Piedmont Middle School (Piedmont, CA)
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Piedmont Middle School (Piedmont, CA)
June 2011
Im wondering if anyone could please share their experience with
Piedmont Unified,Special ed program.
My son is entering middle school and we are looking for a special
ed program for learning disability.Do they have a self contained
class room,or a small class?Placement in a mainstream class wont
work.
Since we are stuck with limited choices and its the end of the
school year, i wont be able to visit their middle school to make an
observation.
Any experience/help is greatly appreciated!
Piedmont Middle School does have some Learning Center classes, where they
have a 1/15 ratio and the teachers have special training. They also have a
special ed program that goes all day, but is more remedial. My kid was
somewhere between Learning Center and mainstream, and never did well in
the mainstream classes. They were pretty unforgiving on assignment
tracking and note-taking at the time, though it has been a few years. The
LC classes were good, though.
high school mom
March 2009
We'd love to get some current input on Piedmont schools,
especially middle and high school. We have the opportunity to
move to the district and the concern we have is that it will be
too academically intense for our child who's spent her
elementary years in a small private school. The academic
setting hasn't been so easy for her and we worry about it being
geared towards the high-achievers. What about kids who need
some help -- not special ed, but extra support? Do these kids
suffer from self-esteem issues? Would a place like Berkeley be
better because there's more diversity, both academically and
socially? Thank you for your insights!
Worried mom
I think Piedmont middle school is good. It is small and personal and the teachers are
responsive to the students and parents. Not all the students are super high
achievers.
There is a wide variety of students and parents and there is a Middle School parent
group that meets to discuss issues with middle schoolers. Amount of homework
depends on the teacher. I went to Berkeley public schools, though it was many years
ago, and it is easy to fall through the cracks and get behind.
Piedmont Middle School mom
I would not worry about the curriculum being too difficult for your child if she is a
middle of the class student academically. The curriculum is not geared toward
high-achievers at all; in fact, quite the reverse. I have children in both the middle
and high-schools and it has been a problem that they have not been challenged.
There is, however, I believe a lot of pressure among the students (driven by some of
the parents) to participate in too many activities. I don't think that this is
specific to
Piedmont however. The biggest issue for your daughter, especially in middle school
and less so in high school, may be the social scene. Middle school seems that it can
be tough socially for girls (I have boys- hopefully the mom of a girl will respond.) I
do not know your socioeconomic status, but Piedmont skews high in that regard.
Although we are not among the wealthiest by any means, we are certainly
comfortable and constantly working to make sure our kids know how good we all
have it. It can be an uphill battle when they have many friends who routinely travel
extensively, have all the latest expensive electronic gadgets, etc. On the good side,
there is a strong emphasis on community service and recognizing and respecting
diversity. And in general the neighborhoods and schools are safe places. The high
school is particularly strong in the performing and fine arts. And contrary to
popular belief, Piedmont is strongly Democratic and we have become friends with
many interesting folks.
Piedmont Mom
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