Do piedmont schools allow single subject acceleration?
Hi,
I am considering moving to piedmont for the schools/ community and wondering if I could get some insight into how piedmont schools compare to private (i've read previous posts that they still can't match private student: teacher ratio) and how the schools treat academically strong children?
Oct 18, 2023
Parent Replies
How old are your kids? Piedmont doesn't really differentiate in elementary school at all. There was some lip service to differentiation, but almost no resources for teachers to actually implement it. We have a new administration now that is open and receptive and we are hoping for change, but currently our experience is that there is almost no differentiation in the elementary years. In middle school, my understanding is that there are a couple of compression pathways that allows for math acceleration, but I don't believe there are any other kinds of honors or advanced courses (I am not 100% sure on this but this is what I've heard).
That said, Piedmont is a lovely community with many great attributes. But right now it doesn't support advanced learners very well.
Two things if you are at the elementary level:
1. The student/teacher ratio is better than advertised. There are so many "para-educators" that come in and out of the classrooms in elementary that it sometimes feels like the ratio is actually half of what is stated. Maybe that was just our experience, though.
2. Academic differentiation is a concerted parent effort not done by the administration. There are activities put on by after-school enrichment, the ALPS group (Accelerating Learning in Piedmont Schools), and some enthusiastic parents. A good example of this is the Lego League centered here - it seems like many kids participate, and it's an intro to STEM for many.
We have a 2nd grader in PUSD and haven’t seen such differentiation. The teacher offers fun extra math problems, some classroom aides seem ready to talk about topics beyond the curriculum, and there are afterschool programs available on e.g. math, coding, languages, arts and sports.
There is an upcoming info session (also advertised on https://www.piedmont.k12.ca.us):
Elementary Prospective Parent Information Night, 7:00 PM- 8:00 PM, Ellen Driscoll - Playhouse, 325 Highland Ave, Piedmont, CA 94611, USA