Are Alameda schools safer than Oakland?
Long-time Oakland resident with two neurodivergent kids. I'm considering moving to Alameda. I'm wondering if Alameda middle and high schools have less fighting and bullying than Oakland middle and high schools. One of my kids is in middle school already and sees fights on a regular basis. He also hears a lot of homophobic and ableist comments. He was injured by another kid once and it was terrifying for me. In defense of his current school, it has an amazing autism program and a great community.
So what do you think? Is there a significant difference between Oakland and Alameda schools? Alameda is more expensive, so it isn't an easy choice.
Jan 26, 2024
Parent Replies
I would suggest looking into Academy of Alameda. It’s a charter school so you don’t need to move. My daughter is a 6th grader and I think it’s a good environment. It’s not a utopia but it’ll probably have more of what you’re looking for in a middle school.
My kids both go/went to Alameda HS. My good friend's kid went to Oakland Tech. My impression is that there is much less fighting here. My son got a lot of bullying in elementary school, but not since then. I was quite satisfied with how the school handled it when he was bullied (multiple occasions over the years, but addressed well each time). My friends kid was bullied at her OUSD middle school to the point that they pulled her out and she's not going back to OUSD. AHS has its flaws, but overall I think it's a pretty positive culture - my elderly parents used to have lunch on Park St when the kids were out for lunch and often commented at how polite and well-behaved they were (for a pack of teenagers, of course). I hear good things about Encinal too, and about the autism programs. I'm certainly not saying there's no bullying, and if it happens to your kid the rates don't matter, but I think Alameda usually does a pretty good job.