High school - Danville/San Ramon vs Acalanes (San Francisco, Fremont: fit in, for sale)

[whynot1986]

We are planning a move to CC county this year; keeping fingers crossed it doesn't get delayed. But one of the things we'd like to figure out is the relative standing of schools and which one might fit our rising 10th grader best. She is a straight-A student in high school (ie 9th grade) so far, and her interests seem to be going towards math and science, in which she does really well with no trouble and enjoys it too. She's not an award-winning genius or anything though, just a solid worker combined with reasonable smarts. She is quiet but not introverted (nor extroverted, just middling) and makes a few friends easily but isn't Miss Popularity.

At first we thought it was Acalanes all the way. Then I started picking up stuff about San Ramon Valley, that it's a very strong school too. Now part of our decision is also going to be based on the area her parents like. Which is, we prefer (but not overwhelmingly) newer homes on slightly larger lots with more modern architecture and features. These criteria also point to SR/Danville over say WC or Lamorinda. Finally it seems like a bit more square feet for the money on 680 vs 24.

We do feel that most of the attractions of the city will be farther away from SR and may dissuade us from going there as much. But OTOH, my wife will be going to work in SR two or three days a week, so I suppose that's sort of a wash, driving-wise anyway.

We are also concerned about Danville/SR being more 'cookie-cutter' or Stepford wives style, with more "character" being found along 24, but of course each style has its tradeoffs. Do you feel Dv/SR are too sterile?

Finally there is Walnut Creek which seems to be a good enough compromise... but just not sure and the zoning of the school districts seems a little confusing for us to plan WC out from so far away (GA). I mean, posts I've read saying be careful where in WC you are 'cause that's not where the good schools might be.

Our budget is in the high 700/low 800k range, with perhaps a bit of play upward but not much. We would like to have at least 2200 sf and a halfway respectable lot size (say 1/5 acre or more). We enjoy the outdoors and city life but not that much into going to restaurants or shows all the time, although the presence of nice Asian eateries in the vicinity always perks up my attention (in a good way).

[sav858]

Danville is not really cookie cutter imo but San Ramon is pretty much nothing but cookie cutter subdivisions, it doesn't even have a "real" downtown as opposed to Danville's nice little Main St type downtown. I don't feel Danville is too sterile but San Ramon is.

All WC schools are great, the issue is some of them will fall in the Mt Diablo School District which is not that great b/c it includes Concord. But the school themselves are perfectly good. There are no bad areas of WC really, just a few streets that might be dumpy.

I'd pick Danville over SR, more centrally located and closer to the amenities of WC.

[DeusEx]

Where is she looking to go?

[whynot1986]

Originally Posted by DeusEx

Where is she looking to go?

I think you mean, where is my daughter looking to go to college. There are two options we are considering, both of which end with UC Berkeley. The first would be to go there in freshman year, which I'm sure is hyper-competitive. Not that she wouldn't make it - she might. But then there is the cost of both tuition and room&board. As this move will be sapping some of our finances anyway, I thought maybe send her to Diablo Valley CC for two years, after which we could foot the Cal bill and maybe admission would be a *bit* easier.

Someone was telling me that Cal won't consider the SAT score for students transferring out of 2-year colleges. True? Not that I like this - she did her SAT in 9th grade and scored about 2100 and will probably take it again in Junior year, hopefully for a higher score.

[whynot1986]

sav858, thanks for that. I was halfway suspecting that after we made a (very) brief visit to the two towns in December. We also spent a little time in WC downtown, largely as our realtor's office was there.

So how does San Ramon Valley High compare to, say, Acalanes, Las Lomas, or Campolindo?

[sav858]

Originally Posted by whynot1986

So how does San Ramon Valley High compare to, say, Acalanes, Las Lomas, or Campolindo?

Great school and just as good as the others you listed, all the schools in this area are top notch. Some might have a slightly higher API score/ranking than others but you're pretty much splitting hairs here at this point imo.

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by whynot1986

I think you mean, where is my daughter looking to go to college. There are two options we are considering, both of which end with UC Berkeley. The first would be to go there in freshman year, which I'm sure is hyper-competitive. Not that she wouldn't make it - she might. But then there is the cost of both tuition and room&board. As this move will be sapping some of our finances anyway, I thought maybe send her to Diablo Valley CC for two years, after which we could foot the Cal bill and maybe admission would be a *bit* easier.

Someone was telling me that Cal won't consider the SAT score for students transferring out of 2-year colleges. True? Not that I like this - she did her SAT in 9th grade and scored about 2100 and will probably take it again in Junior year, hopefully for a higher score.

