LGBT Families in Oakland Schools
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LGBT Families in Oakland Schools
Nov 2010
We are a two mom family and are planning to do Oakland public
schools open-enrollment for our daughter for fall 2011. We are
particularly interested in sending her to a school where there are
other open LGBT families and where this diversity is appreciated and
a non-issue. If anyone has any personal experience with Sequoia
Elementary, Redwood Heights, Thornhill, Montclaire, Melrose, or
Laurel on this issue we'd love to hear. Feel free to email off-list
if you'd prefer.
Thank you!
My child currently attends Sequoia
and I have another who will begin
next year. Sequoia is the most diverse school I can imagine (I'm a
teacher myself), and I am glad that the appreciation of diversity at
Sequoia includes LGBT families as well. One of the very first things I
noticed at the school were gay-positive posters in several classrooms.
I know of several kids with two moms or two dads at the school. Last
year there was a diversity night where a movie about different kinds
of families (adoptive, gay, grandparents raising grandkids) was shown,
and a panel of parents spoke afterwards. There are a couple of openly
gay members on staff. Recently there has been discussion about
bullying around kids' ideas about how girls and boys ''should'' act
and I've been grateful for that. Not everyone at Sequoia feels the
same way or agrees all the time but there is a respectful and caring
culture that many, many different kinds of families fit into at our
little school.
Sequoia Mom
Try Henry J Kaiser Elementary! We have families of all stripes and
types of diversity (gay and lesbian, mixed race, multi-race and we are
from all over Oakland), nice community feel, arts enrichment, openly
gay principal, many excellent teachers and fine API scores, good
before- and after-care and afterschool enrichment.
Love our Kaiser families of all kinds!
It would be worth it to put your child's name into the lottery for
NOCCS
(North Oakland Community Charter School). We are also a two-mom
family, and I cannot imagine a more welcoming, inclusive and affirming
environment for our daughter. Respect for all kinds of diversity,
including family diversity, is an integral part of the curriculum and
the school community, and each child's experience/background is
validated. Definitely check it out.
happy NOCCS parent
You didn't mention Kaiser School, but it is a very welcoming
community. I am a lesbian mom and I feel very supported there. I'm
very happy to see all kinds of diversity represented by the families
at Kaiser(single parent, adoptive, transracial, gay/lesbian
parents,etc). I live in the Laurel and looked into that school 3
years ago when I was looking for a kindergarten for my son. While I
was told that they accept all families, I didn't get a warm and fuzzy
feeling (and they don't have aftercare which I need). The Kaiser
principal is an out gay man and father. The motto for Kaiser School is
''A Fabulous Oakland School!'' I invite you to go an upcoming open house.
valerie
Feb 2005
We are considering moving to Oakland to send our child to Park Day School since
we are highly impressed by the Gay/Lesbian/Transgender awareness as an integral
part of their curiculum. Can anyone tell us what your feelings about Chabot
elementary and LGBT issues/family presence/ and acknowledgement ? ALso, If we
leave SF and send her to a private lower and middle school, is there any public high
school in oakland that would not be like throwing her to the wolves at that point?
Not sure if we can pull off 12 yrs of private school-financially- and people have
reccommended building a strong foundation of confidance and pride and
inclusion in younger years. ANy LGBT families out there - struggling financially-
with strong thoughts about east bay vs sf schools k ALL THROUGH 12?
annon
We're a two-dad family living in Oakland and though our
''rankings'' of different school options on a LGBT sensitivity
spectrum are more anecdotal than empirical at this point, we have
asked many of the same questions. Unfortunately, we don't know
anything about Chabot's record in this regard, but if you're
considering relocating to Oakland, I encourage you to look at the
Redwood Heights neighborhood. Our daughter will be starting K at
Redwood Heights Elementary this fall. This is the one Oakland
public school that we've heard has a reputation for being
especially sensitive to and familiar with gay families. For us,
it's less important that family diversity be a formal part of the
curriculum than that it be something that school staff and
leadership are simply comfortable and familiar with. Our thinking
is that such familiarity is either an indicator of or an
incentive for higher numbers of gay families to be part of the
school, which in the end, is what we really want for us and for
our daughter. We've not had any upfront conversations with the
principal or staff at RHES about this, but this is in part due to
the fact that we don't think its necessary: when we went to the K
orientation, we counted at least three lesbian couples in
attendance among the roughly 30 families that were there. For
middle school, we alternate between girding ourselves for private
school tuition or waiting to see which small public schools crop
up in OUSD over the next 5-6 years (the district's reform efforts
are not to be discounted at this point, we feel, and we think
we'll have more options in 5 years than we do now). But if
there's one area where we think private school is likely, it's
middle school, and our current interest is in the Julia Morgan
School for Girls. Though light years away, a high school that
interests us is the new Oakland School for the Arts
(www.oakarts.org). There's been some traffic about this school on
the list, and it appears to be very solid academically, as well
as a small and supportive environment. Also making me lean toward
this school is that our daughter already shows a genuine interest
in song, dance, and theater, but who knows where that will be
when she's ready for high school. Feel free to email me.
To the family considering moving to Oakland to have their child
attend Park Day School:
I cannot respond to your questions
about high school, and about East Bay vs. S.F. But I can
strongly support your considering Park Day School for your
child and your family. We are an LGBT family and I cannot
recommend it highly enough for it's integration of LGBT
families and kids. We feel very good about the social-
emotional foundation our kids are receiving at Park coming from
a ''different'' family, and their exposure and comfort with
families of all types there. It is an excellent school in many
other ways as well, of course!
anon
I would suggest checking out
Kaiser Elementary School (25 South Hill Court
Oakland, 94618), which is very near Chabot. Kaiser is VERY welcoming towards
LGBT families. The staff is diverse and warm. You will feel very at home... and your
child will receive an excellent education experience. You can call or drop by the
school anytime to see how the campus operates. Just check into the office.
Renae
this page was last updated: Dec 29, 2010
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