Aurora vs Park Day these days

I'm a current Aurora parent (elementary school) who considered both Aurora and Park Day. 

Pros for Aurora

- Exceptional community of students, parents, teachers, and leadership. Truly caring, thoughtful, kind, inclusive, dedicated to each child's growth and learning. The mixed grade encourages kids to form strong bonds across grades and helps kids to develop empathy and social skills.

- Well-rounded and meaningful curriculum. Social emotional and project based, progressive education with thought provoking and challenging academics. Academics are strong and meaningful. No busy work. A lot of engaging, experiential learning while fostering the fundamental academic and social skills such as critical thinking and analysis, organizing one's thoughts and expressing them as a writer, creative expression and problem solving, inclusiveness, empathy, to name a few. 

- Small size. Teachers really get to know students -- personality, strength and weaknesses, needs, wants, etc. The small size allows teachers to excel at differentiating lessons to meet each child's needs. Friendship forms easily. Everyone is so kind and supportive. 

- Campus and location. At first glance, there's no place like Park Day. Park Day's campus is beautiful. But, I actually love Aurora's location very much. Tucked in a beautiful residential neighborhood of upper Rockridge with a lot of trees and nature. The garden forest allows kids to have run around in nature, and they also go to Lake Temescal, which is a short walk from the school. The green space is great, too. 

- Pick-up, drop-off, and aftercare are so easy. I feel truly spoiled in this regard.

- Kids have fun learning at school and are learning to grow up to be kind, thoughtful, inclusive, empathetic, and creative human beings. Some kids naturally excel at reading, writing, some at math, some at tinkering/engineering, sports, music/arts, etc. but all receive excellent education with individualized attention. 

What I think would make Aurora better

First of all, I'm really happy with Aurora and we couldn't ask for a better school. But, if I were to try very hard to think about areas of improvement or what some might consider as cons are the following.

- No drama or formal performance opportunity. Each class does have a performance, which is well integrated into their curriculum, but there isn't a formal drama, choir, or band program for elementary school. 

- Sports. We aren't into sports, but I also wonder if the PE program actually teaches kids to play soccer, baseball, basketball, or other common team sports. Maybe that isn't the role of PE class. I'm not sure. The PE teacher is really great and kids love her though. 

- After school enrichment offerings.  if Aurora had more diverse offerings like dance, martial arts, instrumental music, foreign language, etc., my life would be easier, as I won't have to take my kid to enrichment classes so much. 

- No indoor gym

- Homework. Maybe there should be more homework? My kid often finishes homework at school.

Middle School

Kids are very happy and doing very interesting and challenging work. We will consider Aurora for middle school. Ultimately, it'll be up to our child to decide whether they want to stay at Aurora or pursue something different. We would be happy to remain at Aurora. 

Hi there

I'm a current Park Day parent.  I think it's always important to look at what makes the most sense for your family. When we were applying I had a whole point system where I assigned value to categories based on what was important to us. So like financial aid offering was most important followed by mission and commute.  It helped me to really ensure that I was basing the decision on what was actually important and not getting swayed by things like a beautiful campus. 

All that being said, we ultimately chose PD over Aurora.  For me it was the leadership at PD that really stood out to me. The Director makes herself available to parents and students. She listens and problem solves with our family when it is necessary and takes our suggestions seriously. I have always felt like she is a partner in my child's education and that means a lot to me. 
I also really enjoy the community at PD.  The families in our grade seem to really enjoy one another and that was something that was really important to me when I selected a place to send my son for the next 8 years. Though we are early in our child's education, I have been really impressed with the children in the middle school.  They are kind and helpful and seem to really enjoy themselves. I have often seen many of them volunteering at admissions events and I love to listen to them tell families what they love about PD.

I wish you all the best on your decision!