It's true that the SAT is not considered for any UC transfer students. If she has her heart set on Berkeley and doesn't get in as a freshman, DVC is a great option, though the guarantees that used to be in place (maintain a 3.5 to transfer) I believe are no longer there due to budget constraints. Perhaps they will be back by the time your daughter enters college. DVC is a great option if money is a concern, but I'd still recommend a 4-year from high school, with student loans if necessary - DVC is, in some respects, more like an extension of high school than a college.

I am unfamiliar with Danville/SR schools, but I grew up in Lafayette and attended Acalanes. It leans towards college prep, with 95% or so of graduates going on to college (either 2 or 4 year). We had some great teachers, and the parents are really vested in outcomes - maybe even too vested at times. LASF is a great nonprofit that helps ensure curriculum diversity.

Campo, Acalanes and Northgate attain comparable measurable student outcomes (high), Los Lomas is a small step down in performance metrics, and I'm not sure how SRVH or Cal High fit in. At the end of the day though, I honestly think your daughter will get a quality education at any of the places you mentioned.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by whynot1986

We do feel that most of the attractions of the city will be farther away from SR and may dissuade us from going there as much.

In practice you might find it easier to drive to the city from San Ramon,particularly if you are starting from the western part of San Ramon and take the Crow Canyon route directly to the 92 or 580. On weekends the Caldecott tunnel and Bay Bridge are frequently jammed and you will encounter huge traffic from Walnut Creek. Don't take my word for it though,check out the weekend jams on the Sigalert site and try the weekend afternoon drives when you are here. Also you can take Crow Canyon Rd. quickly over to Castro Valley Bart if you want to go by Bart. This may not be a great route for a daily commuter but on weekends it is wide open.

Example route out of San Ramon.

Driving Directions from Bollinger Canyon Rd & Crow Canyon Rd San Ramon to South San Francisco

To Castro Valley Bart:

Driving Directions from Bollinger Canyon Rd & Crow Canyon Rd to Castro Valley Bart

Originally Posted by whynot1986

We are also concerned about Danville/SR being more 'cookie-cutter' or Stepford wives style, with more "character" being found along 24, but of course each style has its tradeoffs. Do you feel Dv/SR are too sterile?

Sterile is sometimes a synonym for newer houses and convenient stores. San Ramon has both. The new eastern part of San Ramon(Windemere) defines sterile. Avoid that location and look at the older part of San Ramon where the houses have bigger lots. Example location:

2668 Celaya Circle, San Ramon CA - Trulia

Originally Posted by whynot1986

We enjoy the outdoors and city life but not that much into going to restaurants or shows all the time, although the presence of nice Asian eateries in the vicinity always perks up my attention (in a good way).

Dublin has an Asian restaurant mall and some authentic Indian restaurants like Dosa Place . San Ramon is also closer to the many various South Asian and Afghan restaurants in Fremont. Also it is an easy drive via Crow Canyon, 92 & 101 to downtown San Mateo. Downtown San Mateo has several authentic Japanese and Chinese restaurants.

Also check out Chabot regional park. Close to San Ramon via Crow Canyon,Heyer Ave. and Redwood Rd.

Anthony Chabot Regional Park | East Bay Regional Park District

[whynot1986]

One significant challenge we have so far is how to figure out a plan for housing. Here is the current scenario, followed by possibilities.

Our current home is for sale. It has had a good amount of interest and even a viable offer that fell apart due to technical reasons out of anyone's control. Selling is necessary before the move.

School in GA begins mid-August, in CA it's late August. So an ideal situation would be to leave here in early August/late July, assuming a sale happens. If it doesn't, we have considered a mid-semester or a mid-year move, and understand the potential damage to grades etc that could result and hope it will be short-lived.

But once we get there, we are going crazy with how to find a home or rental in a short amount of time so hotel bills don't get out of control. We have a couple of friends there but not close enough, and their homes aren't large enough, that we could shack there and we wouldn't want to impose anyway. How do people who are doing this sort of thing on their own dime do this? We considered taking a trip there before moving but between saving vacation time and needing to be here for marketing this home, we can't see how to do that. We did a trip in December but had only 2-3 days of househunting, and partial days at that.

The school question above was so that we could focus more on one area, and that now seems to be Danville, or a close second being WC. Other locations have compromises regarding distance or other factors that seem to eliminate them.

Any ideas welcome. The stress level is getting a bit high here and we really hope to have a plan but stressful minds tend not to be at their best.