Seeking advices for elementary school in Alameda
Hi!
We are a Belgium family with two kids (8 and 4 years) and we are planning to move in Alameda in July. (My husband has been working for a startup in San Francisco). We are looking for a elementary school for our eldest son. I saw on « greatschools » that Edison was great, Earhart too, but I would like to know the opinion from Alamedian parents :-) Which school in Alameda would you recommend for my 8 years old boy? Thank you!
Oct 29, 2017
Parent Replies
We have just started at Edison in Kindergarten, and it's been a great experience so far. But from what I understand, all the schools here are excellent, and you can't really go wrong!
Both Edison and Earhart are excellent schools, so you are fine at either. But you should know that this year a large elementary school in Alameda was shut down due to earthquake safety reasons, and all the kids dispersed to other schools. As a result, many schools are full to capacity for certain grades. You still stand a good chance to get in to your first choice school if you live within the district, but you should have some mental preparation just in case you don't, and you can also do some research to figure out what your second and third choice is. You should also do this in case you can't rent/buy within the district you want by July. Most (not all) elementary schools in Alameda are great, as well as some charter schools, so you don't have to worry too much. You can also call the school district and see what they can project for class sizes for the coming school year. Good luck!
Alameda public schools are assigned by your neighborhood, you can't just choose schools. For instance, to get assigned to Edison, you would need to live in that district, and same with Earhart. Interdistrict transfers are technically possible, but you might not be able to transfer your child to the school you want. Also to know, because of the recent influx of families, there is not always room in a given school for all the children in the neighborhood and they may be "diverted" to other schools.
So, just understand that which school you are considering will really depend on where you end up finding housing - you can't just pick and choose. That being said, we were at Edison for many years and very happy there... but we also hear good things about Earhart, and in general, most of the elementary schools are excellent, including some magnet and charter options.
To learn more, I would recommend joining the Alameda Parents Network Yahoo Group - very active, and all Alamedan membership... as BPN historically is more Oakland/Berkeley based. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/alamedaparentsnetwork/info
Good luck in your move!