Advice about Emeryville Public Schools
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See also: Emery Secondary School ... Reviews of Emeryville Public Schools
Parent Q&A
Emeryville does mostly full inclusion from what I’ve heard and the preschool services are typically integrated into the headstart/YMCA preschool programs. They have specialists who will do a variety of push in/pull out therapy depending on your child’s IEP. Once the district makes their offer, I’d recommend going to look at the program they offer to see if you’re comfortable. If not, call another IEP meeting to discuss and see if there are other options available. Through the IEP process you won’t be able to pick and choose any school, but hopefully the district will work with you to find a mutually agreeable solution and offer of services. (I work for another local school district in preschool special education.) Feel free to contact me with more questions if you’d like!
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Questions:
Emeryville schools? How are the schools?
Sept 2007
We are looking to stay in emeryville, but our concerns are the schools? We have a 16 month old boy and soon school will be upon us. I have not read any current reviews on the emeryville public schools. Does anyone have 2007 info? thank you. ann
My husband works at Pixar, I am a Real Estate Broker and our 20 month old daughter goes to the Emeryville Child Development Center. I can not say enough good things about ECDC. It is diverse - racially, economically and culturally. Although Emily is less than 2 years old, she already loves books, music and drawing. She can open a book and identity many objects by name. She knocks out little tunes on her xylophone and she has great social skills. But most importantly is this - she can't wait to go to ''school'' in the mornings. I attribute all these wonderful developments to the love and support she receives from her teachers and fellow students at ECDC. The ratio of student to teachers is 3:1, so school is not cheap. We pay $1150 per month for 5 days of care, from 8:00am to 5:30 pm. However, since Emily is an only child, the friendship and love she gets from ECDC is priceless.
When she is ready for kindergarden, we are definitely going to send Emily to Emeryville's public elementary school, Alta Yates. We believe that Emeryville's schools are getting better every year,and schools get better when there is a critical mass of committed parents and dedicated students. Many of our friends, neighbors and co-workers are coming to the same conclusions and making the same decisions. Emeryville rocks! Amy
Thinking of moving to Emeryville - how are the schools?
March 2004
I'm thinking of moving to emeryville. I am wondering if anyone has any updates on the situation at the Emeryville School District? Are things getting better? I would appreciate information on both the schools and the school district. thanks
Emeryville's School District is doing great. The voters approved the City's first parcel tax to support school operations. With the parcel tax funds, the school has added art, music and dance programs, hired librarians and counselors, and added instructional coaches to coordinate instruction between all grade levels. The City and School are working together to coordinate after school activities. The Chamber of Commerce is working with Pixar, Chiron and other businesses in town to provide tutors, mentors and additional resources. The City's Recreation Department now runs the swimming pool located at the High School. The parent organizations at both schools are working with the Principals to shape how each school is run and the School Board supports the work of the Parents.
As for the District, the State will return local control in June. The District is in the process of hiring a new Superintendent who will start when State control ends.
It's not perfect, but there's a strong coalition of City, businesses, neighborhood activists, parents, and students who are working together to make Emeryville schools the best in the area.
Each of the two schools has about 400 kids. With the resources of Emeryville now focused on the schools, they are well supported. My oldest daughter will start Kindergarten in the fall, so my husband and I have gotten very involved. Let me know if I can answer any other questions. Ruth
We just started at Anna Yates in Kindergarten. So far we are pleasantly surprised with the quality of the school. My biggest issue was that it was difficult to get a feeling for school before starting so we didn't know what to expect. The school doesn't have a tidy pitch package like the OUSD schools because it doesn't have to compete, so the staff don't have it's selling points ready for you. The day is highly structured, our daugthers teacher is wonderful and experienced, and the principal is very communicative and responsive when we have questions (she's been there something like 7 years). We had no problem getting a spot in aftercare and our daughter loves her time in aftercare even more than the school day. Safety seems very high, a result of new facilities and the structured day. Enrichment is mostly in the aftercare known as the "extended learning" REC program where they do STEM activities, crafts, gymnastics, and plays etc. We've heard in general for the upper grades that while the school is not the most academically rigorous, they do a lot for the kids and they get a decent amount of individual attention. So while we don't love the use of devices in the class, and it doesn't have an active parental social community, we are very happy as a family there.