How Do I Pick a School in San Jose?

Talk to neighbors, Join a mother's Group (Las Madres is Wonderful) -- In general start by talking to people who have already been dealing with this issue. And talk to A LOT of people. There will be different opinions out there.

Picking a school is overwhelming. I feel like it has taken me a few years to find schools that I am happy with for my kids, mostly through trial and error. I thought I'd just sign them up at the neighborhood school and be happy, but it has been more complicated than that! The trouble is, everyone is different, so you have to do the homework for yourself to find what is best for your own kids.

You mentioned your son is interested in Spanish, I can help you a little there. If you live in San Jose Unified School District, you can apply to River Glen magnet school. (I also live in Willow Glen and my son goes to River Glen.) You can contact the school in Jan or Feb of the year before they attend kindergarten to find out the process. Unfortunately, there is no gaurantee you'll get in, so have some back up plans. Sherman Oaks is a charter school in Campbell (both schools full day kindergarten by the way), and their application process is a little different, but also a very good school from what I hear from friends and what I saw when I went to an orientation. But again, no guarantee you'll get in. Centro Harmonia is a preschool in Campbell that has preschool of course but also a kindergarten program, but it is a private school. If you do preschool at Centro Harmonia, you'll meet lots of parents doing the same Spanish immersion school search also, so you'll get networked. Another preschool is Nuestra Escuelita (they require that a parent speaks to child in Spanish at home), where you'll get a good community support and they are cheaper because they are parent participation.

Those are the four schools that I personally have researched and visited (you can google search to find their websites), but there are many other Spanish immersion schools in the area. These four are probably closest to you (and they are very good schools, I can't speak for the others), but there are schools downtown, on east side, alum rock, palo alto...

Besides Spanish-immersion schools, if you live in SJUSD, find out the process from the district office. There are all kinds of rules about who can go to what school and how to request a different school, or even how to get into your neigborhood school (which by the way I have two friends whose kids go to Canoas and they both like it). Learn the process and it will work for you.

Good luck!

My son is in kindergarten currently at Canoas. It is a half-day kingergarten 8-12. I highly recommend you call and ask for a tour of the school and see if it is right for you. We are happy with Canoas and philosophically, I want to support the local public schools. Someone already mentioned River Glen, which is the Spanish immersion magnet school in the San Jose Unified School District. Let me know if you have specific questions about Canoas.

Call your local school and ask all the questions you need. The secretaries should be able to help but I suggest you make an appointment with the principal. If you don't get the answers call the district office. The only places you will get full day Kinder is in private schools. You need to call around. There are some excellent ones, but they are not cheap! You are very smart to start now. Good luck and happy shopping!

I'm not sure how far you'd want to drive, but I HIGHLY recommend St. Joseph's of Cupertino school. I have two kids there, I work there and I cannot imagine a better school. Granted, it's not an immersion school, but we do have Spanish in every classroom, as well as so many other great supplemental programs. Oh, it's also an all day program (8:20 - 3:00pm). Some people think that's too long but the kids do just great! The morning is filled with the stronger academics (and a snack/recess break), after lunch the kids have rest time for about 40-45 minutes, then most afternoons are used for the supplemental programs. Some of them are Computer Lab, Science Lab, PE and Library. Oh, and the teachers are great!

Best of luck to you!

C.,

If you are concerned about where your son will go to school, you should research your neighborhood schools first. They have all day kindergarten in some districts and they have some schools with exposure to languages. Although, with the state budget cuts, you may have better luck with private school. You could try Harcourt Academy or Almaden Country School.

D.

You can check out your school district's schools by going onto the San Jose Unified School District's website. The district offers one Spanish dual-immersion school, Riverglen. This school is not a neighborhood school, meaning kids who live near it do not automatically attend it. Parents must apply for this school and their child is placed in a lottery. There is no guarantee your child will get in. Again, look on the school district's website for the dates and deadlines for the following school year.

Hi C.,

I'm the mom you met at Starbucks several weeks back. My daughter, Kiersta, played with your son in the corner. Anyway, I would suggest speaking to the neighborhood school and finding out about their programs. Public schools will not accept registration at this point (they just started for kids who will be starting this fall). I'm not even sure private schools will accept a registration packet yet. However, to find out about your choices, you just need to go and visit the schools you are interested in and find out what their timelines are.

Good luck. Hope to run into you again one of these days.
C.

I would go to your neighborhood school. School will be what you make of it. Get envolved with the home school club, help the teacher there is even work to do at night. Teach your child he needs to be responsible. Turn all his work in and be on time. Set a good excample. Sending your child to the "best" school will not make him smarter than he already is. Hard work goes a long way. Balance is the key. Your job is to teach him to be a responsible adult and to get along with all kinds of different people and cultures. Thats life!

PS a little brainwahing helps! "you will go to college" goes far haha I have one with a 4 year degree and one in college now. Public school the entire 12 years!

Hi C.,

My son will be four on April 16th. He has been going to Action Day on Lincoln Ave since he was 2 1/2 and then for kindergarden will go to Hacienda. I have heard that the Willow Glen/Cambrian school districts are all really good. I know some of the kids for my son's school will be going to Booksin. Hacienda is the number one school in Cambrian so you may also want to look at that one and I believe they also have a Spanish program. Hope some of this helps.

M.

I know there is a lot of craziness and mass hysteria around schools. I could tell you tales of my neighborhood that would curl your hair. In terms of "starting now", taking the tours (public school tour season is wrapping up in the next couple of weeks, but it's annual) is about all you can do considering your child's age. Canoas would be considered your "boundary school"; then there are the magnets (Hacienda, River Glen, Hammer Montessori at Galarza et al), and of course other schools, some of which have specialties. Those are based purely on luck (unless you already have one kid in; then your next children get priority). Anyone in the district can apply to those schools and then you take your chances. My son goes to River Glen and I believe they stop handing out waitlist numbers at 200 (yikes!). Hacienda is much the same; about 10 kids from my n'hood tried, and *one* got in.

For private school (which I didn't investigate for my son), just call around, go visit -- you really have to get a feel for the various places (much like a daycare) to see if it will be a fit for your family and your child.

Definitely visit SJUSD's website (sjusd.org) and/or the district offices (enrollment center is near Japantown, at N. 4th St. and Hedding) to get more info.

Hello C., I am retired military and had the same problem when I returned here with two kids some many years ago. I am currently in the Challenger system with my 7 year old and very happy with it to date. I also have two at Harker now 16 and 15. At 3, I started all my kids in the Montessori school system first. I was living in Mountain View at the time and I can't recall the name now. I think the Montessori environment for kids that age is the greatest. They get a well rounded experience. As mine got older and I determined they needed more structure, I had them in Christian private schools. There are many good Christian schools in the area. Eventually transferred to Harker. One boy at the 5th grade and my girl at the 7th grade. Harker starts at pre school I believe but it is an expensive preposition. I think you can try some other less expensive schools then transfer later. I am a Harker fan. I pay a lot of money but I feel I/my kids get back every penny we pay and more. I did public school briefly (Silver Oak) and I had an experience a year ago with a nephew who lived with me (Castillero). If you can find a good public school, then go for it. But if you can't and you can afford a private school, then give your child the most important gift you can give which is a good education. A final note, I don't believe in keeping 3 year olds home who are potty trained and can talk. They don't have to be in school 5 days, 8 hours day. I grew up in a culture where that is school age. Children don't have to be 5 years old before they start school. All the best. D.