Hi! I am a current PDS parent (Kindergarten). I don't have any insight into the differences between the schools, but happy to share my experience and how we landed at Park Day School. I would say that what you see is what you get at Park Day. The staff and leadership is incredibly dedicated to the school, the community, and ongoing growth as an institution. The enrichment classes are in-depth, meaningful, and valued. For our kid, the class/grade size is just right. It offers the opportunity for the teachers to really get to know each kid, as well as offering a large enough student body to spark interests and find connections. And, as a household with two working parents, we really appreciate the thought put in to developing morning and after school care. Our kid loves staying on the beautiful campus after school each day, and has enjoyed enrichment classes in their after school program as well (soccer skills/drills, kids in motion). It is a wonderful community of parents, educators, and kids.

Hey there. First, let me just say that you can't really go wrong here.  Both these schools provide a thoughtful, kind, welcoming environment where children can learn, grow and thrive.  

We are Park Day parents, and both our kids have had a wonderful experience.  Our 2 children are very different, but they've both thrived - thanks to fantastic teachers and a really magical learning environment.  

Here's my take...

Pros 

• Terrific teaching. I can't say enough good things about the teaching at Park Day. Really experienced, thoughtful, skilled instructors who vary their approach to suit each learner's needs, aptitudes and challenges.  For me, this - above all else - is what has made Park Day an outstanding experience for our family. 
• Math Instruction - Here's another one I wasn't expecting.  Park Day's model for teaching math is focused on helping young learners actually understand the conceptual underpinnings of math.  Each year, Park Day has a math night, where instructors explain how they teach.  It's definitely worth attending.   Most of us experienced a very different kind of math instruction as kids. Some of us (me, for instance) managed to figure it out and maybe even excel. But many others didn't.  Our struggles, however, weren't necessarily a reflection of our actual potential.  Instead, they were the result of misguided pedagogy - teaching that didn't actually help us truly understand what we were doing. You can't build on a bad foundation. Park Day's approach to math is different. Today, both of our kids are doing pretty advanced stuff - well beyond the sort of work that either my spouse or I were doing at their age -- and they actually get it.  
• Park Day's campus - The campus is magical, and it really shapes the school experience.  
• Gardening Class - Kids throughout lower school take part in Park Day's gardening program. It's a place where kids get to experience science out in the real world, connect to nature in a very hands-on way, experience what it means to grow and care for living things and how to learn and live alongside them.  That probably sounds pretty mushy, but it's true. :-) Another wonderful surprise.
• School Leadership - Angela Taylor came on board 2 years ago, and she's been fantastic.  Jules and Karen, the Middle School and Lower Schools heads are terrific too.  We've got really strong, experienced leaders who are helping to sustain and further grow a first-rate education experience while staying true to Park Day's founding ideals.  
• Racial, Ethnic, Religious and Economic Diversity - private schools really struggle to reflect the communities in which they're located. Park Day genuinely wants to be a place that reflects all of Oakland. And as far as private schools go, I think it's doing a pretty good job (which is not to say we're there yet). There's lots still to be done, but the school community is serious about it.    

Cons

I'm almost at my word limit, so going to keep this short...

• Endowment - we wish the school had more money, sothat it could offer more financial aid and live its values more fully.  
• Sports - the school is actively growing its program, but it's a work in progress.

That's it! Good luck!

We're a family that also was in the same spot between Park and Aurora. Both of the schools provide a wonderful progressive education with a strong SEL component. A child would probably do well in either school but you may want to talk to as many current parents or faculty and simply see which one fits better with your family. Do you feel comfortable chatting with them and could see yourself building a relationship over the next K-8 years?

In the end, we broke it down as the following for the differences that were meaningful to us.

Pro Park Day

- Wonderful campus grounds with a garden where the kids can actually learn about gardening. There's a large field for flag football and other sports. Exercise does help with learning.

- Diversity: Look at the children in each classroom and the staff. You'll see a wider variety of backgrounds.

- Hot lunch program: Farm fresh meals made on the campus rather than generic catered food from an outside vendor. 

