Advice about OUSD Elementary Schools
Parent Q&A
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Judaism and OUSD
–Jan 11, 2025I am in the process of ranking schools for my son who is entering Kindergarten this coming school year. I am ethnically Jewish and we celebrate some Jewish holidays at home. With the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, I’m wondering if there have been any issues with Jewish students experiencing anti-Semitism. I am 100% open to all perspectives on the war, but I am wondering whether appropriate opinions about the conflict could be inadvertently translated into inappropriate anti-Semitism when things distill down to kids in Kindergarten. I assume OUSD admin and teachers are trained to set the right tone on this stuff, but if anyone has had any negative experiences, I would be interested to hear them. Some of the schools we plan to ranking high include Crocker, Cleveland, Lincoln, and Sankofa. Thank you!
Jan 11, 2025Sankofa United
–Nov 12, 2024Hello,
I am from New Jersey so I am unfamiliar with OUSD. I am hoping to hear other parents perspective on what their experience has been like at Sankofa. We currently live in Berkeley so I am torn between staying in Berkeley or moving to north Oakland where our living situation would be more ideal. I know Berkeley has great elementary schools. Although, people consider Berkeley diverse. I don’t see many African American children in the neighborhoods. So I really like the diversity of Sankofa. Let me know your thoughts!
Nov 12, 2024Seeking reviews of Bella Vista, Cleveland, and Franklin
–Dec 7, 2023Hello, my oldest daughter will be enrolling in elementary school next fall and we are deciding how we want to rank our local schools. We live very close to Bella Vista and it seems fine, but nothing super special. We’re not too far from Cleveland and Franklin; both of which have much better reviews so far and the principals seem much more enthusiastic and passionate about their school community. Can anyone share any additional recent reviews?
thanks!
Dec 7, 2023Chabot or MLA for kinder?
–Mar 20, 2023Hello parents! We somehow got into Chabot and Melrose Leadership Academy for kindergarten and would love to hear from current parents of kindergarteners what’s great and what’s not. We are super happy at Escuela Bilingüe Internacional and planned to continue, but surprised we have more great choices. We hate to give up Spanish immersion, but people are acting like we won the actual lottery getting into Chabot. Thanks in advance for any insights!
Mar 20, 2023Classroom spaciousness at OUSD elementary schools
–Dec 10, 2022Hi everyone! I have a question about Oakland public schools. Have you seen the classrooms of any of these schools? I am hoping to find out which ones feel spacious/calm and which ones might feel cramped/tiny, especially for the younger grades.
My kiddo is "high-functionining" autistic and his preschool teachers said he really struggles to learn when he feels physically more confined. She said that we should prioritize a spacious physical environment for him for kindergarten.
I did a tour today of an otherwise-lovely school but it turns out both kindergarten classes are in portable trailers with small windows. Their first grade classrooms are larger but the class size is large as well (23-30 kids), so it felt cramped to me with that many desks in it.
Here are the schools we're looking at, but definitely open to others as well. Thanks! :-) Peralta, La Escuelita, Cleveland, Sequoia, Redwood Heights, Joaquin Miller, Crocker Highlands, Chabot, Hillcrest, Glenview, Bella Vista, and Emerson.
Dec 10, 2022Pros and cons of Crocker Highlands Elementary
–Sep 11, 2022We're starting to research elementary schools for our incoming kindergartner. I'd love to hear from parents whose children currently attend Crocker Highlands Elementary. It's our home school and is walking distance.
I have a fairly opinionated, strong-willed but very sweet child. I have generally heard good things about this school but would love to hear more specifically about: (1) what your experience been with your child's teachers and administrators.
(2) what sports and music classes can we expect for the lower grades (if any)
(3) sense of community and opportunities for parents to volunteer and connect with one another (aside from fundraisers)
Sep 11, 2022Chabot Elementary vs Joaquin Miller
–Jun 14, 2021Hi my son will be entering public school for the first time and was offered a spot at Joaquin Miller and Now Chabot Elementary and I’m torn on what to choose. My biggest concern is diversity at Chabot. Any people of color have experience with both schools?
Jun 14, 2021Elementary public schools in Oakland?...
–Mar 7, 2021Hi there,
My daughter starts public school in August 2021. Any recommendations on elementary schools? I am hoping to have her attend one that is diverse in its approach and content, in learning. One that has a lot of outside time, and focuses on art, science, etc.
Thank you!
Mar 7, 2021OUSD curriculum questions 2nd grade
–Apr 9, 2020Hi there bpn community! Like most of you, we're trying to prepare for a drastic shift in life and wonder what your experience with 2nd grade math in the OUSD system has been? Our kid really enjoys math and is doing multiplication and a bit of division now in 1st grade. She's also a great reader. What kind of math can we expect she'll have a chance to do as a second grader in Oakland? Also, what's on the reading list? Thanks in advance for your feedback.
