Good private schools to aid in home affordability (San Diego, Milpitas: rent, houses)

[Jyothi108]

Does anyone here send their kids to a private elementary or middle school in order to get more home for the money and a better education for their kids? Which private schools are recommended? I see Stratford has many campuses...

We are moving to the Bay Area, hopefully for many years, from San Diego via Singapore for a couple years. Foreign children in Singapore are not allowed in public schools so we were forced to pay about 23k per child for private school. My daughter had only 14 kids in her 3rd grade class.

My concern is this: we may spend so much money on a home or rent just for great public schools only to find that even though they are awesome, there are too many kids or the curriculum is too test centric. (We have been doing IB curriculum).

Are there some neighborhoods with average public schools that are safe and nice to live in? Maybe we could get an even better education (smaller classes) or choose a different style education and end up paying the same monthly price? Or avoid changing schools when we move from renting to buying because we have changed schools 3 times in 2 years. My husband is so sick of the private school tuition he is adamant on Cupertino/Saratoga/??? Public schools.

Husband will work in Milpitas and often go to SFO. Have been doing extreme city living want pleasant semi-suburbs, at least 4 bdr and 2500 sq ft because we support mother-in-law who lives with us permanently.

Thank you!! We can't wait to get back to California!

[nagleepark]

I live in a neighborhood with not-very-good schools but, through my wife's efforts, my son got an intra-district transfer to a good (but not great) public school. So, we live in a cheaper place AND get good public schools for now. My wife says that, if the parents in our middle class neighborhood put in the effort and didn't let the district officials talk them out of it, they could get intra-district transfers, too. But most parents either pay for private school or settle for the local public schools. They don't want to learn the school system, attend school open houses and file the forms necessary.

Many children in my neighborhood go to private school. Stratford, Challenger, Harker, Keys and Carden Day School are popular. Most of the private schools are very test- and academically-oriented because that's what their customers (the parents) pay for. It's hard to recommend any of them especially. It's a matter of finding a school that has the right challenge level for your child and that's heavily dependent on your child's personality and ability. Trial-and-error is the usual method.

Catholic schools and charter schools may also be options for you.

You are spot on with "there are too many kids or the curriculum is too test centric" phrase. Almost all the schools, including the highly rated Cupertino public schools and private schools, fit this description. It's almost unavoidable.

Still, Cupertino schools might be your best bet. It's the safe strategy, even if it is expensive.

[Jyothi108]

Thank you for the response. It never occurred to me that some of the private schools could be even more test oriented. Egads! Looks like we will need to make the move first and then investigate. In San Diego at my daughter's school there were usually at least 3-4 per class transfers from other schools but it is tooth and nail until the last moment--very stressful. Good for your wife that she persevered.