Schools in LA & Pomona (San Bernardino, Ontario: crime, house, school districts)

[loveCali]

I have a big dilemma: I want to become a teacher around LA and I'll have to enroll in a Teacher Education Program with a University. So far I chose UCLA & CSU Pomona.
My question is: how "risky" and "dangerous" are the schools in South LA & East LA compared to those around Pomona? These are the areas where I'll be teaching as a student before graduation, so I'm really interested in this issue. I've heard a lot of bad things about S & E LA, but are those stories all real? Is it that bad? Is UCLA's fame worth the try to teach in those areas? Would I survive them? I'm in a big dilemma here: I have to give an answer and I don't know what to choose. Your input is highly appreciated.

[MisterDuke]

Definitely Cal Poly. Pomona has a lot of bad areas, but it also borders with cities that are much better. Claremont, La Verne, Walnut, Diamond Bar. The Phillips Ranch part of Pomona is fairly affluent. So even if they place you in the middle of gang turf, you can be out of there within 5 minutes after the bell rings. I don't think you can say that about south central or east LA. You can view crime stats for most cities here on city-data. You can see that a person is 4 times as likely to be murdered in Compton as they are in Pomona.

Having a degree from a prestigious university can open doors in many fields, but education usually isn't one of them. It could help you if you were going to pursue a doctorate later on, with the intention of being a full professor at the university level. That's where it becomes a slugfest over who has the superior resume. But if your career goal is to teach elementary, jr high, high school, or even community college, the prestige degree doesn't have a significant payoff.

On the other hand, a lot of people who go into teaching drop out of the profession within the first five years. So, if you were to end up switching careers later on, you might find it advantageous to have a degree from a place like UCLA.

My advice would be to get the BA and credential at Cal Poly. Teach for three years to get into the hang of it and make sure it is something you want to continue to pursue. Then pursue an MA. That's where you can go for the prestige, if you think it's necessary. Then you are only paying for 2-3 years of big money tuition at UCLA, rather than the 5 it will take to get the BA+cred.

[loveCali]

Thanks for answering. I already have a bachelor degree, so that part is set. I'm entering the credentialing program without any other classes that the teaching ones. And hopefully I'll not drop out of teaching once I'll begin it.

CSU Pomona doesn't collaborate with schools in Diamond Bar and Claremont I think, but I can choose any other high school from the other cities you mentioned, which is not bad at all I guess.

On the other hand, UCLA has its teaching programs mostly in Compton and Lynwood and a few other "nice" places. Indeed not very attractive areas.

To be honest with you, I already got admitted at CSU Pomona and I just started the admission process with UCLA (they answered my messages very late). It seems better for me to just go with Pomona and not pay the admission fee and other fees at UCLA, and then just drop it because of the school areas.

Thank you for helping me getting my thoughts at a point where I can take a decision. Any other ideas would be really appreciated though. I have still time because this is going to be a long week end, so I don't have to give an answer until next week.

[MIKEETC]

I grew up in Pomona and went to Cal Poly, Pomona, and my Mom works for the Pomona Unified School District. Although Pomona is a largely working class community you will find that you'll be dealing with hardworking, honest people who want a good education for their kids as much as anyone else does. My Mom's observation is that they trust the teachers to do their kids right as you'd be a respected authority. Although there will be rotten apples and there is a gang problem (one that has been around for a while), I don't think that should stop you. Whatever you do, do the best you can and help those kids rise to the challenge and do the best they can. I was one of those kids...

[loveCali]

Mike, kudos to you that you were one of those kids and you did your best! I know that I really can do something for those kids/teenagers, that's why I want so much to teach here. But you know... when you say ucla it sounds so... [daydreaming icon] But my heart says different.
So you're going with Pomona too. Thank you too for your answer.

[Texasturkey]

Originally Posted by loveCali

Thanks for answering. I already have a bachelor degree, so that part is set. I'm entering the credentialing program without any other classes that the teaching ones. And hopefully I'll not drop out of teaching once I'll begin it.

CSU Pomona doesn't collaborate with schools in Diamond Bar and Claremont I think, but I can choose any other high school from the other cities you mentioned, which is not bad at all I guess.

On the other hand, UCLA has its teaching programs mostly in Compton and Lynwood and a few other "nice" places. Indeed not very attractive areas.

To be honest with you, I already got admitted at CSU Pomona and I just started the admission process with UCLA (they answered my messages very late). It seems better for me to just go with Pomona and not pay the admission fee and other fees at UCLA, and then just drop it because of the school areas.

Thank you for helping me getting my thoughts at a point where I can take a decision. Any other ideas would be really appreciated though. I have still time because this is going to be a long week end, so I don't have to give an answer until next week.

Cal Poly Pomona's Intern and Teaching credentials would include Diamond Bar because 1/2 of the schools are in Pomona Unified and the other 1/1 are in Walnut Unified. I would think it would include Clarmont also because it is close by. Those lists are pretty long and include a lot of school districts.

[loveCali]

Yeap, you're right. I was talking only about school districts where I can choose to teach after getting the credential, in order to "pay" by teaching for some scholarships which are very helpful for me during credential program. And I cannot choose schools in Claremont and Walnut or Diamond Bar districts because they are not considered in "high need" for science teachers.

[Forever Blue]

I went to Cal Poly Pomona for my BA & MA degrees. The grad degree was in Special Ed & I also got 2 teaching credentials. The Cal Poly campus is nice & I've always felt safe there. The schools they send you out on to do student teaching are w/i San Bernardino county. I did my student teaching in the old & new area of Fontana, Walnut, & Ontario. I live in RC, so they're all local. The schools I've worked at the most are in Ontario & Montclair. I've felt pretty safe in all these areas.

The only crime-related thing I've ever known about was one morning at a residential house across the street from the old Fontana school I was at, I heard SWAT had to do a drug bust. It apparently happened early in the morning on a weekday before school started.

I taught at Cucamonga School district for a year. It was ok. That's a tiny (4 school) district.