- When we toured, all of the students were really engaged in the lesson. This was for every classroom from K-8. We were part of a very small tour group so it's not like they suddenly did a show for us! The classrooms also were structured in a way to actively encourage discussion and different modes of learning.

Pro Aurora

- Multi-graded classrooms for more opportunities to learn from older/younger kids. Even Tom Little (former head of Park) mentioned that this can "increase children's self-confidence and enthusiasm about going to school"

- Smaller student body so much easier to get individual attention and have a bigger impact on the community

- A community that really wants to help raise your child with parent education nights and open morning assemblies. Recently, they had a really great education night on Raising Resilient Children and the way we interact them. It helped to adjust our attitude when we can't get our child to cooperate.

- Theatre performances for all grades and they provide a nurturing environment to encourage all kids to participate and build confidence in a crowd.

- On one of the tours, we saw the kids during an event where they shared essays with their parents and it was amazing to see how confident and proud they were of their works. They were also willing to share a bit with the tour group too! The kids also seemed really nice and went down the hallways in an orderly manner to go outside for a field trip.

They're both wonderful schools and you have to see which one feels right for your family. 

I am a current Park Day parent. My son joined the community in 4th grade and is now in 7th. Our experience at PDS has been fantastic! We were there during the last year of the previous head of school and have been there the entire time the new Head of School has been in her position. Angela is a fantastic leader. The administration came together to make the transition as seamless as possible (even in the midst of Covid) and I feel like she has been a fantastic leader and role model for our school community. She definitely doesn't feel "new" anymore as this is her third year and she is fully engrained in the community. 

In terms of the school overall, our family has been very happy with our experience. My son was dealing with some social-emotional challenge when he came to the school and has absolutely blossomed while being there. The faculty is so thoughtful and compassionate, I truly could not have dreamt of a better place for him. On top of that he loves going to school and truly enjoys what he is learning. PDS is all about teaching kids to love learning and they have really done that for my son. He comes home excited about what he's learning in nearly every subject and is engaged with his teachers. When he started at the school he was struggling in some subjects and not feeling confident, but over his time at Park Day he has grown into a strong and confident student. He is very athletic and has been very happy with their offerings of sports throughout the year. They have multiple sports every season and really focus on teaching the kids how to play the game, having fun, and good sportsmanship. They definitely don't always win, but the kids always look like they're having a great time and building lasting friendships. He also loves art and music and has been enjoying the art/music/drama rotation that the middle school provides. 

I really can't think of much that could be improved at Park Day in our experience. Whenever we have had challenges, they have been addressed quickly and fairly. I have never had any complaints and am super grateful to be a part of the community. Good luck in your decision!

First and foremost, congratulations! Both schools are amazing and you really can't go wrong.

We're a Park Day family of twins that are mid-way through Kindergarten. We were fortunate to have a number of schools to choose between and are affirmed again and again that we made the right choice in choosing Park Day. When faced with the decision of which offer to accept, we compared notes, ranked our priorities, etc but at the end of the day we really leaned on our intuition and children's voice. We held a family election and voted on their new school. It was unanimous - Park Day was our kiddos first choice. They loved that learning was outdoors as much as indoors. They loved how warm the teachers and students were during their visits during the mini-maker faire, admissions events, etc.

Our children spend more time in school than home and it was important for that environment to mirror our family values. My partner and I are former educators (you'll find many Park Day parents are also former or current educators) and it speaks volumes. To watch my six year olds use power tools to saw, sand and hammer construction projects that connect with what they're learning has given them so much confidence. 

We just wrapped up parent teacher conferences this week and I cried (good) tears. The educators know both my children so well; their passions, strengths, learning edges and quirks. Most importantly, my children both LOVE learning. On holidays, they're sad that school is closed. They have deep knowledge of what they're learning not b/c they memorized it but because they deconstructed concepts, modeled them out with recycled materials and brought learning to life. 

