Live in Pleasanton, work in Redwood City? (Fremont, Hayward: private schools, salaries)

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by leapfelt

NorCal Dude, when you say that there are better schools "on the other side of the hill", or you referring to Pleasanton?

Yes. Castro valleys schools are good in their own right, but pleasanton schools are regarded as some of the best in the state, in terms of student academic performance and school facilities.

[leapfelt]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Yes. Castro valleys schools are good in their own right, but pleasanton schools are regarded as some of the best in the state, in terms of student academic performance and school facilities.

Which brings me back to thinking, maybe Pleasanton is worth the commute to Redwood City?

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by leapfelt

Which brings me back to thinking, maybe Pleasanton is worth the commute to Redwood City?

Id say considering all your criteria, Yes its worth it.

But just one more tidbit, as far as public high schools, Mission San Jose HS in Fremont ranks 5th in the entire state.

Public High Schools with an API(Academic Performance Index) of 900+

Southern California
Gretchen Whitney(ABC Unified) 985
Oxford(Anaheim Union) 982
California Academy of Math & Science( Long Beach Unified) 962
San Marino(San Marino Unified) 921
Troy(Fullerton Joint Union) 917

Northern California
Lowell(San Francisco Unified) 951
Mission San Jose(Fremont Unified) 931
Saratoga(Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint) 928
Monta Vista(Fremont Union) 924
Lynbrook(Fremont Union) 920
Miramonte(Acalanes Union) 916
Willam & Marion Ghidotti(Nevada Joint) 913
Piedmont( Piedmont Unified) 912
Campolindo(Acalanes Union) 909
Henry Gunn(Palo Alto Unified) 904
Palo Alto(Palo Alto Unified) 900

Base API Report for 2009 - Year 2009 (CA Dept of Education) (http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/ne/yr09/yr09rel77.asp#taba - broken link)

[leapfelt]

While I am looking for a good school, Mission San Jose HS is not quite what I am hoping for - it seems to be exclustively focused on academics to the point of sacrificing a well-rounded education. This gives a sense of what I am talking about it (but have seen these comments in other places as well): Mission San Jose High School - Fremont, CA

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by leapfelt

While I am looking for a good school, Mission San Jose HS is not quite what I am hoping for - it seems to be exclustively focused on academics to the point of sacrificing a well-rounded education. This gives a sense of what I am talking about it (but have seen these comments in other places as well): Mission San Jose High School - Fremont, CA

You have a point, but I wouldnt place too much faith in people who complain too much-which is who yelp seems to attract the most.

That said, why not check out all these areas first and then decide. Choosing between Pleasanton and Fremont is like choosing between a Lexus and a BMW-both are nice. LOL

[clongirl]

My kids went to Pleasanton schools for a year (middle and elem) and they honestly weren't any better than a "average" school that my kids went to for a time. In all honesty, there were a lot of kids that were frankly coming from very new wealth and many were spoiled rotten and wouldn't hesitate to tell your child that they were getting 20$ a day spending money and wearing designer labels.

The high scores on the Star testing etc are all about driving the kids to insanity with the ridiculous rote memorization exercises. Don't base ALL of your criteria on those test scores. (In fact, several years ago, a teacher in Pleasanton was fired for getting the test material in advance and passing it around to other teachers). There's a lot of pressure for these teachers to get their students to score well when they are actually learning no more than what's going on in a different school. So don't use test scores as your only criteria.. There are plenty of successful, ambitious graduates of "average" schools that are closer to your place of work.

[leapfelt]

Thanks Clongirl - that first hand information about the schools is very helpful! I come from an education background, so of course don't want a school where all they do is "teach to the test". At the same time, it is a tricky time to figure out which schools have quality programs, and which will have extra resources to support a great curriculum in this time of budget cuts.

I would love to hear from anyone about the Peninsula schools and their experience with their quality - for example the schools in San Mateo and Redwood City that score close to 800.

Also, I am curious for perspectives on living on the east side of San Carlos. I know it is more industrial, closer to busy streets, but still feeds into the regular San Carlos schools. However, it is a whole lot cheaper than the west side of San Carlos.

[NorCal Dude]

I have heard from many pleasanton residents that living in the town is worth enduring the commute. Many people there commute to SF OR SJ from there because of the high quality of living.

[Ceece]

Pleasanton is pretty nice. Although the schools rank well the education is fairly average. There are fewer 'social problems' than some districts have, and families that have the money to live here are more inclined to be invested in their kids education, which will make them stand out regardless of the school district. Lot's of parental involvement in the schools, and lot's of kids in private tutoring clubs too.

I've also lived in Fremont and really liked it there too. If I had your commute I'd choose Fremont, but given your budget and the fact that you have small kids you may actually be better off in Pleasanton since there really are no "iffy" areas to avoid and anything you buy will be in a nice neighborhood with a good school close by.

[aslowdodge]

Leapfelt. . . . I have a buddy I met in my gym in Pleasanton. He is a Redwood city cop and his wife also works in redwood city. I asked him why he just didn't live in redwood city as they both work there. he said it was all about the schools. He said if he lived in redwood city he would have to pay for Private schools but here in Pleasanton he feels the schools are great so he lives here.
My other buddy teaches at MSJ in fremont. If you want to be well rounded I don't think MSJ is for you. It's all about academics and the asian kids push hard schoolastically, but often at the expense of being well rounded.
Fremont is not a bad area at all, but I grew up here in the bay area ( 52 years) and I would take Pleasanton over Fremont any day, but that's just me.