Private School Openings for 10th grade
My 9th grader is interested in exploring private schools for 10th grade. I know we are late in the game, so I wonder if some private schools are more likely to have a spot for 10th grade than others. I would love to learn of where to look first.
Apr 17, 2023
Parent Replies
Hello -
Depending on what your kid's needs are, I would look into Mentoring Academy (www.mentoringacademy.org) in Oakland. They are near the Rockridge BART.
My son is a freshman there,and really loves the small, school, the personal attention, and that they focus on real-life experiences beyond academic learning. For example, they just got back from a 1-week stay at the Mount Wilson observatory, where they were able to work with the 60-inch and 100-inch telescopes - that is something Hubble and Einstein did, and even most distinguished scientists never get this chance. It was so inspiring and motivating for our kid - a once-in-a lifetime experience that we would have never been able to give him.
Due to some circumstances beyond their control, they are in a bit of a scrappy building right now (they are working on moving). But if you can see beyond that and grasp how truly caring and special this community and learning environment is, you found a gem for your kid.
We had both a daughter and son who wanted to leave their current schools (which were quite small). They both opted for boarding schools in the East. We used an excellent private high school placement counselor (Christine Southgate, Nextstep) who found schools that had openings for their gender and grade. In the case for our daughter, it was the 2nd or 3rd week of August before 11th grade when she decided she didn't want to go back to her current school. Within a week Christine found 7 schools in the east and arranged for us to visit and interview. We got on a plane, traveled to all the schools, and by their start date right after Labor Day weekend, she was in a new school. We used her again with our son, who in March of 9th grade, decided he didn't like his current school, and we had more choices and he went to the new school for 10th grade.
Bentley School in Lafayette often has openings after regular admissions. You could call or email the admissions office and I'm sure they would be happy to talk with you.
I can second the recommendation for Mentoring Academy. My son has been going there since 8th grade and is now a junior and he is thriving coming out of a very unhappy situation in public school. The school focuses on every kid and helps them achieve their best. They work on essential academics but also help them grow their social and emotional skills. The school is accepting kids on a rolling basis. As the other post said the school is looking for new home but the location will also be somewhere close to Rockridge and also close to BART. My son is commuting form San Francisco.