Kindergarten in Albany Schools
Hello, My husband and I are thinking about moving to Albany for the schools. We currently live and work in the other side of the Bay Bridge. We have a few questions that we hope to get some insights to: 1) I know the Albany Schools are highly rated but can't find anything about their kindergartens. Are they really just three hours? Is there before or after school care available for parents who work a fixed schedule? 2) one thing that is a concern for both my husband and I are the fact that we have a bridge between us and our daughter if any natural disasters happen like an earthquake. Do the schools have any specific procedure in place for something like this or the parents need to pick up their kids within so many hours?
Jul 19, 2020
Parent Replies
If your definition of a good school is solely based on test scores, then yes Albany has good schools. But they don't have great variety for enrichment classes or before/after care. Generally speaking, the greatschools.org rating only captures a small part of what makes a school great and lacks to take into account things like diversity, community, enrichment, or what might be most important for your kid based on their personality/interests. I'm not saying Albany doesn't have those but perhaps more people who have kiddos who have recently been in that district could weigh in, and you could elaborate more on what you are looking for in a school. I do know that El Cerrito and Berkeley have more robust before and after care if that's what you need.
Hi!
My husband and I just moved to Albany 2 months ago and had alot of similar questions - sadly I don't have all the answers though.
There are 3 elementary schools in Albany, one of which is currently closed for renovations. So 3 schools worth of kindergartners are being looked after at 2 locations, which is why they had planned half days only. But now they have just confirmed distance learning until at least November, then potentially returning two days/week. So if you need somewhere for your child to be, this is a big problem. I also worried about the working across the bridge, and I can't tell you about the policies. I know at some of the Berkeley schools they are required to care for your child for 36 hours or something similar. My husband now works from home and this might continue for a while so it's less of an overall stress.
Happy to chat more
We moved here a year ago "for the schools' and the neighborhood. While the district and teachers mean well, schools have disappointed on several levels, while the neighborhood has met expectations. You have to come here with your eyes open and not be swayed by ratings. You may want to compare budgets of different districts ... This affects the offerings. Also happy to talk more.
Thank you so much for all of your replies! We really appreciate them