Where to live with budget of $1.3M and good schools? (Santa Clara: houses, buying)

[Sc49er]

Does anyone know how Cambrian and Campbell schools compare to each other? Scores wise they seem similar, but how are the demographics in each? Parent involvement? Funding?

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by Sc49er

Does anyone know how Cambrian and Campbell schools compare to each other? Scores wise they seem similar, but how are the demographics in each? Parent involvement? Funding?

Demographics: Rich white people and a few rich Asian people in both areas.
Parent involvement: Borderline nuts in both areas.
Funding: Not sure, but must be pretty good due to all the rich folks, in both areas.

[bobby_guz_man]

By the way, Sc49er, you're picky as ****. Just letting you know that. All the areas you mentioned and are asking inputs on are EXCEPTIONAL areas. Any of them will be OK. All of them should have schools in the high 890's API or low 900's. West San Jose (Cambrian) would put you closest to the 940+ API. Which means all the schools are going to be PRETTY DAMN GOOD.

Don't quibble about a few 10 or 20 of API. Just find the place you like the most that is convenient to you, and go for it. Feel blessed that you have the means to afford these places, because 90% of people here can only afford half of your number

[Sc49er]

Uh Bobby, you make a lot of assumptions don’t you, and that too illogical ones at that? That’s really annoying, just letting you know that.

I did not ask about API scores. I can look those up just fine. I asked about the non-obvious stuff - the demographics, parent involvement, funding. Funding because lots of school districts tried to get bond measures on the ballot the past few years, and while some did not make it to the ballot, some did not pass. That says a lot about the community the school’s located in, and the value placed on education. And oh, btw, API is going to be meaningless going forward - no STAR tests as we know it from this year forward, as CA switches to common core. The assessments and scoring are all undergoing a major revamp.

And puh-lease, what makes you think I don’t appreciate my good fortune? Spare me that lecture and condescension please.

If the thread and my questions irritate you, feel free to skip the thread will ya?

Might be a good idea to get off your high horse there, the higher you are, the harder you fall.

[Local123]

SC- I get what you are saying about funding but there is another element at play. The Cambrian community is very strong with a ton of parent involvement but we also have a lot of elderly home owners in our neighborhoods who are living on a very structured budget. An extra $100/year can be significant at that point. I did a lot of calling (for the schools) for one of the measures a few years ago and I had a lot of elderly people tell me that they just could not stretch their budget. It's the age of the homes in the area that makes the difference. Many people have lived in them for 50 years and they are paid off, have their stable property tax and not a lot of expendable income. So I don't think that not passing measures is always a true measure of how a community values education. It's a very layered issue.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by Sc49er

Uh Bobby, you make a lot of assumptions don’t you, and that too illogical ones at that? That’s really annoying, just letting you know that.

I did not ask about API scores. I can look those up just fine. I asked about the non-obvious stuff - the demographics, parent involvement, funding. Funding because lots of school districts tried to get bond measures on the ballot the past few years, and while some did not make it to the ballot, some did not pass. That says a lot about the community the school’s located in, and the value placed on education. And oh, btw, API is going to be meaningless going forward - no STAR tests as we know it from this year forward, as CA switches to common core. The assessments and scoring are all undergoing a major revamp.

And puh-lease, what makes you think I don’t appreciate my good fortune? Spare me that lecture and condescension please.

If the thread and my questions irritate you, feel free to skip the thread will ya?

Might be a good idea to get off your high horse there, the higher you are, the harder you fall.

Calm. Down.

I don't make any assumptions, I am only going by that you seem to really have a hard time picking a place, especially with 1.3 million to play with. Nowhere did I say I was irritated by your thread, if I was, I wouldn't have bothered to try and answer some of your questions.

I am merely pointing out that you seem quite picky at this whole home thing, and merely suggested that all the areas you are asking for are of EXCEPTIONAL quality and those areas, as a whole, don't necessarily have an outstanding advantage over one another. So I think you should just pick the best one for your conveniences and go for it.

I did admit I sounded preachy there, so let me apologize. There were no condescension in my intentions, however, as I am definitely NOT above anyone here to consider condescending on anyone. However, if you do feel like there were condescension, then do accept my sincerest apology.

That said, we will all continue to help you out with your questions So fire away!

btw, API is going to be meaningless going forward - no STAR tests as we know it from this year forward, as CA switches to common core.

Hmm..what will replace this then? I have no kids as of now but might soon, so this is news to me. This is going into effect beginning of the school year in 2014, I assume?

[Sc49er]

Bobby, apology accepted. I think there is a difference in what my goal is and your perception of my goal. I am not trying to "pick a place" to live. Instead, what I am trying to do is to educate myself about the different options available. I will subsequently do my own research from the identified zipcodes before picking a place.

The reason I am looking at the exceptional school districts and not just the very good is because of my son's strengths and interests. He is not into sports at all and is a huge science geek. I am trying to figure out how best to support his interest in science and am therefore looking for schools that offer advanced classes and science clubs, where being a geek will not make him stick out like a sore thumb. He is prime bully target material as things stand, given his personality. Cupertino is unfortunately ruled out. Hence my search for other schools just as strong academically, but without the suicide rates and emphasis on sports. He would probably thrive in a collegiate prep private school but that's out of our reach - we are ineligible for scholarships but realistically can't afford the $45K per year tuition with 2 kids and college expenses to follow.

With the common core, they are replacing the STAR tests with computer based assessments. It's a highly controversial topic that many teachers are very upset about, google it.

Local123, I know what you mean. I worked the phone banks for my local bond measure and while I did hear some folks say what you pointed out, I was appalled at the number of wealthy families who refused to vote for it because their kids go to private school and they didn't want to pay more by way of taxes even if it was less than $100. Some were willing to be swayed when I pointed out good public schools will directly impact their property values but many were not. One person went so far as to point out that Woodside and Atherton property values were doing just fine despite crappy schools. I could only conclude I was the one in the wrong place - not wealthy enough to afford private school, but white collar enough to prize a quality education.

[Local123]

Sc- One of the great things about the Bay Area is that the kids that are smart are not bullied but are actually the more "popular" students. I went to Lynbrook and I swear the most popular kids were the kids in AP classes and who now have some pretty impactful and amazing careers. My son is incredibly gifted in math, though to be candid he loves sports too, and it does not impact his friendships or ability to socialize well at all. We have sought out some additional summer options for him at Stanford and even some really neat summer options at Johns Hopkins to supplement. There is so much we can do as parents to build on what they are getting at their school whether it's private or public. But do not fear bullying for the smart kids in this area. Intelligence is seen as a strength pretty early on.

[Sc49er]

Thanks Local. What worries me about him is his total lack of athletic ability/interest (one is the cause of the other I am afraid). I mean, the kid has NO interest and I mean that literally, in throwing around a ball or running around or even riding a bike like other kids his age! Sure you don't need to be an athlete to be cool, but not even bare minimum athletic ability? Instead, ask him about a random element in the periodic table (which he memorized a couple of years ago) and sit down for twenty minutes while his face lights up as he waxes eloquent about Rubidium. That seems like the ideal combination for a bully magnet to me.

[tempest411]

1.3M for a house

That's a lot to lose when the economy tanks again...