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Old 09-29-2015, 09:06 PM
 
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My husband and I will be moving to VC with our 2 kids (5 & 11) within the next 6 months. My husband will work a few days a week in Oxnard and the other says out of his home office. Our biggest concerns are finding great schools and good family friendly neighborhoods. Suggestions and thoughts are welcome! We feel a bit lost only having visited a few days. Our budget is probably too low for some of the area since we will need to stick as close to 700,000 as possible.

We also are looking for a competitive swim team for our daughter. She current swims with the highest ranked club in MI and takes private lessons with a former world record holder. Anyone know much about the swim teams in the area? Although we want good instruction and a string team, having fun is most important.

Finally, our kids are bilingual and currently attend German school on Sat. to help maintain their language skills. Are their similar schools like this in VC?
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:04 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
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You will probably need to contact individual school districts depending on where you to choose to live, for specifics on classes:

Briggs Elementary School District
Conejo Valley Unified School District
Fillmore Unified School District
Hueneme Elementary School District
Mesa Union School District
Moorpark Unified School District
Mupu School District
Oak Park Unified School District
Ocean View Elementary School District
Ojai Unified School District
Oxnard Elementary School District
Oxnard Union High School District
Pleasant Valley Elementary School District
Rio Elementary School District
Santa Clara Elementary School District
Santa Paula Elementary School District
Santa Paula Union High School District
Simi Valley Unified School District
Somis Union School District
Ventura Unified School District
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:10 PM
 
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Thanks for your response. Are these all good schools? If not, which are the best ones?

The german school our kids attend now isn't part of the American school system. It is an extra. Not sure if this was clear.
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Old 09-30-2015, 02:42 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
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Ventura County has 10 cities, and you will need to figure out where you can afford to live. The County has a western part and an eastern part. In the eastern part, Conejo Valley and Oak Park are highly rated, Simi is also good But where your kids attend will depend on where you buy your home. You will need to drive your kids as there are no bus services generally. I have no info on types of classes offered which is why you will need to call the schools. Have you checked this site?
GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community
here's another one:
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/CA/schoolrank.aspx
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Old 09-30-2015, 08:34 PM
 
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A quick google searched turned up this link, which says the So. Cal. German-American Association runs Saturday German classes for kids in Ventura. I don't know anything about the classes or the organization, but a quick phone call to them should tell you what you need to know. See:

Welcome to German School For Kids

(Planning ahead, I know Ventura CC also offers German classes, and they'll let older high school students enroll in the classes for college credit if German isn't offered at their high school, so when your kids get to 10/11 grade, that might be an option to look into as well).

In terms of regular schools, a good place to start your research is with the state Academic Performance Index (API). The California Dept of Education maintains a website where you can compare APIs for all California public schools. If you click on the link for the school name, you'll find some information about each school as well, such as student demographics (which help put test scores in context, since schools with large percentages of ESL students tend to have lower scores). Here's the link: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/apireports.asp (To find a list of all of the schools in the Ventura Unified School District or Ventura County, enter Ventura in the District search).

A good rule of thumb with the API figures is to compare the school's average to the statewide averages, which you can find here: http://api.cde.ca.gov/Acnt2013/2013GrthStAPI.aspx

Of course, test scores alone won't tell you everything. All schools in California are required to put together annual "Report cards" which will give you pretty detailed information about academic offerings, test scores, and the make up of the student body. If you look on the school's website, sometimes they will have these reports there. If not, give the school a call. A phone call to the school if you have other questions is usually more informative than those "ranking" sites on the web, since those sites (or test scores) won't tell you whether a school is a good fit for your child.

