Peralta Elementary versus Private School?
I’m very interested in hearing about how the private school experience compares to Peralta. Are there any families out there who moved from Peralta to a private school (or vice versa) and can speak to this? Or maybe you’re a Peralta parent comparing notes with friends who have kids in private schools? Thanks for any thoughts you may have.
Feb 16, 2019
Parent Replies
Our oldest attended Park Day (private school) for Kindergarten last year and is now attending Peralta for 1st grade this year. There are certainly differences between private and public school. We left Park Day for financial reasons we would have loved to stay but considering we had another child who would also be attending Park day the following year we knew we couldn't afford both in private school. Park Day has a very nurturing caring environment, the advantage is their class sizes are less than 18 which is ideal for kids who may prefer the smaller size. Typically private schools require a lot of parent involvement which was required at Park Day (25 hours for 1 child, 50 hours for 2 kids) if you didn't meet the requirement you had to pay for every hour that you had to make up. We were able to meet the volunteers hours but it did require a lot on our end of taking time off from work to do this which can be difficult for some parents. Peralta has a great community of parents, teachers, and students. There is a lot of parent involvement but the difference is you don't feel the pressure as you would in private school. Given it's location compared to other Oakland public schools Peralta has the advantage of more parent involvement and can raise a ton of money to support the school. My daughter does miss Park day and the friendships that she has developed but she has adjusted well to public school life. If you have additional questions just email me directly.
Our daughter was in Peralta from KG through 5th grade, and we and she loved it. We'll always remember our days at Peralta. Our son, who's two years older, was also in Peralta .. in his case from KG through 3rd grade. Then, though it was a very, very tough decision, because we and he were happy, we were convinced to try out the Pacific Boychoir day school where our son was already in the after-school program. We never looked back. It (PBA day school/singing/performing/touring/academics/teachers) was an outrageously amazing experience. But we and he never forgot Peralta. We stayed connected to his friends, play dates, after school activities. It all worked out really nicely for him -- wouldn't change a thing! He's now in high school.