Best schools in the Montecito/Santa Barbara area? (2014, home)

[Princess Mononoke]

Looking to move to Montecito later in the year, coming over from the UK. We have two children, aged 5 and 8, and I'm wondering what the best schools are in Montecito or Santa Barbara. Don't mind if they're public schools or private. I really just need the names of the very best schools in the area. Many thanks!

[sourdough]

We have no children. Looks like you will have to dig that one out for yourself. https://www.google.com/#q=best+schools+in+montecito
https://www.google.com/#q=montessori...+santa+barbara

[Axxlrod]

I really hope you are a princess because you will need a royal wallet to live in Montecito.

[RosieSD]

Since you're moving from the UK, you may or may not know that public schools in the U.S. are divided into school districts for different geographic areas. Each school district "assigns" children to a particular school in the district based on their home address. While it is sometimes possible to request an intra-district transfer to another school within your school district, it is generally much harder to request an inter-district transfer to a school in another school district.

So, where you decide to live will determine the public schools that are available to your children to attend.

Montecito schools are in the Montecito School District. It is a very small school district with only two elementary schools.

Public schools in Santa Barbara fall under the Santa Barbara School District. There are many more elementary schools in that district.

My suggestion would be that you investigate where the district boundaries for the two districts lay, and also where the boundaries for schools within each district are, and then take that into consideration when shopping for a place to live.

Once you've decided where you will live, and which schools are assigned to that address, call the school and ask about their programs. Even better, try to tour the school if you can. If there is a particular public elementary school that you feel would be best for your children, you'll want to choose a residence that is within the boundaries for that school. Again, the school district (or any realtor) can tell you which schools are assigned to particular addresses.

Here are the websites for the two school districts, where you can learn about the schools in each district and how they area assigned by address:

Santa Barbara Unified: Santa Barbara Unified School District

Montecito school district: Montecito Union School / Homepage

You may also find these two sites helpful in comparing public schools in California:

California API Scores: API 3 - Year Average(CA Dept. of Education)

GreatSchools.com - a website that purports to "rate" schools based on various factors. Although this will give you some insights, it should not be a substitute for actually contacting the schools and asking questions about their educational programs relevant to your children's needs. Greatschools.com does have some reviews of private schools.


Finally, for private schools, here's a list of all of the PRIVATE schools in Santa Barbara County. As you begin home shopping, you can compare where these are located in relation to your potential future residence, and then, as with public schools, contact the schools directly to make your own assessment of their "fit" for your children's needs.

Private schools | Santa Barbara County Education Office

Good luck with your move and welcome to the U.S. and California.

[Princess Mononoke]

Thank you so much for all that info Rosie SD! Certainly a bit to look into. Fantastic!