Any private schools for young kids, in the Tustin, Ca. area of Santa Ana? (& recommendations) (Orange: home)

[howard555]

Any private schools for kids age 4, in the Tustin, Ca. area of Santa Ana?
(& recommendations)

Would you recommend a private school over a public school?
Why?
Cost factors?

Thanks.

[nurserosie]

4yearolds don't get public schools anyway

[LovingtheOC]

Everyone is aware I think that the California Public Schools are bad. Lack of proper funding etc. If you can afford Private schools for your little ones then do so at all costs. Public schools are just poor in California, not worth subjecting your child to the worst education in the nation by putting them in public schools here.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by howard555

Any private schools for kids age 4, in the Tustin, Ca. area of Santa Ana?
(& recommendations)

Would you recommend a private school over a public school?
Why?
Cost factors?

Thanks.

Check Montessori. Good reputation. No religion.

[Coldjensens]

We tried several different options for our five kids when we lived in Santa Ana. HEre is what we found:

1. Local schools - unaccpetable. Teachers and administration did not speak English at all, 37 kids in the kindergarten class, likely none of the other kids spoke English.

2. Santa Ana Fundamental Schools. These are better public schools with special requriements. Parents have to pitch in. Uniforms are as close to requried as they can get. Discipline kids are transferred. We had to camp out in line to get in, but I think they changed to a lottery process. We used John Muir Elementary and Villa Middle School. They were good schools. THere are other fundamental schools some are supposed to be better than the ones we chose. I do not recall the names, but the school district cna guide you. There was a movement to mediocratize the fundamental schools. Some people thought ti was unfair to have some schools so good while all the other schools were so awful. Do not kow whether they succeeded in making the fundamental schools crappy, but a noisey group certainly wanted to.

3. Hoover Elementary. We were moved there when we blew up over the no one speaks English issue. It was nto a good school. Later we learned that Hoover was where they send the kids and parents that cause problems in one way or another.

4. Tustin Memorial Academy. A charter school. Very higly ranked using stastics. You have to have a reason for an intra district transfer. I worked in tustin and needed to drive the kids to school, so we were able to get one. TMA was super competitive. THe first year ws pretty good but later our kids came home crying regularly. The other parents were ridiculous. Our kids are extremely bright kids, but they absolutely hated TMA after the first year we were there. We pulled them out and put them in John Muir.

5. Arts Schools. Orange County High School of the Arts is in downtown Santa Ana. They have a Jr. high and high school. Both are academically execellent. The kids need to be highly talented in some art form (theater, dance, singing, music, photography drawing, creative writing, etc). It is a charter school and you pay fees, but not that much, It was less than $4000 per kid, maybe less than $3000 I do not recall. Academically OCSHA is one of the top schools in Orange County. There is an elemntary arts oriented school that is next to OSHA (if it is still there) it is also a charter school. It opened the year we left, so we do not know how good it turned out to be.

6. Del Sol. This is in midtown not far form OCHSA. It is a Spanish immersiion school I think. It is suppoed to be pretty good. We looked into it, but there was someothing we did nto like about it. I cannot remember what.

7. El Durado School For Gifted Children. THis is in Orange. It is an absolutely fabulous private school. it is mongo expensive. I think it was around $12,000 plus per kid, but it is probably more now. They do have some scholarship programs. Class size ranged from 4 - 12 kids per class. Everything about this school is execellent. Our kids loved it and sometimes preferred school to days off. They were well educated and when we moved to a higly ranked public school, our kids were ahead of the their class, especially in math. It is kind of wierd in some ways. They kids have to work in a zen type garden. They do not permit homework before 5th or 6th grade. They have some oddball laungauges they teach (Mandarin). However If the same people are still there, I would recommend it wholeheartedly.

8. There is a public elementary school in Floral Park that is quite good. We did nto live in Floral Park, so we did not try that school.

9. There is a Lutharen private school in Orange that is decent. One or two of ourr kids went there very briefly. It is nowhere near as good as El Durado, but still a decent option.

Proably some other options too. that is all I know of. If rob Richardson got elected to the school board (I know he ran, not sure of the result), he is a fabulous guy. If you get a chance to talk to him he may be able to give you some suggestions.