Angela and the educators at Park Day genuinely care for every single child and family. If you're still on the fence, see if you can schedule time to visit both schools again to address any questions and see where your heart leads you and your family. We just started in Kindergarten and will stay with Park Day through the 8th grade.

Wishing you and your fam all the best!

-LF

Congrats! Both are really great schools and very similar in many ways. It was difficult for us to decide between the 2 schools. We chose Aurora, but we would have been happy at Park Day. We went to a small play based preschool and kids end up at both schools. We end up comparing notes with other parents often and marvel at how similar these two schools are. 

In terms of academic, social emotional and progressive education, both are fantastic except Aurora offers smaller and multi-grade classes. This difference was important for us because we felt that one of the reasons that makes private school worth the tuition is the student to teacher ratio. Aurora wins here. We LOVED our small preschool experience and Aurora’s approach is what we imagined a big kid school would be if our little Reggio Emilia preschool could continue into elementary school. 

Differentiated learning - another benefit of small size. Our child is advanced in one area and needs a lot of support in another. I’m sure PDS would have met our needs. During the tour, we felt that Aurora teachers and parents were able to answer our questions better with concrete examples of what they do to differentiate and how they would work with a child like ours. They went into specific steps they were currently taking with kids like ours. 

Woodworking - both schools have a great woodworking program but PDS’ workshop space is much nicer. On that note, PDS campus is beautiful. Aurora campus is nice but I think PDS takes the crown in terms of the campus. Both schools offer ample indoor and outdoor learning.

Administration and leadership - It seems that PDS has had a leadership turnover quite a bit. Aurora’s leadership is very stable. Current parents tell me that they really like the current leadership at PDS, but as a prospective family, we felt comforted by the fact that Aurora has had the same principal for over a decade. Aurora’s principal is such a kind and caring person and actively seeks out student and parent input. I often see her talking with kids. She also knows every child at school. She knows them all by their names!

DEI — I think PDS is more racially diverse, but not by a huge margin. Both schools do an amazing job at DEI education. We are a mixed race household with moderate means and feel very comfortable at Aurora. We would have felt equally comfortable at PDS. Both schools try to be more diverse, but neither is a true reflection of Oakland. No private school is. It matters that both  schools try and focus on the importance of diversity. 

Community - both schools have wonderful families. We have several friends at PDS. You can’t go wrong with either. 

Middle school — PDS MS is well established and Aurora’s MS is just beginning. For MS, the programs are different between the two schools. Take a look at their programs. Aurora MS kids have a field trip every week and learning is project “Quest” based. This is neither a pro or con. It is apples and oranges between the two MS.

In the end, we went with our gut. We felt more welcome at Aurora which made an effort to get to know us during the admissions process. I felt PDS didn’t really want to get to know us until after admission. 

Congrats again! 

Congratulations!  Both are wonderful schools.  We made this same decision a couple years back--we ended up choosing Aurora and are very happy there!  A couple things nudged us over the edge, and have borne out as incredibly valuable: 

- Small classroom sizes:  Students and teachers get lots of 1:1 time with one another, so my child's education has felt incredibly bespoke--really well-tailored to her particular areas of strength and growth.  

- Mixed grade classrooms:  This is such an incredibly valuable feature of Aurora.  Children have a wonderful range to be leaders and develop stretch with one another.  I also am particularly pleased that my child can develop longer lasting bonds with her teachers, who invest so deeply for two years with their students.  

- Overall school size & steady leadership:  Even as Aurora grows its middle school program, the school feels really intimate.  The head of school is accessible, knows each kid and each family, and is very responsive.  My impression is that the teachers and staff are treated well and the head of school is personally invested in their careers, which is incredibly valuable to me.  

- Integrated arts & performance:  My child is always working on a creative way of integrating the history, science, and math work:  plays, writing and "publishing" her own books, designing an art project, musical performance, etc.  The woodshop is great, too!  The kids build confidence and ownership in their work.  

Wishing you the best as you consider these wonderful choices!