Looking for High School with small class sizes and lots of tech and electives
Any advice on High Schools in the Bay area/East Bay with very small class sizes but also extensive class offerings? The one-on-one option offered by Tilden and Fusion is too extreme for my son. The same character traits that make him introverted and quiet also make him feel uncomfortable being taught alone. However he gets lost in a public school size class. The alternative High Schools have great small classes but very limited class options. Does anyone know of a happy medium? ie small class sizes but lots of class choices? He is smart (GATE kid when in public school) however he has executive function deficits and is only motivated when working on something he loves. He would not be competitive for one of the top 5 schools e.g CPS or Bentley. We have tried that before and he just won't open up and talk during the selection interview.
Any advice gratefully received - we are moving and can relocate SF downtown, Marin, East bay. San Jose probably not an option as our jobs are downtown SF.
Parent Replies
Our son began Orinda Academy in the 8th grade and is currently in the 9th grade. Like your son, he is academically successful, has had executive functioning challenges, and may or may not respond fully to the interview process. Classes at OA are typically small groups of kids and certain classes are offered in a supervised, online process. The kids tend to be generally warm and inclusive, and the faculty seem to genuinely care about each student, so that feeling of "getting lost" does not apply here. We'd encourage you to visit the school and see whether you imagine that your child would do well there. We recommend it highly.
Have you checked out Holden High School in Orinda? They've got small class sizes and lots of different electives. Lots of the classroom teaching is project based learning. (I'm not sure about all of their tech offerings, but I do know they have a ProTools class that teaches digital music production, and a photography class.)
The kids at the school and the staff are super friendly and very inclusive. Maybe schedule a tour to see if it vibes with your family?