As a retired college admissions counselor, I always encourage people who are moving to a new school district to also look closely at the high schools' track records in college placement, even if their kids aren't yet in high school. Most high schools put together something called a School Profile, which is what they give to colleges when students apply so that admissions officers can understand the school. It's an excellent resource for parents too. The Profile will usually tell you about the high school's curriculum and AP courses, extracurriculars, student demographics, college entrance exam scores (different than the API score) and where students attend college. Once you start looking in earnest, call the counseling office at the high school(s) in the areas where you'll be looking and ask if they can give you a copy of their School Profile. (Some counseling offices will wonder why you want this -- just say you are moving to the area and want to learn about the high school before your kids enroll).

Since your kids are going to be close to Middle School age, one question to ask is which middle schools feed into which high schools. Here in California, many districts make it difficult to attend a high school that's different than the one the middle school feeds into, so you'll want to research that carefully if you have a preference for a particular high school after you do your research.

Good luck with your move.

Last edited by RosieSD; 09-30-2015 at 09:01 PM..
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Old 09-30-2015, 10:10 PM
 
Location: El Camino Real
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German is being replaced with Mandarin in many CA high school.
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Old 09-30-2015, 10:32 PM
 
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Thanks all! You have shared good infomation.
The German school in Ventura is the only one we could find as well. Looks like that is what we will do. I doubt our kids will take German in high school, although the info is helpful. They have spoken both languages out of necessity since birth. So they are both active bilinguals.
Anyone know much about the swim teams? We have heard about conejo simi, class and pleasant valley. But if anyone has any first hand experience, i would value that input.
I think we have narrowed the high schools to Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park and Westlake Village. TO and WLV are closest ranked to our current school system. It is the elementary and middle schools where we feel lost.
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Old 10-01-2015, 02:10 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
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Speaking just for Thousand Oaks, Lang Ranch for elementary, Colina for middle are good. But be prepared, there are no "neighborhoods"---"family-friendly" or otherwise---in the Michigan sense of the term (I know Michigan well). Kids don't play outside, neighbors like their privacy and rarely talk to each other, noise is really frowned upon, the weather is pretty constant so even that's not a topic of conversation, and nobody walks anywhere, so you don't meet on the street. I never even run into anyone from my area in a store, and I've lived here for decades. You may have some association with other parents, but very superficially only.

In the CV middle schools, there is a lot of status comparison among kids in terms of high-priced school fashion, designer backpacks, and what kind of car your mom picks you up in. And the high schools are socially tricky. A teen relative who goes to Westlake High told me his classmates, twin guys, each received cars for their 16th birthdays. The kicker is, each car cost $100,000! Kids want and sort of need a car by 16 or you will be run ragged with driving them around. School drug use is not as bad as some places for sure, but marijuana may be legalized soon in the state, and the attitudes toward it in the area are liberal. Both of the teens in my block (each attends WHS) got caught in school with it this year. The school's response was relatively mild. The nickname for TO is "Thousand Tokes." A good percentage of liberal Hollywood industry people have kids in TOHS and WHS, which have performing arts programs. Whatever conservative families there are send their kids to Oaks Christian HS, which as a school is actually good academically and sports-wise.

IMO it is Simi Valley that is the most family oriented in the east VC. There are a lot of sports leagues, at least there is some middle class, and people are less status conscious there.
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Old 10-01-2015, 10:24 PM
 
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Wow, thanks for the input. We love our neighbors and our neighborhood in Michigan, this will be quite an adjudstment!
We hadn't thought much about Simi, but we will add it to our list. We are not status folk and really would like to enjoy folks for who they are not what they have.
So school buses aren't a thing in CA?
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Old 10-02-2015, 12:31 PM
 
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I am back in MI but lived in Thousand Oaks for a few years. I found the people friendlier in Thousand Oaks then in MI by far. I was friendly with all my neighbors. I don't have children but felt the area was family friendly.
You mentioned Simi and I thought Wood Ranch area was pretty nice but am not sure the schools.
I do think renting first is better then purchasing. Have you been to this area for a visit? 700,000 I am sure you will find something but get ready to be shocked at the difference of what you could get for that in MI. If you rent also get ready for high prices and less for the money.
Good luck
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