Choosing Your Schools Wisely

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Nativa

Look, I never said I was an expert on choosing schools- you are more than welcome to move to Santa Clara where there are only 3 decent schools, two of them being lottery and parent participation. Yes, there are Cupertino schools but- ok, even if there is no mandarin at recess- you will find yourself a minority if you are not Asian or south Asian. Nothing wrong with any if these groups, just would like a more balanced group of kids- and more importantly- parents.

As an Asian American who grew up in a largely white neighborhood and went to schools where I was the minority, my heart bleeds . [sarcasm].

And your comments on Santa Clara Unified definitely shows you know little about the district.
Laurelwood and Sutter have APIs in the 900s. Bracher, despite having a relatively higher percentage of low income families, does amazingly well (in the mid to high 800s). Don Callejon (a very new school) is in the high 800s - probably drawing from the new developments in North Santa Clara.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by spicydreamt

School ranking trend is an excellent indicator of real estate value. This attracts investment-minded people. These people, when professionally successful, will invest disproportionately in their (almost always bilingual) children's education. This results in greater peer pressure - all your kids' classmates are "smart" (and I don't mean this in a know-it-all way, but in terms of ability to reason, to abstract and to communicate), and the teacher's applied curriculum tends to follow accordingly.

I'll go further --- that school ranking shows a high correlation to socioeconomic grouping and family incomes.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by zombocom

I'm curious (and perhaps this is off topic) - but how big of a factor is the school's ranking? How does it compare to the importance of the parent's education and involvement in the child's educated?

Is the quality of education going to be that much inferior, or does a mediocre school still have AP classes where the quality of education is probably superior to other classes at the school.

Now, we'll probably end up buying in a location with good schools, because that just goes part and parcel with being somewhere that's nice, but I am curious about this...

I think school rankings are only the surface. Parental/family involvement is really key, and also the particular school culture at a site. Need to check out if you like the philosophy of the school in particular and if it suits your childs' personality and learning tendencies.

Let's take high schools for an example - Mission San Jose High School in Fremont is highly ranked by many academic indicators, but it has a rep for being a highly competitive, traditional college prep oriented environment. Some kids who know they won't thrive in that environment will transfer to Irvington High, which has some alternative instructional methods (arts, visual, graphics) and is a bit more "balanced", yet performs very well.

Similarly, Cupertino High has a somewhat more balanced school culture than, say, Lynbrook and Monta Vista High.

[sarasen]

Originally Posted by AlexLKong

For the sixteenth time, I was asked to provide some insight about the schools in the Bay Area, and it just made me think: "One reason people want to move into the Bay is because of the amazing schooling it offers their children". So, just because I have nothing else to do, and because I would like to help out others that would like to move here, here is a list of the cities I consider have the most well regarded schools. Of course, the definition of "amazing" differs from person to person, and I can only assume you are happy with and can afford a house in the areas I mention:

Santa Clara County:

Cupertino: Without a doubt the best city for schooling in the Bay Area, and more affordable than places like Cupertino.
Los Altos/Los Altos Hills: Top notch education system but no doubt one of the most expensive places you can hope to live in.
Los Gatos: A little below in terms of education than its next door neighbor Saratoga, but still nobody's going to scorn at you for going to a school here.
Milpitas: Has a decent school district, and it gets nods for its affordability.
Mountain View: Most, but not all, of the elementary and middle schools are pretty good, and the high school is pretty good too.
Palo Alto: Has the best school district in Santa Clara County behind Cupertino, but it is quite expensive.
San Jose: This one's tough. In general, I consider the Evergreen, West, and Almaden regions of San Jose to be the best. Avoid the East, South, Downtown, Beryessa, and Blossom Hill regions.
Saratoga: Very desirable area with some extremely desirable schools.

