Updated info, impressions of Mira Vista?
Our daughter will start kindergarten next fall. We are zoned for Mira Vista in Richmond, even though we live in El Cerrito, and I've heard very mixed reviews. I understand the school has changed a lot (for the better) in the last few years. I'm wondering if anyone has updated information and/or impressions about Mira Vista that they would be willing to share with me?
Also, curious to hear about the after school program, although my understanding is that it's not open to the kindergarten classes (although this may have changed?).
Our neighbors attempted to send their daughter to Mira Vista a few years ago and when they showed up (despite being registered) for the first day they were told that kindergarten was full and they would have to find another school in the district to take her (with absolutely no help from the district to find a placement in a different school). They ended up sending their daughter to St. David. This story has left a bad impression of Mira Vista in my mind, but I'd love to hear diverse experiences.
Thank you!
Parent Replies
Hey Emalie, I'm the vice president of the Mira Vista PTA and would love to talk to you about the school. I'm so sorry your friend had a bad experience here when she was registered for kindergarten; that definitely happened before my time here, and I'm pretty sure before our current principal, Gabriel Chilcott, who has really transformed the school over the past five or six years. I love our school and our community. This particular year has been hectic for the kindergarteners because the district was overenrolled and, through no fault of ours, we ended up with an extra kinder class -- it has been rough for the whole West Contra Costa district. But this is an anomaly.
The aftercare program has really hit its stride this year, and also, for the first time, we do have aftercare for kindergarteners (paid for by the PTA!). We also have full-day kindergarten (till 2:20-ish, like the rest of the school) which makes things much easier for working parents, who make up the majority at our school. We also have a very strong STEAM (that's STEM plus arts) program run by one of our teachers that was a big hit last year and is expanding this year.
This is a really exciting time to be at Mira Vista. We have a very engaged community, dedicated teachers with a low turn-over rate, and an incredibly diverse student body. If you want to come by the school, please feel free to email me at vicepresident [at] miravistaschool.com or we can just chat about the school. We have our ups and downs and frustrations like any school, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Amy Keyishian