Sky high real estate prices in "good" school districts (Oakland: renting, homes)

[nmnita]

High school can make a difference when applying to the top universities, but then again, how many kids need to go to an IVY League college or a Stanford? Sure there are some fields where the college does make a difference, but most of our kids will get out of high school, enter college and graduate with degrees in marketing, business, of some such field. They will go to work for a major corporation, maybe go on to get an advanced degree but whatever, how they perform on the job will decide their future, not where they went to elementary school..

I was reminded of this many years ago. Our oldest daughter was given an IQ test in kindergarten. I will not go into detail as to the results, but we were advised to advance her to the first grade immediately. We did and the one thing her teacher told us, pretty much, don't let this go to your head or her head, when she is an adult none of this will make a bit of difference..Her attitude will though. Luckily we tried to play this down, she was a normal kid in every way, loved having a good time (maybe too much while in high school) she has been very successful in the business world. She did not go to an Ivy League school or even a top rated one I may add. She graduated from a Ca State University...

Nita

[fizbin]

Originally Posted by Mach50

It's all about status and more for the parents than anything, they want to say their kids attended Los Altos High.

That is total nonsense. While we fortunately don't have any kids we have friends who do, and they want to make sure their kids get the best chance possible to get a leg up in life. Getting their kids into the best schools they can afford is one of the best things they can do to help.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by fizbin

That is total nonsense. While we fortunately don't have any kids we have friends who do, and they want to make sure their kids get the best chance possible to get a leg up in life. Getting their kids into the best schools they can afford is one of the best things they can do to help.

sorry, I don't buy that, if you have a kid that wants to achieve and you take the time to encourage them and set an example they can achieve regardless of where they go to school...

Nita

[sav858]

Originally Posted by nmnita

sorry, I don't buy that, if you have a kid that wants to achieve and you take the time to encourage them and set an example they can achieve regardless of where they go to school...

Nita

Of course this is true in theory, but in certain areas your kid has a better chance than others. Where I went to school, in Walnut Creek, going to college was the norm. In school districts my cousins went to in Vallejo it was the exception. You face less challenges in getting to college in a good school district than you do a mediocre or bad one very GENERALLY speaking. There are also better programs, better facilities, and better opportunities in good school districts too. What kind of environment is better for your kid and their future: One where 96% of the graduating class goes onto college or one where say 25% of the kids go on to college?

[Mach50]

I think people should consider more than just the 10/10 schools honestly.
There are many great schools out there that are not 10/10.

This one for example:
Parent Reviews of Adelante Spanish Immersion School - Redwood City, California - CA

It is 7/10 but parents love it, swear it should be higher and it is in "affordable" Redwood City.

Too many people these days take whatever the API or greatschools ratings is and only go for those zip codes.

[jzt83]

It's sad that parents have to resort to this type competition to live in the good school districts. Just one more reason why the state of CA is really screwed up.

[sav858]

It's not just test scores but the actual facilities themselves, amenities, and environment that also make these schools more desirable imo. I remember taking SAT's at Mt Diablo High in Concord and there is definitely a difference in the quality of campus compared to where I went to high school.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by nmnita

sorry, I don't buy that, if you have a kid that wants to achieve and you take the time to encourage them and set an example they can achieve regardless of where they go to school...

Nita

I used to think that, too . Unfortunately, in some of our lesser schools teachers have too much to deal with with kids acting out and kids not knowing English from several different other countries, that even small class sizes don't help much.... and now with budget cuts small class sizes are going away. So even if your kid is willing to learn, he may not be taught much, and in some cases may be too intimidated to participate, if the teacher doesn't have control over the class.

I've known several people that have had to move kids to private school for just those reasons (one kid getting beaten up on a regular basis and the school unable or unwilling to handle it)...it's very much a case of the squeaking wheel getting the attention.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Who is going to care what elementary school your kid went to when it comes time for college, let alone looking for a job? Nobody. Is being in a prestigious school going to keep your kid from doing/dealing drugs if he gets it in his head that it might be cool? No way. It's just elitism, pure and simple.



Is that why there are so many short sales in Los Altos and Palo Alto? In the blog in the OP (which I post to regularly), there are a few diehards who thought their property values would never go down as late as this year. When they finally did, they justified it by saying that they "beat the stock market" by being invested in REAL BAY AREA real estate. Ha.

It won't last. The wages around here can't be sustained by what people actually do for their companies.

I'm sure nobody cares where you went to school after a long time has passed, only the more recent past is what they care about. I'm guessing in some 20 years people will pay little importance as to where I got my Masters in comparison to what I did the last 20 years. But still people learn a significant amount at good schools that they wouldn't learn in mediocre schools. I went to mediocre elementary and middle schools, and had a hard time in a high school that is considered top 5 in the country. Then I found college to be remarkably easy. Eventough HS was tough it prepared me well for college. My guess is that if I went to a mediocre high school I might have done well, but it would've made me ill prepared for college work. You can say what you want, but it is not about prestige to most people, it is about educating yourself for the next step in your education, so that eventually you will have a choice in life of what you want to do.

As for the second point, I'm sure if a lot of the people buying houses in PA or Los Altos did not think it a good investment they would rent there, even with 3500 - 5500/mo rent. I also agree that there aren't enough people with that kind of income to keep buying all the houses in those places for those prices, and it is foolish to believe that prices will perpetually go up. There are still people that will be willing to pay despite short term unrealized losses.

Also it is just one guy on Burbed that is a permabull about the ill-defined 'Real Bay Area'.

[fizbin]

Originally Posted by jzt83

It's sad that parents have to resort to this type competition to live in the good school districts. Just one more reason why the state of CA is really screwed up.

This is hardly a CA-specific problem.

Originally Posted by sav858

What kind of environment is better for your kid and their future: One where 96% of the graduating class goes onto college or one where say 25% of the kids go on to college?

Exactly. No one is saying that a kid at the crappiest school in Oakland can't get into college, but the odds are pretty high that it won't happen. Good schools have the good teachers and good tools and good facilities to promote success; bad schools don't. That's why they are bad.