Apr 9, 2020Seeking recent reviews of Oakland public elementary schools
–Jan 22, 2019Hello parents in Oakland! Our daughter will start Kindergarten next year and we're trying to find the right school for her. We've applied to private schools (Redwood Day and Head-Royce) but we're hoping to get lucky in the OUSD lottery process and get her into a good (or good-enough) public school. Our lottery picks are due Feb 8, 2019. I've read all the BPN reviews, but many of them are a few years out of date, so if you have recent experience with OUSD schools, please share with us anxious parents. Right now our top choices, based on school quality and proximity, are these: Cleveland, Sequoia, Redwood Heights, Joaquin Miller, and Glenview. Any feedback on these schools? Or other recommendations? Thanks!!
Jan 22, 2019
You are not limited to your neighborhood school so I recommend you check with OUSD about your options. There are several excellent Oakland public elementary schools. My daughter attended Kaiser Elementary (not our neighborhood school) and it was a fantastic experience.
I encourage you to give Oakland schools a chance. We have been extremely happy with our local public school (Sequoia in the Dimond District)--I believe it is one of the most (if not the most) diverse school in the district in terms of both ethnicity and economics. Oakland schools vary widely in terms of size, educational quality, ethnic diversity, etc. If you explore the schools you are likely to find one that fits your needs. While there are many neighborhood kids at our school there are also kids from all over the city. And the teachers at our school are really amazing--they have done a great job of keeping our gifted child academically challenged and loving school. I would imagine that at grades 4 & 5, it shouldn't be too hard to find a placement in a school you and your kids will be happy with.
A happy Oakland public school Mama
Welcome! The first thing I'd do is find out more about your neighborhood school; look beyond test scores and you may be pleasantly surprised. If not, the first call to make is to the Oakland Unified Student Assignment Center. OUSD class sizes expand in fourth grade and many schools that are hard to get into for kindergarten have spaces in fourth and fifth grades as a result, so you may have some choices within the District that you are happy with. The sooner you get on the waitlist, the better, as enrollment for next year is already underway. If you need a spot immediately, you may have even better options since mid-year openings are not always filled (and will then get to continue at that school next year once enrolled). Charter schools have already run their lotteries for next year, but may also be more likely to have unexpected openings at those grade levels. It is extremely unlikely that you will get a transfer into Berkeley schools unless you are a teacher in the Berkeley school district; the bar is very high for granting transfers and Berkeley schools are currently overcrowded. Good luck!
I can only speak for Cleveland; our family also has one ethnically Jewish parent and celebrates the holidays. At school there basically hasn't been discussion about the Israel-Hamas war, nor the Russia-Ukraine conflict. My 3rd grader has heard about the war briefly from another Jewish friend at Cleveland, but my 1st grader (Kindergartener last year) had no idea except when we mentioned it.
Cleveland is multi-cultural however, and so teachers are always welcoming parents to come in and share their backgrounds, teach about specific holidays etc. Jewish parents have come in to share books, dreidls, latkes, etc. during different Jewish holidays. As have other parents when it comes to Divali, Ramadan, the Autumn Moon Festival, the Ethiopian New Year, Filipino History month, and so forth.
We also has a Cleveland Jewish families WhatsApp group for families to connect; concerns have been at the District/board meeting level, not with the elementary school. I hope this helps.
Wishing you luck in navigating this time with your little one. I don't have anything to offer, but I did just attend orientations for Cleveland and Lincoln this week and both at least from a theoretical perspective are on point with their positions about diversity and inclusion and emotional safety for all children.
Welcome to ousd! There have been a lot of problems and complains related to this issue and it has resulted in dozens of families getting inter district transfers to other nearby districts. However most of the concerns and complaints I have heard about are happening at the middle and senior high level. I’m at glenview and it’s been fantastic. Lots of open conversations, support for diversity, loving teachers of all backgrounds. Can’t recommend highly enough. I also think with the new administration folks are going to change focus on what they’re worried about and speaking out about.
You didn't mention Emerson, but my daughter is in kindergarten there this year and we have not experienced any issues. I know multiple of her classmates are Jewish or half-Jewish and haven't heard any concerns from any of them either. We love Emerson! Very diverse and welcoming community.
We're at Cleveland and my son (1st) hasn't had any problems with antisemitism and I feel like that isn't something that Mr VT and Mr Knight would allow to happen. We've had many messages from them during the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war about inclusion and how we're all welcome and safe. After the Trump administration came back las week, they sent a message about how they are a safe space for students and won't ever share immigation status / don't know it. We love Cleveland and the community, which is quite diverse and inclusive. Good luck with your rankings and lottery!
Thank you so much for everyone's replies. Very helpful.