Advice about OUSD Preschools

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Parent Q&A

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  • Experience with OUSD preschools?

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    May 1, 2023

    I found out that my 3-year-old qualifies for preschool through OUSD and I'm trying to weigh some options. We are finishing up the IEP process and he's being offered half days at an OUSD preschool with some special education support. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight into the preschool programs that OUSD offers? Placement isn't guaranteed anywhere but it looks like our options include Acorn Woodland, Allendale, Arroyo Viejo, Centro Infantil, Emerson, Highland, and United Nation CDC. Does anyone have experience with any of these? I'm mostly wondering how much is play-based vs. academic and what the school day looks like at this age.

    He currently attends a Montessori preschool full time, so my options are to fully transfer him to OUSD (and pay tuition to extend to a full day), stay at his current preschool in the mornings and OUSD preschool for the afternoon, or decline OUSD and stay where he is. He's been at his current preschool since 18 months and he really loves it there, so I don't want to pull him out completely unless it's absolutely in his best interest. The smaller group time he'd get at OUSD could be huge for him, but I'm thinking that a morning of independent Montessori work followed by an afternoon of academics is too much so that's what I want to avoid.

    May 1, 2023

    If you have the option to go to Burbank Preschool Center I would choose that site. My son also has an IEP and they selected that school for us. He had an awesome experience with the 2 teachers who I know one is no longer teaching. The school is mostly SDC with some inclusive classes so I believe all the teachers have experience with kids with special needs, something general ed teachers usually don’t have. We trialed Laurel Preschool  to prepare my son for his kindergarten inclusion class and the teacher did not have the skills to appropriately teach my son with high functioning autism and sensory processing disorder. 

    My son thrived at Burbank. They did play based and academics, art, and at recess there’s a large newer playground with tricycles. He attended 2017-2019 so not sure what its like now. While the teachers and most paras were amazing, there were a few that weren’t, but that can be any school. There wasn’t much of a community as most parents would drop off their kids and pick up without talking to one another. The school is a majority of minority and non English families which is great (we are minorities as well), but also contributed to the lack of community since many spoke other languages. No events for the school community that I can remember and no field trips which mostly had to do with the lack of budget.

    Lastly, the school is off 64th/65th Ave so be aware of what that neighborhood is like. Parking off 64th Ave is tight but was cleaner than 65th. Depending on what part of Oakland you’re from it may or may not be what you’re used to, but despite the location I felt that the experience my son received at the school was well worth it. Burbank is the only OUSD school I would recommend. He had an awful experience at Joaquin Miller which was predominantly non minorities, in the hills, and one of the better funded schools in OUSD. I pulled him out in 2nd grade and wish I did it sooner.

    One thing to note, is that OUSD is closing the special ed - inclusion and sdc classes at many elementary schools right now including Joaquin Miller in which the parents and teachers are trying to keep them open especially since they were given very little notice.

    To be honest, with the exception of Burbank, skip OUSD all together and consider homeschooling. Its the best decision I’ve made and my son is getting the academics and extracurricular support OUSD would never be able to provide.

    May 3, 2023

  • ECE program in Oakland

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    Nov 23, 2022

    We live in Oakland and have an almost 3-year-old (Dec. 5 birthday) who’s in a great preschool, but we’re wondering if we should start looking into OUSD’s ECE programs for next school year. Those programs are more affordable, and it would be nice to be at an elementary school that he would attend later. I’m looking for parents who have considered ECE programs. What were your considerations when you were deciding whether to attend? Are there reviews for Oakland ECE centers? If you are attending an Oakland ECE now, how are you and your kid liking it? Thanks so much!

    Nov 23, 2022

    I'm so sorry to say that the ECE process in OUSD is super unclear and disorganized, AND is also explicitly for very low-income families, which isn't publicized very well. I felt like a fool after trying to navigate the entire process--I applied for my kid as soon as the window opened, didn't hear anything at all by the summer, called several times and couldn't get through, exercised my privilege and drove to the enrollment center, where they asked me my income and seemed confused. Then they told me I'd find out by mid-August if she had a spot. (That is, of course, after school starts.) I got a phone call in mid-October to confirm my income again. (I didn't call back, since now I understood what was going on.) A friend of mine just got a phone call to learn there's a spot for her kid two weeks ago (mid-November!). For those who are low-income: be sure to follow up if you don't hear. For those who can afford preschool: Those spots are for kids whose families can't.

    Sure would be lovely to be at the same campus as her sister, though. :)

    Sorry for the bad news.

    Nov 30, 2022

    My son has attended the Manzanita ECE since Sept 2022. He is happy and seems to be learning things. I like his teacher pretty well - she seems experienced - but I do get the sense that her workload is heavy and she doesn't always have time to communicate with us as much as I would like. One thing to flag is that the ECEs are not really connected with the elementary schools they share campuses with, at least not Manzanita. But it has been helpful for us to get a feel for the commute since we are considering Manzanita SEED for kindergarten. Another thing is that it's not free unless you income qualify so we pay $700/month for a half-day program which is not super different than some of the cheaper private pre schools. Also we had to wait to enroll until they try to fill all the spots with people who do income qualify so we started school about a month into the year. All in all, I'm glad we did it because my son is happy and it has been good to get an introduction to OUSD generally. 

    Nov 30, 2022

    Important clarification to the previous poster's response: OUSD's ECE program is not explicitly for low-income families; it is just subsidized or free of charge for those families. Families who are not low-income are absolutely welcome, but pay tuition (and low-income families must be offered spots before they move to the full tuition families, so it is true that there is not always room for every child who wants to attend at a given campus). Your child does have enrollment priority at the elementary school where the ECE campus is located when TK rolls around. You can find information on the program offerings and on the current tuition cost at https://www.ousd.org/Page/642. As the TK eligibility window expands--all four-year-olds will soon be eligible for TK--there will likely be more open spots in the ECE programs.

    Dec 7, 2022

  • Advice on OUSD preschools

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    Sep 21, 2017

    Hello - looking for advice on OUSD preschools / Child Development Centers, particularly at Emerson or Sankofa, but open to any gems. My 14th month old currently attends a playgroup run by Oakland Parks & Rec with excellent teachers, and I am wondering if we can avoid the private preschool waiting list process altogether by enrolling her in an OUSD preschool when she comes of age.

    1. Do OUSD preK programs have a good amount of child-directed play, or do they mostly consist of teacher-led instruction?

    2. Are these programs difficult to get into, and would shoot ourselves in the foot by counting on a public program and not waitlisting our child for private preschools now?

    3. If she attends a preK program attached to an OUSD elementary school, will she automatically be enrolled into kindergarten at that elementary school, or will she still have to enter the lottery system?

    4. Our ideal preschool, public or private, would be majority black or people of color, with an alternative curriculum closer to Waldorf / Montessori philosophy. Does that exist??

    Sep 21, 2017

    OUSD preschools only very recently (last year!) opened their doors to full-pay/sliding scale families; previously all spots were subsidized and you could only attend if you met income restrictions or qualified for special education services through the school district. I don't think they're difficult to get into right now (given that last year they were still taking kids mid-year). All that's to say that the landscape is changing in OUSD PreK, so you really need to visit specific schools to see what things look like today. My sense from friends whose children have attended is that you will find a majority of families of color, but you will likely not find an alternative curriculum. You do currently get priority for kindergarten if you attend PreK at a site. Be aware that OUSD preschool starts at age three, while many private programs start at two, so if you are looking to start next fall, you may need to do a year of private regardless. I'd check out La Plazita and Via Nova for preschools with significant numbers of black and brown families, depending on where you live.  Good luck with the search!

    Sep 25, 2017