Looking for an Oakland neighborhood for commute to SF with good schools
Hi BPN! My kids are 8 and 4, and we are moving from Seattle to the bay area in the next couple of months. We are going to rent somewhere in the East Bay and are looking in Oakland, which seems ethnically and culturally diverse, relatively affordable, and well located for a commute to downtown SF. Can anyone recommend a family friendly neighborhood with a good elementary school?
A school review website ranks Oakland elementary schools as either very bad or very good, with little in between. I'm wondering if it's missing something. Can a district with a school lottery have such wide educational disparity? If you live in a neighborhood with black & brown faces, a school you like/love, and that's kid friendly, please let me know. We will definitely visit first, but a few pointers would really help narrow down the field. Thanks in advance for your input.
Parent Replies
Welcome to the Bay Area! I know you asked about Oakland, but wanted to offer up north San Leandro (just off of I-580) as another option. There's a BART station downtown and express buses to SF. Two neighborhoods in particular -- Estudillo Estates and Broadmoor -- have charming houses that are more affordable than Oakland, nice community, and tremendous ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity (more so, in my opinion, than many parts of Oakland with the "good" schools). There are a couple of neighborhood schools that serve those neighborhoods: Roosevelt and Washington. Roosevelt is the better performing school (in terms of test scores, which of course aren't the whole story) and is very culturally and ethnically diverse, with fantastic parent involvement (PTA, Dad's Club, LGBTQ association, etc). I've also heard good things about Washington Elementary, though historically their test scores have been low, but this is due to the linguistic/ethnic diversity of the school (which is also one of its best assets, IMO). In terms of community, the neighborhood is generally walkable, with some restaurants nearby (though you'd definitely have to drive 10 mins to Oakland for more exciting fare) and a fantastic coffeehouse/neighborhood meeting spot, Zocalo. The SL library is awesome, and there are a lot of new/young families moving in who were priced out of SF/Berkeley. Alameda is also a nice option with good schools, but much pricier. Good luck on your move!
Oakland is based on a neighborhood school model, meaning neighborhood children get priority for the local school, before the Options process kicks in. That's how you get the educational, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities present in Oakland schools. Everyone is competing for a limited number of available spots at the best performing schools.
Since you are looking for a housing, you should definitely look at the boundary map for the school neighborhoods (http://mapstacker.ousd.k12.ca.us/). The schools in the Oakland hills have the best test scores, but also the highest housing cost and, I suspect, the fewest available rentals. Also the whitest of Oakland's neighborhoods, although even the whitest of Oakland's elementary schools is 34% other races (the least diversified schools in Oakland are either predominantly Hispanic or predominantly Asian, with north of 90% of one ethnicity). Some of Oakland's most diverse schools are located between Interstate 580 and Hwy 13, with Glenview and Sequoia elementaries having a particulary balanced mix of black, white, Asian, and Hispanic students. Crocker Highlands is also in that area--it's whiter and a bit more affluent, but a gorgeous neighborhood. My daughter went to Cleveland, which is on the other side of 580 (the "flatlands"). Great school, majority Asian but a healthy dose of every other ethnic group, and a less expensive neighborhood.
You can get the school report cards for all the Oakland schools from the OUSD website (http://www.ousd.org/domain/56). They have test scores, ethnic breakdowns. class size, teacher credential info, suspensions, expulsions, etc., etc.
Good luck!
I loved loved loved!! Sequoia Elementary. We actually live in the Crocker Highlands district, which ostensibly is a "better" school--but it is more white, and more competitive in my humble opinion. So our son went to Sequoia. He has some learning challenges and was then just a couple of years out of cancer treatment--so he looked different, sounded different, etc. etc. but the kids were super nice to him. My son is now in 8th grade, Sequoia goes through fifth, so it is possible things have changed.. but please check out Sequoia if you are looking at OUSD. The neighborhood around it is full of families and they had a bunch of "walking buses" for kids to pick each other up on set walking routes to school. And there is a garden!
Welcome!
Check out the Montclair, Redwood Heights, and Glenview neighborhoods in Oakland...they may have what you're looking for. Also look at the city of Alameda.
KQED radio just did some interesting pieces about diversity and Oakland Unified that may be insightful, though not necessarily encouraging: 0https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district/
Oh my gosh, you make me cry tears of joy with your suggestions and thoughts. I really, really appreciate it! I'm coming to visit and now I have some good starting places. This is a HUGE relief. :)
IMHO Oakland is only great for commuting to SF if you are within walking distance of a BART station, and those neighborhoods are increasingly unaffordable. San Leandro was a good suggestion; we looked there before buying in El Cerrito some years ago. EC has two BART stations that are very bikable/walkable from most of the city. The local public school my kids attend (Fairmont) is part of the West Contra Costa Unified district, a large urban district that is extremely diverse and offers lots of places for parents to plug in and participate in their child's education. My kids are white and in the minority in their classrooms and on campus and it is just fine.