San Mateo County:

Atherton: Some very noteworthy Elementary Schools and a decent high school, but the middle schools are out of town. Plus, do you want to pay at least 4 mil for your house?
Belmont: Best schools in San Mateo County, though Millbrae or Burlingame could overtake that spot soon. And if you're a heavy smoker, avoid...
Burlingame: The schools are generally high achieving, and the area is less crowded than its neighbor to the south (San Mateo).
Foster City: Do you mind going to San Mateo for high school? If not, then this place is the right place for you in terms of schooling.
Hillsborough: Are the schools amazing? Yes. It it affordable? No, not really.
Menlo Park: Unless you choose the east side of town, consider yourself lucky in terms of schools.
Millbrae: All of the schools are great, in particular the highly ranked middle school.
Redwood City: I'm only bringing this up because the elementary schools in the Redwood Shores district are top notch (and you'll likely end up going to middle and high school elsewhere if you choose Redwood Shores). Otherwise, there's nothing else worth mentioning.
San Mateo: A couple high schools, a couple elementary schools, and a bunch of average schools.
San Carlos: I like the schools here, and the town is pretty charming itself too. The downside: no high school.
Woodside: The elementary school is good, but you might end up stuck with Woodside High School, which would really suck.

Alameda County:

Alamdea: For a city so close to the airport the schooling system is surprisingly good. Still, the airport will probably get on your nerves.
Albany: This tiny town north of Oakland has a school district worth mentioning. But the traffic...
Castro Valley: Amazing schools, with amazing cherry orchards (not in the school, but in the city).
Dublin: The schools here model those in Contra Costa County in that they are all high achieving, name brand schools with some very expensive housing.
Fremont: Another tricky one, in general the east is better than the west but also way more expensive.
Livermore: The schools here are "a poor man's Dublin and Pleasanton" to one of my friends, but that statement's unfounded. Schools here are still worth mentioning.
Piedmont: I love the schools here, but one thing I can't get over is that it's completely surrounded by Oakland. The question now is: can you live with that?
Pleasanton: Of the Dublin-Livermore-Pleasanton area school districts, this one gets my 1st place vote.
Sunol: Just one elementary school here, and it's great. But you'll probably end up going to either Pleasanton or Fremont for middle and high schools. And Sunol is so sparsely populated.

Contra Costa County:

Alamo: Sandwiched between Danville and Pleasant Hill, you'll be hitting a home run in terms of education if you choose here. Unfortunately, there are no high schools.
Clayton: I think the middle and elementary schools here are great, but I don't know, can you live in the middle of nowhere?
Danville: The second best school system off of 680 behind San Ramon can be found here.
Lamorinda (Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda): All of the schools here are top notch and are undoubtedly the best in Contra Costa County. Just for good measure, my ranks from "best" to "worst": Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette.
Benicia/Martinez: The schools here are shockingly good for two cities dominated by industrial complexes and naval shipyards, but personally I can't handle the surroundings.
Pleasant Hill: While not the best city for schools off of 680, nobody's going to look down on you for going to a school here.
San Ramon: The best of the best schools off of 680 are found here. Of course, Danville residents might object...
Walnut Creek: All of the schools here are worth mentioning.

Basically, if you do choose Contra Costa County, stay in the central part and do not go to the west or the east if you want a half-decent schooling.

Marin County:

Corte Madera: One good elementary school, but unfortunately that's it.
Fairfax: It is quite far off from 101, but if you don't mind that, this place might be just right for schooling...
Kentfield/San Anselmo: I love the schools here, as do many of the residents.
Larkspur: Like many school districts in Marin County (which there aren't too many of, btw), the schools are great, and personally I consider the high school to be the second best in Marin County.
Mill Valley: Hands down best schools you will find in Marin County. The high school here is my favorite.
Ross: Are you OK with just one elementary school? It is very highly ranked, but it's just one elementary school...
Tiburon/Belvedere: Second best school district behind Mill Valley in Marin County.

Anyways, this is a lot to take in for anyone. Like I said, I left out the satisfaction and affordability factors in my analysis for the most part. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to comment (one exception: DO NOT VENT YOUR ANGER OUT ON ME BECAUSE I SUGGESTED ANOTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT WAS BETTER THAN YOUR'S OR I LEFT OUT YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT. THESE ARE PERSONAL OPINIONS!).

Happy Bay Area city searching!

How is Novato in marin?
ALSO --- Can you provide some feedback on Sonoma County also?

[Heidi60]

and this wonderful private school was not on the Santa Clara list:

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by sarasen

How is Novato in marin?
ALSO --- Can you provide some feedback on Sonoma County also?

The original post is almost 6 years old. You should probably start your own thread in the SF-Oakland forum for more responses.