Elementary school Cornell vs OV
Hi all,
Seeking advice. We are UV residents from about a year ago and our first grader was assigned to Cornell the previous year. This year she will be 2nd grader and we are considering to request to change to Ocean View school which is couple of minutes walk from us.
Since all classes get mixed every year we thought it would anyway mean adjusting to change so might as well be to a convenient school. And she doesn't mind either way so it's pretty much up to us.
Also OV is renovated and looks great, as oppose to Cornell that looks relatively old.
Our concern, besides the actual change, is that rating-wise we will be potentially moving her from best to worst school, though all the ratings go back several years, and I haven't found one that is up to date.
Looking for your advice, dear parents, as we are pretty lost on that. If you think it's a mistake i
Thank you so much for any info!
Parent Replies
Full disclosure, Cornell parent here! We love both schools. We value walking to school and we live closer to Cornell so that is why we chose Cornell. We want our 5th grade kids to walk themselves home using the crossing guards. The physical plant of Cornell has been totally fine for our children; the playground is getting final stage of its upgrade this summer. Cornell will have a brand new principal who is wonderful; she is moving over from being Assistant Principal at the middle school. I would actually flip your question to consider some community items: where do the kids on your block go to school? Are there potential playmates on the block from a particular school? How do you see your family helping out at the school? Could you volunteer for a particular committee or commit to driving for field trips next year? Are there parents that you know already that you want to do something with, or would you like a fresh start at a new school with new parents and different PTA planning?
OV Parent here.
I find that within Albany, the ratings of the different elementary schools has less to do with the quality of the education and more to do with the price of homes and demographics around the school. They all end up in the same middle school. I would put more weight to community when making the decision.