School enrollment mid-term/home schooling (Escondido, Mountain View: rental, homes, neighborhood)

[Munichmom]

Hello! After hearing about the crazy demand for "good" schools in the area, I am a bit worried about getting my daughter settled, when we move. As the move will already be stressful enough (moving from a different country), we are hoping to get her into a good school, in the neighborhood where we rent, where she can stay for the rest of gradeschool. (we will be moving end of Sept/Oct...there is no way to do this before school starts).

My concern is that a school district will send her across town if they are full in our neighborhood school, and then she won't make any friends that live nearby. We don't want to switch her after she enrolls, as we think she will have enough to adjust to (she is fluent in english, so language isn't a problem...just the stress of a new environment/friends/etc).

So, first, we are targeting districts that have many good schools and are close to my husbands work. Los Altos and Palo Alto being primary. I am a little more concerned with Mountain View and Menlo Park due to a combo of "good" and less good schools.

I guess another option would be to "home school" her to finish out the first term, if there is a better chance of getting her into our "home" school (once we figure out what that is). I don't really look forward to this, as I am not that patient, but would do it, short-term, if it meant a more seamless transition for her.

Lastly, I'm assuming the only way to know the status of the various schools is to call each one individually? Do they typically work via email as well? the time difference can make handling this via phone calls difficult (we are +9hrs).

thanks for your help!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Do you have a specific question? About a specific town, neighborhood, school? This is so vague, how on earth are we supposed to help you?

[Munichmom]

Sorry, I have a lot on my mind right now, so I forgot to ask a direct question

i am trying to find out, if in the areas I mentioned (palo alto, los altos, mountain view, menlo park), if it is indeed likely we will not be able to get into some of the schools after school starts. I cannot specify which school, because that will entirely depend on the rental home availability at the time. Are the schools so spread out it would be an issue (in terms of friends, etc) if my daughter went to a school other than her assigned? Or, are they all located fairly close together (the map isn't telling in terms of that kind of stuff... it all looks far to me)

I am trying to figure out, also, if we would have a better chance getting into said popular schools, if we waited until mid-term and I homeschooled. I guess I also need confirmation that homeschooling is allowed here and find out if I still need to register with a school district, etc. It isn't a first-choice option for us...

Lastly, can anyone confirm if there is a centralized way to find out the status of individual school enrollment (i.e will the districts/state have this info?) or, do we need to call each school individually? By status, I mean, do they have space for an additional student, if we move into their district in Sept/Oct.

Thanks!

[never-more]

I wouldn't worry about the schools in Mountain View, they all have good reviews on GreatSchools. Mountain View Schools - Mountain View, CA | GreatSchools. Going by only on test scores or demographics is a poor way of assessing on whether or not a school is an educating environment.

What I would do is that you call the district and check to see if any of the elementary schools have overcrowding problems.

[butercup]

And that's why when we moved in March, our kids ended up in a private school - we had the same problems. Find out the district for each of those cities (and remember, the elem/middle school districts are different than the high school districts) and call the district - some may be able to tell you which schools are "impacted" or they will tell you who to call at the schools you are interested in. I personally called each school I was interested in - they were amazingly helpful and personable and were able to tell me what sort of openings they had in each grade. The problem is that, especially in the summer, they aren't going to know for sure what sort of enrollment they have - even in the early spring they can't predict if someone will show up to register the next day and take your spot (although obviously it's unlikely). Most of the schools require you actually have proof of address and all your paperwork in (tb test, vaccine records) before you can be assured you have that spot.

My best advice? Find a realtor that specializes in those areas, preferably one with kids in the local schools, and call them and talk for 20 minutes or so. I have gotten WAY more information about the state of the local schools and their overcrowding patterns (again, they call it being "impacted") from the realtors we are working with, than anyone else. They live it every day.

[spicydreamt]

In CUSD (the one I'm familiar with) it seems like things are more predictable mid-year compared to the beginning of the school year, and if you visit ahead (always better than e-mail) and inquire about availability, the likelihood that doesn't change during the subsequent weeks is rather high. So I'd move mid-year after checking with the schools, rather than risking it in August.
That said, PA & MV could be different.

[silverkris]

For Palo Alto, if you live in the boundaries for PAUSD, your child will be able to attend a school in PAUSD, but not necessarily the one in the neighborhood that you live in, due to space availability. However, if your child has to go to a school not in the immediate neighborhood, you can put him/her on the waiting list for the neighborhood school, and if space opens up, your child can be called up to fill that space.

One elementary school in PAUSD that seem to have more turnover in the student population is Escondido, because many of its students come from the Stanford University community (such as children of graduate students, postdocs, visiting scholars, etc.), which tends to be more transient. Thus it often serves as a backup school for other schools due to the relatively more transient student population coming/going.