A's and high B's the first quarter at Urban (Envision). The only drawback to me is the location. They have a great building, but the walk to BART is a little seedy. Thankfully they walk in groups and there have been no problems. Check it out. Go to http://www.envisionschools.org/page.php?page_id=103 or Call Alcine at 510-596-8901
Jenny

Re: Independent study or intern schools for bored 14-year-old
To the parent who asked about independent study for her 14 year old: Check out Urban Renaissance on Stanford near the Oakland/Berkeley border. The school just opened with 70 students, all 9th graders. My son is there and I am impressed with the staff and the quality of the young people. Urban is a charter school under the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation that is using project based learning while building community. Good luck!

Hello, my name is Alcine Mumby, and I am the Co-Principal of Urban Renaissance Arts and Tech High School in Oakland. Urban is a new free public college preparatory charter high school that will open in August 2006 with a freshman class of 125.

Many of you may still be trying to decide which high school to send your student. You DO have a choice.

I want to tell you a little about the academia of Urban Renaissance and our outlook on education. Urban is based on a nationally recognized and award-winning model for secondary education. The model consists of three core values that Urban seeks to embody: rigor, relevance and relationships.

Rigor: Urban will have a rigorous academic curriculum that will use art and technology to engage students in their learning. All Urban students take college prep classes and all Urban faculty have high expectations for student work. In fact, all students are supported to meet or exceed UC/SCU requirements for admission.

Relevance: Learning will be contextual, active and authentic. Core activities will be integrated and interdisciplinary.

Relationships: With fewer than 25 students per class, the school will provide a highly personalized environment to challenge students. All students are supported by an advisory team and meet with superb college counselors (with very low student-counselor ratio). We also encourage stong parent participation in the Urban community.

Urban still has spaces available for our incoming 9th grade class (you can find an application form on on website www.envisionschools.org). I would be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. Feel free to contact me at alcine[at]envisionschools.org

Alcine Mumby