Berkeley Parents Network: Thornhill Elementary School

Berkeley Parents Network

Thornhill Elementary School

Berkeley Parents Network > Reviews > K-12 Schools > Oakland Public Schools > Thornhill Elementary School

Parents' Reviews
Afterschool Care

Parents' Reviews

Jan 2008

We are in the process of looking at various schools for K. We understand Thornhill is an excellent school with good teachers and great parent volunteers. I would like to find out how parents feel the educational experience compares to local private schools. Many kids enter private schools for middle school. Are they well prepared? Will an advanced child be adequately challenged? Does one see the strain of teaching to test and ''no child left behind'' pressures of public education? neighborhood parents

We moved to the Thornhill neighborhood for the school when my oldest son was 4. A year later when I visited the school I was so saddened by the kindergarten that we moved (yet again!)! I was a teacher for 12 years, so I had certain expectations, but the amount of seat work that is expected because of low test scores was nothing less than ridiculous on the day we observed. It is a good school in its spirit and there are some very dedicated teachers and fabulous parents, but we felt we could not put our sons into that situation. We decided it would be less financially straining to move to a good public school system than to go private. If you talk to some parents who are at the school you will hear good things-they are a dedicated bunch!-but after observing and then speaking ''Teacher to Teacher'' with the very dedicated, but frustrated kinder teacher, we had to make our own decision. Good luck with your decision! Old Neighbor

My son is in his second year at Thornhill. There are some very good things about this school, including lots of parent involvement, excellent after-school programs, and some very experienced and caring teachers (not all teachers are equally good however -- I don't think there is any school with a perfect teaching staff). There are also some significant negatives (as I'm sure there would be in any school). The two biggest, in my opinion, are the reading/math curricula mandated by the district, and the heavy fundraising pressure. The latter's pretty self-explanatory, and also most likely pretty universal. The former is my biggest complaint with the public school experience. Although many of the teachers here are able to work creatively with Open Court reading and Harcourt math (to their great credit), the curricula themselves more or less embody the pressures of public education that you ask about. They are pretty formulaic and unimaginative, and for my son anyway, are both hard to keep up with logistically (in terms of filling out all of the worksheets and reading all of the little booklets), and yet not intellectually challenging (math is very repetitive, reading booklets don't actually qualify as good stories). Kind of the worst of both worlds. In terms of comparison to the private schools, I think it all comes down to your child and what will work for them, and the teachers you happen to get. If the match is good (as it is for us this year), the experience will be fine. If the match is poor, the experience will be too, and I think this is just as true in private as in public schools. Karen

Nov 2006

There are few reviews in the archives about Thornhill Elementary in Oakland. I have heard great things about Thornhill, and was hoping some current or recent parents would share their experiences. One thing I am wondering about, is there a formal program or ad hoc way that the school teaches kids to include each other / not bully? Overall, are the parents and kids friendly to each other? Does it seem like most of the kids are enjoying it there? thank you

