Piedmont Middle School
One of our kids is at PMS, yup that's what the middle school is called. My impression is that PMS may not be the place to "inspire his interests and curiosity and spark a love for learning". But I do think that PMS does try hard to understand and help with the emotional challenges of middle school. Also our son can walk to school as well as to many after school activities which is a plus for developing some independence. Outside the schools, Piedmont has a lot of kids participating in Scouting, chorus and robotics as well as the typical baseball and soccer programs. We have friends with children at St Paul's. St. Paul's might be more of the kind of place you are looking for.
My 6th grader loves Piedmont Middle, but he is both socially and academically motivated. Piedmont is obviously a public school system, and as such offers standardized education - at a high level - but in general it's not juicy creative learning, though there have been some interesting projects. From reading the many BPN posts on Park Day and St. Paul's, and from having attended private school myself, it sounds like the teacher attention would be more individualized at private than at PMS. Are you considering moving to Piedmont, or did you receive an IDT? If the latter I wonder about taking a spot from someone who is self-motivated and would love the opportunity to flourish in Piedmont. I'd say that Piedmont education is standardized, while the private schools sound more customized to each child. My child thrives at Piedmont Middle, and as parents we are happy with the school as well - it's the right place for us. It suits his personality, but not that of all children - some prefer private to Piedmont, and some genuinely prefer Piedmont to private, and have moved between the two. Assuming you've toured all three, which environment resonated with your child most?
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Special Ed program at Piedmonth Middle School
June 2011
Im wondering if anyone could please share their experience with Piedmont Unified,Special ed program. My son is entering middle school and we are looking for a special ed program for learning disability.Do they have a self contained class room,or a small class?Placement in a mainstream class wont work. Since we are stuck with limited choices and its the end of the school year, i wont be able to visit their middle school to make an observation. Any experience/help is greatly appreciated!
Piedmont Middle School does have some Learning Center classes, where they have a 1/15 ratio and the teachers have special training. They also have a special ed program that goes all day, but is more remedial. My kid was somewhere between Learning Center and mainstream, and never did well in the mainstream classes. They were pretty unforgiving on assignment tracking and note-taking at the time, though it has been a few years. The LC classes were good, though. high school mom
Input on Piedmont middle school
March 2009
We'd love to get some current input on Piedmont schools, especially middle and high school. We have the opportunity to move to the district and the concern we have is that it will be too academically intense for our child who's spent her elementary years in a small private school. The academic setting hasn't been so easy for her and we worry about it being geared towards the high-achievers. What about kids who need some help -- not special ed, but extra support? Do these kids suffer from self-esteem issues? Would a place like Berkeley be better because there's more diversity, both academically and socially? Thank you for your insights! Worried mom
I think Piedmont middle school is good. It is small and personal and the teachers are responsive to the students and parents. Not all the students are super high achievers. There is a wide variety of students and parents and there is a Middle School parent group that meets to discuss issues with middle schoolers. Amount of homework depends on the teacher. I went to Berkeley public schools, though it was many years ago, and it is easy to fall through the cracks and get behind. Piedmont Middle School mom
I would not worry about the curriculum being too difficult for your child if she is a middle of the class student academically. The curriculum is not geared toward high-achievers at all; in fact, quite the reverse. I have children in both the middle and high-schools and it has been a problem that they have not been challenged. There is, however, I believe a lot of pressure among the students (driven by some of the parents) to participate in too many activities. I don't think that this is specific to Piedmont however. The biggest issue for your daughter, especially in middle school and less so in high school, may be the social scene. Middle school seems that it can be tough socially for girls (I have boys- hopefully the mom of a girl will respond.) I do not know your socioeconomic status, but Piedmont skews high in that regard. Although we are not among the wealthiest by any means, we are certainly comfortable and constantly working to make sure our kids know how good we all have it. It can be an uphill battle when they have many friends who routinely travel extensively, have all the latest expensive electronic gadgets, etc. On the good side, there is a strong emphasis on community service and recognizing and respecting diversity. And in general the neighborhoods and schools are safe places. The high school is particularly strong in the performing and fine arts. And contrary to popular belief, Piedmont is strongly Democratic and we have become friends with many interesting folks. Piedmont Mom
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