Which is the best school district in the Bay area? (Los Angeles: high crime, house)

[18Montclair]

Overall, the cities of Piedmont, Palo Alto, Orinda, Moraga and Lafayette have stellar schools and are part of excellent districts. Among the best in the State.

Fremont and Pleasanton get honorable mentions. Great schools there too.

I am surprised that there arent any high schools in either Marin or San Mateo Counties that dont have 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

[sonarrat]

By the way, Fremont Unified is in the city of Fremont, but Fremont Union is in Cupertino and some nearby parts of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and San Jose.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

By the way, Fremont Unified is in the city of Fremont, but Fremont Union is in Cupertino and some nearby parts of Sunnyvale, Santa Clara and San Jose.

I should have clarified that. Thanks.

[sunnysunshine]

I suggest checking out www.schooldigger.com. You will find rankings for all schools and districts in CA. You will notice that Orinda and Moraga schools rank VERY high. The Acalanes Union HS District is #1 in CA.

Something to keep in mind.... while a single school might have a very high API score, the other schools in that district might not be so high. You need to look at more than just the scores.... check out the area, the crime level, safety, amenities for kids, etc. Lamorinda, IMHO, has the best all-around set-up for kids. Highly ranked schools, beautiful, safe, clean, proximity to SF and Oakland for jobs, etc. Yes, it's pricey! But there isn't a single school in Lamorinda I wouldn't send my kids to and not a single town I wouldn't live in.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by sunnysunshine

I suggest checking out www.schooldigger.com. You will find rankings for all schools and districts in CA. You will notice that Orinda and Moraga schools rank VERY high. The Acalanes Union HS District is #1 in CA.

Something to keep in mind.... while a single school might have a very high API score, the other schools in that district might not be so high. You need to look at more than just the scores.... check out the area, the crime level, safety, amenities for kids, etc. Lamorinda, IMHO, has the best all-around set-up for kids. Highly ranked schools, beautiful, safe, clean, proximity to SF and Oakland for jobs, etc. Yes, it's pricey! But there isn't a single school in Lamorinda I wouldn't send my kids to and not a single town I wouldn't live in.

I totally agree.

[bayarea-girl]

California School Performance Maps

[jaynetarzana]

An issue that I have is that it seems not only are the best schools in extremely expensive areas, but the air quality tends to be terrible. To me, I can supplement my children's education, but I cannot clean their lungs after years of exposure to smog. When I put in the zip codes for the Lamorinda area into LungUSA.org, it rates the air quality an F. Contra Costa

Does anyone have any input about this LungUSA.org website? You put in a zip code and it gives you a rating based on the county only. It doesn't give stats for individual cities and I think that air quality can vary quite a bit within a county. I've also noticed areas that are rated an F that make no sense at all to me such as San Luis Obispo. Their air seems quite clean to me. I've never seen a trace of smog there.

[clongirl]

I checked out that website and I couldn't really figure out why most of California had "F's". Try this website..I think it's a bit easier to figure out...Spare the Air -- Bay Area Air Quality Management District

I like the color coding and forecasts for the different counties and seems better at understanding what all of it means. I know that Contra Costa ends up with all of San Francisco's pollution because the wind blows it over here (we've had a few spare the air days) but I lived in Sacramento for a couple of years and it isn't anything nearly as horrible as it was there! I have asthma and haven't experienced any problems (with the exception of last year's fires that choked the entire Bay Area). Good luck!

[naomisday]

Albany is supposed to have good schools..it is a small district like Piedmont....

[fizbin]

RE: Contra Costa air pollution. I have no idea how that website compiles data, but generally speaking East Bay air quality, including Contra Costa, is normally excellent. Contra Costa does have some oil refineries at the northern tip of the county that may be bringing down scores, but the Lamorinda area is pretty much as far away from the refineries as it is possible to get and still be in the same county.