My son, now in 8th grade elsewhere, went through Thornhill and was very happy there. We participated in the parent organization (I ran one committee for several years) and always felt included, even though I was a working parent. (There is a core group, thank goodness, that is around the playground and in the classrooms to do art, help with fieldtrips etc.) Teachers include some very longtime veterans who are dearly loved and newer teachers that fit in well and are very popular with the kids. (Remember that my perspective is 3 years out of date, of course.)
My son never seemed like a particularly strong student when he was there, but he was accepted in all 3 of the middle schools to which he applied. I think that Thornhill's basic preparation of its students is thorough and as creative as any CA standards-based education can be. The long tenure teachers manage to integrate their experience and their favorite teaching topics into the standards-based curriculum, even with Open Court reading (if they still use that.) Hope that helps.
a 6 year Thornhill parent (1998-2004)
My son's just started Kindergarten at Thornhill. There are many very good things about the school -- my son's teacher is one; the principal is a caring person who already knows all the new kids' names, the parent community is very involved.
I don't believe there's a formal class for inclusion and not bullying, but it certainly appears to be emphasized in general. I've felt pretty much that the community is friendly.
I'm always concerned, however, when people refer to Thornhill as ''the best'' school in Oakland. Yes, it has the highest API scores in Oakland, but those are primarily a function of socioeconomic status and educational level of the parents -- which are very high at Thornhill.
The big downside is Oakland School District. In addition to being broke and paying for nothing (library, music, PE, facilities repairs -- all are funded by the parents through fundraising, not the school district), Oakland forces the use of a simply awful reading curriculum called ''Open Court'' -- the teacher has to follow a script with limited use of his/her own professional judgment, must be on the same page as everyone else in the district regardless of what the students need -- and there are absolutely endless worksheets (and there's a ton of research showing that worksheets are not good for kids). Unfortunately, the math curriculum looks similar.
The teachers and staff do the absolute best they can, the kids are great, and the parents are involved. But the school district is enough to make me seriously rethink the private school question
anonymous
June 2006
Hello, My daughter will likely attend Thornhill next year but wanted to hear some recent reviews of the school. Also Is there an aftercare program?? If so, what is it like and what are the hours?? Thanks
Annie
My children are in the Oakland Public Schools - we live near Thorhill but are at Chabot (long story) so I can not tell you directly what is happening at the school but I have good second hand info from another family on our street, and our general experience. The schools are terrific because of the wonderful energy being brought to the schools by active, involved families who care about education! There is a wonderful after school program called Adventure Time at the school (my son attended AT at Chabot last year during his K year) but they often fill quickly for upper grades so call the central office now.
Feel free to contact me if you want to talk about OUSD and the public school experience.
Maggie
My son just finished kindergarten at Thornhill. He was in the all-day kindergarten with Mr. Thompson, who we were very pleased with. I have also heard great things about the other kindergarten teachers. I especially liked the diversity of the class and the Thornhill community geared toward helping all kids achieve their best. Parents at Thornhill help out extensively in the classrooms. Thornhill also has a very active parent faculty club that raises money to help fund the librarian, music teacher, p.e. coach and art. I was very pleased with my son's progress during the year.
Thornhill has several after school options, including Adventuretime, which is located in a portable classroom onsite. Another option is Jewish Community Services (you do not have to be Jewish to participate). They pick the kids up from campus and take them to a site on Redwood Road. Both are good options and worth checking out. There may be others too that I am not aware of. My son spent some time at both Adventuretime and JCS this year and enjoyed both.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your decision.
Susan
Oct 2004
Re: transferring into Oakland schools
my son went to thornhill from k-5 and it's a great school...just look at their test scores,,,that say's it all. thier is a great parent participations and the teacher's are wonderful...i have another child and i have no problems sending him back thier..that is the best reccomentdation of all
April 2003
We're about to move to Montclair and are considering Thornhill School for our soon-to-be first grader. I'd love to hear people's perceptions of it -- the good, the bad, the strong, the worrisome. All are welcome. We plan on visiting the school next month. Thanks so much. Nancy
Thornhill Elementary school has been a fantastic educational experience for our child. I cannot say enough good things about the teachers and education. The State test scores for Thornhill have been very high for a number of years. There is a very strong PFC (similar to PTA) that fundraises to supplement within the school what is no longer available; such as music, art and the like. And there are also fee based programs before and after school such as Spanish, Drama, Science, Chess club, etc. which you can take advantage of. Many parents in the area have actually taken their kids out of private school to attend Thornhill. BUT the district is in trouble as you probably already are aware. At tonights PFC meeting we discussed what type of support Thornhill is at risk of losing based on the district financial problems and it looks like the PFC will be on top of things to minimize disruption to the kids. Thornhill Parent
I have heard nothing but praise for Thornhill school. It has an active parent group, a stable teaching staff and excellent test scores. It's a highly sought after school in intradistrict transfers. It also seems to do a better than average job at handling social issues. Good Luck. Oakland Mom

Afterschool Care
Feb 2005
My son is starting kindergarten at Thornhill Elementary in the Fall. I'm looking for a good aftercare program. There seem to be three choices: Adventure Care, Smiles Day School, and Jewish Community Services. These three are either on-site or pick up from school. What I've heard is that Adventure Care may be a bit too unstructured for some younger children who are used to a more structured preschool. I like what I've heard about JCS because they offer programs like swimming, gymnastics and piano lessons. I've heard little about Smiles except that it is big and possibly impersonal. Can anyone comment on these or recommend any others? Thanks.
Recommended:
Jewish Community Services (2)
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