Experience with Cragmont or BUSD? Especially kindergarten

I don't have experience with Cragmont but, I can say that if things do not go well it is difficult to make a change. Our daughter had a rough year in Kindergarten at another BUSD public school. I could tell from the first few days that the teacher was not a good fit. We were told by our principal that they never switch kids to another teacher within a school. You have to switch to completely different school in the district. We were offered a spot at Cragmont, but  it was not a viable option for us because we have 3 kids to drop off at 3 different schools, the 9am start time, and the fact that it is across town and out of zone and we wouldn't get any bus service. We tried all year to get a spot someplace else in the district but couldn't. We ended up sticking it out and taking our daughter to a child psychologist to help her cope. I know the private school we got into would have been a better fit for my daughter but we just couldn't afford to do it. 

That being said, most people seem to love BUSD public schools. 

My son is in K at Cragmont & we’ve been very happy there. We came from an area with a much worse public school system so I may have low standards, but it has worked well for our family. 

Dear A Pickle - One great thing about Berkeley is the public schools are really good. For last 5 years I volunteer tutor in reading/math in first grade at Jefferson school. the teachers are fantastic. Every school has a library AND a librarian. There is a Music in the Schools presentation from the Berkeley Symphony twice a year. There are science teachers and projects from UC Berkeley and another source. The class size is small:  22 kids in the class I tutor. The kids are really diverse. They learn good values, social skills and the curriculum is challenging. First graders I work with are writing.....first they wrote non-fiction piece, then realistic fiction, then fiction that was more fantasy, now they are writing opinion pieces. They are learning shapes: square, rectangle, hexagon, rhombus??? and we are doing fractions!  I didn't learn what a rhombus was until ... I don't know 7th grade? They can all read close to or  past grade level. Save the tuition money to enrich your kid's vacations, camps, travel, books and DONATE to the public schools. Enjoy the public schools with your kids.

We pulled our daughter out after a disastrous Kindergarten year, and wish we'd never sent her there. Her teacher was the least charismatic Kindergarten teacher I've ever encountered - and apparently she's still there. Our daughter's creativity tanked - it was all about reading and math all the time, worksheets and homework. A little boy said to me at the end of the year that he felt stupid because he was having a hard time with reading. Meanwhile our daughter soared to a ridiculous 2nd grade level in reading - all the result of focusing so hard on getting 5-yr-olds to read. I attended a meeting with the new superintendent at the start of that school year in which it was clear that gifted children are not well served by this school system. It's been our experience that all of the energy goes toward the problem kids, of which there are many. If you like your private school, stay. 

Hi, I can't speak to Cragmont or even BUSD schools, but we did switch my son from OUSD where he attended kindergarten back to the school he attended for pre-K (EBI).  He had a wonderful teacher at Chabot (he got really lucky), so that was not the problem for him, but it was clear that the OUSD model was a bad fit for him.  He started off the school year excited about his new school but he soon changed from the happiest kid in the world, one who, at EBI, could barely be bothered to say goodbye at drop off and was always begging to be the last one picked up at the end of aftercare, to an unrecognizably sad kid who actually cried when I left his classroom after I volunteered and lashed out in all manner of other surprising ways.  Since I volunteered about once a week (until it became clear to me and the teacher that I was causing more harm than good), I think I understand the problem. There really is truth to that saying that kindergarten is the new first grade. And to accomplish that mandate re reading/writing/math, etc. -- especially where there is only one teacher for 22 wriggly and unfocused 5-6 year olds, some of whom require more attention than others -- there is necessarily a lot of worksheet work and an emphasis on body control.  For some children this is not a problem.  And for some parents, accountability re these metrics is paramount.  But that is not so much the case for my son.  He was used to learning in a far more organic way, having much more freedom to play and explore and pursue his interests, having an outlet for his curiosity, and working and interacting with other kids in the classroom.  We didn't realize how important these things were for him (and by extension, to us) until we tried to switch him to a different model.  And FYI, this is not a child that transitions poorly or has any difficulty making friends.  

He is in second grade now at EBI and he is reading and writing above grade level in English (though spelling is atrocious), he is above grade level in math, and he can also speak Spanish (very well), and read and write in Spanish (well, but not as well as in English).  But most importantly, he loves school.  I mean, so much that he gets slightly depressed during holidays.  

We never expected to be in private school, especially where we have the option to attend a very highly ranked free school where all my neighbors' kids seem to be doing well.  I assume the finance piece is the biggest concern for you, as it was for us.  It was definitely not an easy decision, and we feel fortunate that we are in a position to make the decision at all, but in the end we felt like 6 was too young to hate, or at least, mentally check out of, school.