Malcolm X vs... what? in the SE Zone for an incoming 1st grader
We just moved to Berkeley to a house in the Southeast Zone (Emerson, John Muir, Malcom X)
Our son is a rising 1st grader who is sweet and sensitive, and drawn to math and science. At his current school he has an IEP for speech and occupational therapy for handwriting and other fine motor problems, but other than that ~90 minutes a week total of pull-out he's been in a general classroom and doing well. We have about two weeks until the next school admissions deadline, so we need to come up with a ranking for our school preferences.
We live very close to Malcolm X, and my understanding is that unlike our prior district, all the BUSD schools have roughly similar resources and test scores. Are there big differences in culture between the schools? Aftercare availability? I'd love to be able to walk to school instead of putting our kid on the bus, which gives it a leg up, but maybe Muir or Emerson has something amazing or a better fit for our kid?
Parent Replies
People seem to love the schools they’re at so you almost can’t go wrong here. It’d be best to check out the start times of the schools and see what fits best for your family’s schedule. In touring many of the elementary schools and speaking with principals and staff, the resources are very similar. It might be more of a matter of how often the resources are at a particular school (like a science or art teacher, etc). The principals are very accessible if you want to call them. They’re happy and proud to talk about their schools. :)
As an FYI, you will not qualify for the bus if you are less than 1.5 miles from the school. And I'm sure you know that BUSD is a lottery and that you'll submit your ranked choices but ultimately it's up to the random lottery. Yes, all BUSD schools are the same in terms of curriculum and resources.
Malcolm X is one of the largest schools in the district while Emerson and JM are smaller. I was worried about the Malcolm X size when we were placed there but it hasn't been a problem and he's loved being in school. Aftercare is the same at all schools (LEARNS), but I'm not sure if availability is better at one school vs. another. We never got a spot at Malcolm X LEARNS but we got a spot at the City of Berkeley Live Oak program which has bussing from Malcolm X and some other schools. Malcolm X has a large arts emphasis; in kindergarten this year, our son has taken music and drama classes and has loved them. Another deciding factor would be to look at each school's start time; Malcolm X starts at 8:10 but some other schools start later.