The Valley (Brentwood, Fairfax, Westwood: 2013, neighborhood, middle school)

[jm1982]

The sad part is the GM Plant that used to employ tons of people with good jobs and benefits is now, a shopping center...where people probably mostly make min wage or so ...but than the huge vacant plot of land in Panorama City that houses the vacant former (15+? years) Montgomery Wards . Still don't know how the city can't get their act together on that one. Not sure who actually owns that land. Something , anything would be better than the current huge eyesore.
Montgomery Ward | Up In The Valley

They should at least bulldoze it and the other vacant run down buildings and leave it as an open plot of land.

[SD2TN]

Thanks all very much! I will check out all those areas. I'm definitely keeping school in mind. I read on another thread that LAUSD schools are all basically terrible, but we have a few years to get acclimated in LA and then figure that out.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by SD2TN

Thanks all very much! I will check out all those areas. I'm definitely keeping school in mind. I read on another thread that LAUSD schools are all basically terrible, but we have a few years to get acclimated in LA and then figure that out.

They're all awful except for the magnets and charters

[murfslaw]

I recently visited a friend that bought a home in Tarzana. It is located about 2 miles south of Ventura Blvd. That's a part of Los Angeles county that I didn't know existed; it's like living in the country. What a stunning location.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by murfslaw

I recently visited a friend that bought a home in Tarzana. It is located about 2 miles south of Ventura Blvd. That's a part of Los Angeles county that I didn't know existed; it's like living in the country. What a stunning location.

Yeah there are some very nice neighborhoods in the valley , they aren't cheap but they can be nice.
I know there is a lot of valley hate from nonvalley people but a lot of it seems to come from ignorance.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by majoun

They're all awful except for the magnets and charters

don't take this guy/gal seriously. there are a lot of bad schools in LAUSD, but there are a decent amount of high performing elementary schools in the nicer parts of the city. middle schools and high schools are much more problematic, but with a 2 year old that's not an issue for you yet.

[L.A.-Mex]

encino, woodland hills, etc all good

[timtemtym]

LAUSD schools in pricier areas are pretty darn good. This is because parents with money demand their kids get a quality education. I have friends who have taught in Sherman Oaks, Brentwood, Encino. They all have stories of parents showing up to meetings and either dropping their credentials into the conversation ("Well, as a lawyer/doctor/etc.."), or actually showing up with a lawyer. A good teacher is not intimidated by that, and most of us actually like high standards. They are not going to settle for a failing school and not every upper-income parent chooses to send their kids to a private school.

Sure, there are lots of bad teachers out there, but the general thought on this board is that all of LAUSD is filled with apathetic weirdos. There are some crazy good schools in LAUSD, and some of the magnet programs here are ranked highly.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by timtemtym

LAUSD schools in pricier areas are pretty darn good. This is because parents with money demand their kids get a quality education. I have friends who have taught in Sherman Oaks, Brentwood, Encino. They all have stories of parents showing up to meetings and either dropping their credentials into the conversation ("Well, as a lawyer/doctor/etc.."), or actually showing up with a lawyer. A good teacher is not intimidated by that, and most of us actually like high standards. They are not going to settle for a failing school and not every upper-income parent chooses to send their kids to a private school.

Sure, there are lots of bad teachers out there, but the general thought on this board is that all of LAUSD is filled with apathetic weirdos. There are some crazy good schools in LAUSD, and some of the magnet programs here are ranked highly.

"LAUSD schools in pricier areas are pretty darn good" - you mean like Uni High (Brentwood), Fairfax High (Fairfax/WeHo), Hamilton High (Beverlywood), John Burroughs Middle School (Hancock Park), Emerson Middle School (Westwood), Carthay Circle Elementary, etc.?

All of those aforenamed schools are dysfunctional, violent messes and few kids from the neighborhoods those schools are located in attend those schools. The student bodies of LAUSD schools are similar regardless of the neighborhood the schools are located in.

Parents with money don't send their kids to LAUSD schools. They either use private schools or move out of LAUSD areas.

[elhelmete]

Originally Posted by majoun

"LAUSD schools in pricier areas are pretty darn good" - you mean like Uni High (Brentwood), Fairfax High (Fairfax/WeHo), Hamilton High (Beverlywood), John Burroughs Middle School (Hancock Park), Emerson Middle School (Westwood), Carthay Circle Elementary, etc.?

All of those aforenamed schools are dysfunctional, violent messes and few kids from the neighborhoods those schools are located in attend those schools. The student bodies of LAUSD schools are similar regardless of the neighborhood the schools are located in.

Parents with money don't send their kids to LAUSD schools. They either use private schools or move out of LAUSD areas.

El Camino, Granada Hills, Van Gogh, Carpenter....