Help!! are there any good high schools in the SF or surrounding area (Sacramento: apartments, rental)

[Raelyn28]

Hi everyone!! I hope someone can give me some help. I have been searching online all day for good areas to live in the SF area where there is a good school district. My husbands job would be in San Pablo. The only good school that I have found is the Burlingame school district and the housing and apartments are really expensive. I don't think we could afford a three bedroom for $4,000 dollars a month. The houses are very pricey also. This is the type of school we are coming from in Washington and we would like to find a good school. We have a fourteen and ten year old, both boys. They are really into sports so the athletics are important to us. Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions. I have tried cities like Vallejo, Hercules etc. and the schools don't look too promising.. Please help ASAP because my husbands interview is this week. Thanks, Raelyn

[clongirl]

I'd think that the best option for the good schools would be on the other side of the Richmond bridge (Larkspur, Corte Madera..surrounding towns). I'm taking a guess that to live a good life in this area, your husband would probably need to make 110k+ mainly for rental costs. Purchasing a house in these areas would be much, much, harder on this income and he'd need to make quite a bit more depending on your circumstances.

I've also heard good things about the town of Albany near to San Pablo (I personally don't know anything more about Albany though). You won't find anything near to what your used to over here in the Bay Area (the super big house) unless you're a gazillionaire or live way out in the boonies!

I don't think you should be looking anywhere near Burlingame or that side of the Bay Area because it would be just too far/and too horrible of a commute (despite the good schools).

[fizbin]

Help!! are there any good high schools in the SF or surrounding area

No!




OK, seriously, whatever research you did that indicated you had to be in Burlingame for a decent school system is to put it mildly, highly defective. I am no expert in online-school-evaluation sites, but there are lots of great school systems in the East Bay. Lots of crappy ones too. As I mentioned in your other thread, Albany is often mentioned as a town with a good public school system and relatively reasonable housing prices. There are even better school systems which are much closer to San Pablo than Burlingame, such as Piedmont or Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda, but in most/all cases you are paying a premium (as you would in Burlingame).

[capoeira]

For affordability plus a strongly sports oriented school I suggest looking into Vacaville High. They were the state champions in wrestling and football and very strongly emphasize sports. Their location would be in the part of Vacaville northwest of the 80 freeway. Particularly Browns Valley is very nice yet affordable.

classifieds - craigslist

Sacramento craigslist

http://www.vusd.solanocoe.k12.ca.us/...t_vacahigh.pdf

Welcome to Vacaville High School

http://www.vusd.solanocoe.k12.ca.us/...talog08-09.pdf

The two caveats to this suggestion are that the commute would be very bad on the 80 and Vacaville is really hot in the summer.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Public / government school wise - The best of the best: Lowell HS(SF), Burlingame HS, Palo Alto. HS

The deal with Lowell, though, is gaming the SFUSD's lottery system.

[Octoterapus]

Yeah, the public schools in California are pretty miserable, and the bay area is no exception. If you can swing getting your kid into one of san francisco's charter schools (like Lowell, School of the Arts), they can do quite well, but aside from that it's a crapshoot.

Albany has a good school district and funnels a fair amount of kids into UC Berkeley, but the standards for a "good school" are pretty low around here.

If you can afford it, Marin and Piedmont are by far your best options.

[redwoodlvr]

Yes, there are good schools in the SF Bay Area. But thank God my early childhood education began in the New Jersey public school system still ranked very high in the nation. I'm not bragging. Okay, yes I am. Anyway, try looking into Lowell or Tam High in Mill Valley. I went to Lowell and it's a fantastic school; tied to the Ivy Leagues, Stanford and UC System. Lowell's a tough school academically, you have to bust your rear and your kids will need to be self-motivated. But it's worth it.

Lowell
http://lhs.lowell.k12.ma.us/Pages/Default.aspx

Tamalpais High
http://tamdistrict.schoolwires.net/tamalpais/site/default.asp (broken link)

Here is some info I obtained with a quick google search, not sure how current:
http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/showarticle/594 (broken link)

[prairie guy]

OP, I have a delicate question--but just how good are your kids at sports?

If sports is important, you need to have an idea if they would be good enough to "make" the team at an urban high school in the Bay area. If they can be starters at large ubran schools in Washington state, you're okay, but if they are from a smaller town, then frankly, they are unlikely to make the team at most public public high schools in the Bay area--as well as the "name" Catholic schools.

AND your are asking for "good" schools.......near San Pablo, I agree that Albany is your best shot...it is also a rarity, a small public school in an urban area, so there is less competiton to make the sports teams. Piedmont is small and an excellent school, but expensive to live there. The Tamalpias district on the Marin side is a good option too....but expensive to live there also. The districts east of the "tunnel" (Acalanes, etc.) are excellent, but also expensive and powerhouses in many sports. What's your budget? Renting or buying?

Another option--the John Swett school district (Crockett) just north of Richmond. The commute to San Pablo is not too long, the schools small, and therefore easier to get on a sports team, and though not the greatest star academically, you could do much worse.

I say that if the kids want to be on the varsity teams, you need to make a realistic assessment of their chances in this competitive environment. If your kids just aren't that good, and Albany/Piedmont/John Swett don't work out, then look at some smaller private/Christian schools.....it will be much, much easier to make the team, the education will be at least decent and safe (something you're not guaranteed with in the publics) and might be cheaper than the "name" Catholic schools, whose teams would be too strong anyway. (ie St. Mary's-Berkeley, your kid is not getting on the basketball team unless practically being eyed by as a Pac-10 prospect.) Again, what's your budget? If you go private, you can save a little money on housing.

I'm not meaning to be cruel, but it would be a shame for your kids to make a big move and then discover they can't be on the varsity team, it that is their desire. Maybe write back and let us know how you are doing. All the best.

[Beat02]

I can tell you that Pleasanton (East bay, about 30 miles from SF) has a couple of decent high schools with good athletic programs - Amador Valley High and Foothill High. Nice, safe little town for families as well.

[fizbin]

Originally Posted by Beat02

I can tell you that Pleasanton (East bay, about 30 miles from SF) has a couple of decent high schools with good athletic programs - Amador Valley High and Foothill High. Nice, safe little town for families as well.

And a crappy commute to San Pablo.