Looking for updated info about diversity in City of Piedmont
Hello, We are a middle to upper income Asian American couple thinking about Piedmont for schools. We are city people who grew up with a lot of ethnic and economic diversity. What is it like in Piedmont for non-white families? I'd love it if any parents of color would chime in. Thank you.
Nov 7, 2018
Parent Replies
We are South Asian-American. It's only been two years, and our child is not yet of school-age here, though, so take this with a grain of salt.
Obviously we liked the school situation and neighborhood enough to move in.
I believe that where you end up in Piedmont dictates how you feel about diversity around you. Yes it's a small town, but even here there are areas. We live in what i think is lower Piedmont. Our immediate neighbors are diverse - white, South Asian, Asian, from California and not, multi-generational Piedmont and not. The overall numbers are still heavily skewed white.
Being close to Piedmont Avenue and Lake Merritt and Oakland in general helps us feel better regarding diversity, too. Obviously these are hubs so you see more folks around, too.
Finally, there was a racist incident at the high school a few years ago, and the mayor was booted for negative comments as well. There are active neighborhood clubs for minority groups, too. You might want to search for those to get a feel... and also pick up a few of the local papers to read about them and what is discussed. I think it actually gives you a good idea of the culture you'll encounter here.
Hi, we seriously looked into diversity in the City of Piedmont and found there to be significant numbers of Asians and Whites - very little of other ethnicities.
I have friends there and in the school there was a "special meeting" for all of the families in a public elementary class when an adopted student from Latin America entered the class.
There were a lot of questions from the kids and the situation needed to be explained. We live in Berkeley and nobody would blink an eye at an adoption like this.
Piedmont is not diverse ethnically or economically. There are a number of Asian families, but that still is a very small segment of the overall predominately white population. That said, you are surrounded by Oakland which is both. You can live in Piedmont and still have access to the ethnic diversity of Oakland. You just won't have it in your neighborhood.
Piedmont has a gradually increasing Asian population. However, they are all quite wealthy. The biggest problem in Piedmont is lack of economic diversity, and with it, the atmosphere in schools is very White Preppy.