Arts-focused Public Elementary School recommendations
Hello,
My family is moving back to the Bay Area after a short stint in Southern California and are looking for recommendations on a public elementary school with a strong focus on the arts. We have not yet nailed down where we will be living so I would love to understand recommendations across the East Bay in Oakland, Albany, Berkeley, and El Cerrito.
The school we're at now weaves art and hands on learning into just about all areas of learning, (even math!) and also has a strong focus on social emotional learning/conflict resolution. I was wondering what a comparable school might be in the East Bay. Thanks so much!!
Apr 9, 2024
Parent Replies
For public elementary school in Oakland, Peralta Elementary in Oakland has strong arts program. Its website states that it is a designated Arts Demonstration School in OUSD. The neighborhood that includes Peralta feeds into Claremont Middle and Oakland Tech High which are considered top schools in Oakland. The only potential issue is that in some years, Peralta has not been able to accommodate all neighborhood kids especially for K, due to the number of rising siblings of current Peralta students who get the first priority. The neighborhood children get the 2nd priority after the siblings of current students. You might want to inquire for the specific grades for your kids.
We live in Oakland, so I'm not as familiar with public schools in other districts.
My art-loving kid has been super happy at Emerson in Oakland. She’s currently in kindergarten there. She loves the weekly art and dance class during the school day. However, the real art advantage of Emerson is the afterschool program a block away at Studio One. They have 2 art classes every afternoon, including things like ceramics, textiles/weaving, origami, painting, drawing, and creative movement (dance). It is after school, so not integrated into the curriculum, but the program has been amazing for us. Also not free, but they do offer need-based scholarships.