BPC vs The Academy

We ended up choosing The Academy because of the small class size. Our son loves it. His teacher Miss Cherney (kindergarten) is the best we could have asked for. She is kind, attentive and silly. We love the math and science forward culture there — kids of all grades participate in the Math Kangaroo competition (if they want to) and some of the parents banded together to find Berkeley Math Circle an alternate hosting location after they had security approval issues with being located on UCB campus. Everyone participates in the Science Fair every year. BPC was really nice but we just didn’t emotionally connect with the teachers as much and it felt a little more like BUSD but with better extracurriculars. 

We were making the same decision a couple years ago for our kids (BPC vs. Academy).  We chose The Academy, and my kids are finishing 1st and 4th grade there this year.  Unfortunately, we don't have any experience with K because my kids started  in 1st grade (this year) and 3rd grade (last year).  But I have only heard good things about K!

We are so happy at The Academy and are really happy with our choice!  My 4th grader is nerdy and also loves math - he has made great friends and really thrived socially, and he is really loving the academics and engaging there as well, including in subjects that he was not that into when he was in younger grades in OUSD.  My 1st grader is a social butterfly and is thriving socially, and also academically.  The academics are super strong - I am continually shocked at how MUCH the kids do and learn.  Math is taught a grade level ahead - they do a ton of repetition practice (so crucial for solidifying the basics), but they also have time for fun - for example, in 4th grade, they made multiplication board games in groups that they then played with the 7th graders.  The reading/writing is also super strong.  In 3rd and 4th grade, they do novel studies, where they read a whole novel as a class, and then have book clubs to discuss and analyze the book.  The 4th grade novels are really engaging (I have been reading along with my son!) and I am really impressed with the essays they are taught to write about the books that they are reading.  In 1st grade, my daughter is working on an "animal report" where she chooses an animal, and then has to research and write a report on the animal.  The teachers somehow model all of this in class so it doesn't feel too overwhelming - my kids are super engaged in all they are doing, even when they are doing quite a lot of work!  Additionally, even with all this work, it doesn't feel competitive at all - it just seems like a great school for nice, nerdy kids :)

Socially, I love that there is a lot of mixed-grade interaction.  The lower school does partner reading 3 grades apart (so K + 3rd, 1st and 4th, etc).  They also do fun activities, like the 4th grade is making a spring themed scavenger hunt for the lower grades.  They go on a lot of mixed grade field trips.  The art program is fantastic for an art lover - they study different artists and then create art based on the artist - my daughter studied Seurat in 1st grade and then made a pointillist self-portrait.  The music program is stellar - they have 2-3 performances per year, which involve mixed grade ensembles, for example, lower grades singing, and upper grades playing various instruments (percussion, recorder, ukelele).  They all learn music theory, which is amazing.

Overall we are thrilled with The Academy.  When we visited The Academy, my husband and I both felt like this is the school we wish we could have gone to when we were kids.  In contrast, when we visited BPC, we liked it, and our kids would have done great there, but it kind of felt like the public school I went to growing up in an affluent suburb, and The Academy just felt like something special to us.

Having been a parent at The Academy, I wanted to share my perspective. While The Academy excels in math and science, its small size can become monotonous over time especially if there are any rifts between students, etc... Some kids struggle at The Academy because the social circles are too small. 

When considering schools, the quality of enrichment programs like music (instruments) and sports is an important factor. Many families we knew left The Academy for other private institutions. Ultimately, our children attended high schools of similar caliber, such as HR, Bentley, CPS, Athenian, Univ School (SF), O'Dowd, and St. Mary's.

While you can't go wrong with either option, Black Pine Circle School may provide a more vibrant community for students and parents alike.

One of the biggest differences is class size. For us, a BPC family, the ~20-22 class size in the lower school (with a FT head and assistant teacher) felt like the right size. The class size is large enough there are a variety of friend groups and each kid can get personalized attention, but not too small that things go awry if there is a social riff. The kids are all smart and interesting, families are kind and the teachers are excellent. The administration is also wonderful, which I undervalued before switching to independent schools. Most families continue onto the upper school, which I think is a shining gem. From 6-8th the class size around 60-70 is perfect where there is a strong sense of community and no one falls through the cracks. Kids have many talents in music, art, math, writing, drama, robotics, investments etc. Out of our kids friends, there's a real range in natural talents. I think it's a good experience to know that being smart and successful can manifest in many different fields. 

We faced the same dilemma 5 years ago and we ultimately chose The Academy because of the rigorous academics and the small class sizes.  When we toured BPC, the classes were fairly large compared to The Academy classes and despite there being two instructors per class, it was still the main instructor teaching.  The student work output (essays posted on walls, student work in folders and hung on walls) at The Academy looked more advanced.  

My daughter was also an introvert so we figured the smaller classes would give her more opportunities to be heard.  She also loves math and reading as well and we couldn’t be happier with our choice.  Over the years, new classmates joined often because they weren’t being challenged at other public and private schools.  Our daughter  is currently in 4th grade and is being taught by the incredible Ms Ilene, an outstanding teacher who is also one of the most thoughtful people I’ve ever met (the entire class signs a thank you card for every parent field trip chaperone).  My daughter loves her dearly and often tells me that 4th grade is her favorite year and how she wants Ms. Ilene to be her teacher forever :)  

They do a ton of reading and unique writing projects throughout the year including writing to their pen pals in Ghana, interviewing family members for a heritage writing project, writing short stories, writing in their Gold Rush journals from the perspective of a gold prospector…. They have completed  so many writing projects.  I’m just listing the most recent ones that I can recall.  They’ve read books like Esmerelda Rising, Refugee and many more.  The other benefit to the small class size is that students have more opportunities to do presentations and practice their public speaking skills.  On top of other presentations, students take turns being the realistic reporter (past topics included presidential elections, AI, Norse Mythology, etc..) every 6 weeks.

 Math is very rigorous and many students participate in math competitions with students in 5th and up participating in the AMC 8 every year.  There is a math club after school as well.  From what I hear, the upper schoolers are about 2 years ahead in math and their teacher will teach them even more advanced topics after they’ve completed their required curriculum.  Because the upper school also has small class sizes, they don’t have a big influx of new students between 5th and 6th grade, so the class can continue at their rigorous academic pace.  For schools where there is a bigger influx of new students in 6th grade, more time needs to be spent to make sure everyone starts out on a similar footing.  So, for instance, recently a parent told me that her 6th grade son at Head Royce was doing math that was similar to what her kid was doing in 4th grade at The Academy.  

          My younger child is currently in Kindergarten and like the other reviewer mentioned, Ms Cherney is such a warm teacher and has taught our child so much this year.  All the kids love her. Every time I go in for parent teacher conferences, I am shocked by the students’ writing output and by how far my child has come in reading and writing.  My child went into Kindergarten reading some basic words and now she is reading level 3 (Step Into Reading)  books pretty fluently .