Family of 4 from Northeast Morgan Hill (job in Cupertino)...HELP AGAIN!!! (San Jose: for rent, house)

[chongaponga]

Thanks StandingRoom. Good point.

-we would rent: 3,000-3,800 budget
- 3 rooms min. 4 would be ideal.
- newer home desired, gated community ideal.
- min. square footage 1800

[StandingRoomOnly]

Doing a quick Craigslist search, you will likely need to concentrate your search on San Jose the almaden area (great schools) or Campbell (assume these are great schools here, but someone else may have more knowledge about these schools). You still won't get a new build in your price range though. You may be able to find a remodeled house at the top of your range. Mountain View and Cupertino won't offer you the square footage or bedrooms you want in your price range. Los gatos and Saratoga are also out of reach. Gated is out of the question just about anywhere in your price range. Campbell may be slightly better in terms of commute time.

I should add....rentals go FAST in areas with great schools, so you need to be ready to rent something right away of you want it...may not be able to be picky about certain things since inventory seems low too and demand is very high.

[SportyandMisty]

I suggest you abandon gated community from your list. There just are not that common in Silicon Valley. Moreover, gated communities give the illusion of security, but no real security.

I also suggest you consider private school for your children - this will allow you to expand your neighborhood search. There are several threads on private schools.

At the end of the day, one of the most important things we as parents do is choose where to live, as this determines the schools our children attend and hence the universe from which our kids will select their friends & determine their peers. You are clearly concerned about this as well, so I suggest including private schools. We lived in Cupertino in an area with good schools (Regnart elementary, Monta Vista high school) but after a couple years of public school we moved our daughter to Harker. Many times the difference can be before-school and after-school clubs, music lessons, organized recreation, etc.

Yes, private school is expensive - but it can be more customized to your kids needs & interests, and we found the families of the kids in private school shared our educational values. That was the universe in which we wanted our daughter to grow up. YMMV, of course.

[kdog]

The private school versus public school issue is definitely a YMMV. Harker Academy is great; we have friends in Sunnyvale who send their kids there. On the other hand, you don't see people in Almaden sending their kids to Harker because there is no need. Almaden is pretty much a uniformly affluent area so a very high percentage of the parents place a high value on education just like they do in a private school. People move here for the schools and become very involved with them. I'm completely blown away by all the extra clubs, and academic programs that are completely funded by parent networks here.

[sonarrat]

There are a lot of new homes in Morgan Hill. The growth during the last boom was huge, and you will get even more space than you are asking for there since most of the new builds were $800K+ family homes in areas which were previously undeveloped. There's also a high school on Burnett which didn't exist until 10 years ago, so some of the information that long-timers have will be dated.

I urge you - don't base your decision on test scores. That's an easy way to spend too much money and wind up dissatisfied because the schools focus on nothing but "teaching to the test" to get maximum funding, even if they are not preparing students adequately. My experience growing up in Morgan Hill, even at API 776 Live Oak High School, was one of a well-rounded education, dedicated teachers and high standards. Especially at the AP level the classes were challenging and stimulating, so much so that college was a bit of a letdown afterwards because it was so easy. My brother graduated 6 years after me and he said basically the same thing. However, it's worth mentioning if you step down to the CP class level the story is quite different..

[kdog]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

I urge you - don't base your decision on test scores. That's an easy way to spend too much money and wind up dissatisfied because the schools focus on nothing but "teaching to the test" to get maximum funding, even if they are not preparing students adequately.

Given that the standardized tests are basic skills in math, science, English, and social studies (grade dependent), I should hope they teach to the test. What would you suggest otherwise?

[needmyespresso]

StandingRoomOnly;25725159]Needmy, is exaggerating a bit... And Nordstrom is the school needmy is referring to... The problem here is you have a lot of he-said-she-said about the schools and it paints a much worse picture than the reality.

Sorry, knew I would upset people but it's sadly the truth.
On the positive side, homes in Morgan Hill are newer, and you get much more for your money out that way. Again, private school is an option, you can always try out the public school and if it doesn't work out switch to private.

Our friends (on Trail) had to transfer their son (can't recall the middle school name) to a local school here ,Casterillo in SJ Unified, because of bullying. If OP wants, I can probably arrange for him to email my friend. She also has two daughters in Jackson. Most of their classmates have parents that do not speak English, as a result those children really struggle in school.
They are very unhappy with both the middle school and Jackson. They have not been successful transfering to the Nordstrom school, they tell me it's very hard if not impossible to get into that school.
Anyway, all my co-workers and friends that live out that way swear by the private schools.
Good luck

[OrangeSunset]

Originally Posted by kdog

Given that the standardized tests are basic skills in math, science, English, and social studies (grade dependent), I should hope they teach to the test. What would you suggest otherwise?

This is an old article but I am sure you get the point:

Accountability, Yes. Teaching to the Test, No. -- THE Journal

Unfortunately, the US is the only developed nation to use multiple-choice testing approach. The majority of developed countries use other measurements such as performance based assessments which include hands-on projects, group work, journals and essays. That's why test scores only tell part of story.

I urge parents to actually visit the school and decide for themselves if a particular school is a good fit for their child. This is not a one size fits all type of decision. What's good for one child is not necessary good for another. Test scores are a good place to start the search but don't be discouraged and do look at the good test score schools, not only the great ones

[needmyespresso]

Another key factor of a good school is parent participation. That will have a HUGE impact. Those parents are the ones who help their children do their schoolwork and a lot of schools are successful because of it.

Not to mention you generally have less bullying, gangs, drugs etc. (not always the case of course!).

[kdog]

Absolutely agree. One of biggest reasons that the schools tend to be better in affluent areas is that well educated parents understand the importance of education and so are more involved with their kids education as well.

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