Albany vs. Berkeley from a minority persepctive
We are looking to move to either Albany or Berkeley. Any minority perspectives out there regarding your experiences with either school district? I've read a few negative things re: Albany which concern me, but am wondering what the current day-to-day reality is for minority children there. We've had a horrible experience with WCCUSD so far (definitely not inclusive of minorities at least in our current school), so trying to guess what Berkeley or Albany might be like. Thanks for any insight on either.
Apr 30, 2023
Parent Replies
I have many friends with children of color in Berkeley public schools and they are very happy with their experiences. I can’t speak to Albany schools but as a Berkeley native I can say Albany tends to be less diverse.
If you’re willing to share, I’d love to hear what WCCUSD school you’ve had negative experiences with? We’re considering transferring our son from private to public in El Cerrito (possibly Kensington). As a family of color we’d hate to put our child in an unsupportive environment.
Hello, my children are enrolled in the Albany school district and we are very happy with their experience so far. Very inclusive community, great teachers, staff and while I cannot compare to Berkeley, there is nothing that I could point out to be a negative, certainly not with respect to minority inclusion.
When I was looking for schools for my child of color, I liked El Cerrito instead of Albany or Berkeley. We knew POC who had been there and liked it vs other stories I had heard of the other two schools.
On greatschools.net, you can look up the demographics of a school's student body to get a sense of how many student families share your specific race/ethnic identity. For example, Albany High is a majority-minority school, but only 3% African American.
BUSD is majority-minority, and there's some thoughtfulness about including students of color (although it's not perfect I'm sure). You might want to look at the demographics of particular schools to see if any stand out as a better fit. Keep in mind that schools are selected based on lottery within each of the 3 attendance zones for primary and (soon) the middle schools. BUSD is phasing in an integration plan for the middle schools. (There used to be 2 zones plus an opt-in to Longfellow, but this gradually resulted in segregation. The middle school zones that are coming online closely track the primary school zones.)
I think it depends on what minority you are. If you are Asian you would fit in well in Albany. That is the predominant group besides white. If you are something else I think you would do better in Berkeley. I think Berkeley tries to be inclusive. Also, there are just more kids of color in Berkeley than Albany.