#4 on waitlist
I'm new to Oakland area for 2025/26. My daughter was accepted to Thornhill 1st grade and put #4 on waitlist for Peralta (my neighborhood school). What are people's experience with Thornhill? What are the chances she will get into Peralta next school year?
May 6, 2025
Parent Replies
Welcome to Oakland. My nephew attended Thornhill and it's a very well-resourced school - they have lots of extra programs and supports that many other OUSD schools don't. It's a bit of a commute from the neighborhood around Peralta, though.
As far as the OUSD waitlists - for kindergarten, anyone #4 on a waitlist would be almost guaranteed to get in, but it may be different for first grade. In general, your best chance to get in anywhere off a wait list is to be persistent and keep checking back over the summer, right before school starts, and even in the first week or two of the new school year (sometimes a child is registered but doesn't show up to the first week of school and they'll eventually open the spot). If you're able to prepare your kid for possibly not knowing her school assignment right away, or even moving in the first couple weeks of the school year, this can work. It's a pain now, but maybe worth it to save you 5 years of commuting!
This is ancient history, but our son graduated from Thornhill in 2000 and our daughter in 2003. We LOVED Thornhill.
One kid needed special education, and got wonderful support. They now have their master's degree and a good job. The other made friends and did so well academically that they graduated from a very competitive private high school and then UC.
In our era,. the music program and drama program at Thornihill set a wonderful tone for the whole school experience. I hope that good karma has continued.