Need Input on Public Schools in San Pedro and Other Options

My Assistant sent her kids to Taper and was very pleased. I visited the school with her for activities and also to just do some classroom observations, I too was very impressed with the teachers and the administration.Good Luck!

Hi Tara L,
I used to live in San Pedro and now live in the Hawthorne area. I am a substitute teacher in the Torrance Unified school district. I really feel strongly that this is a great school district. One of the best schools at which I have been a sub. is Lincoln Elementary. It is very close to El Camino college. All of the Torrance schools are taking permits for next year at this time.

From a mom-to-be(due in July),
M. T.

I have had good experiences with Park Western Elementary and also Hawaain Ave n Wilmington. They r both good schools.Also have homeschooled them b4 school age.

Dear Tara,

My younger 2 went to Leland Elementary school. I didn't care much for it. Then they went to Dana Middle School. I really hated that one. They did try Dodson MS too with the Gifted program, but both went back to Dana because they hated it more than Dana. My daughter is now a 9th grader and at the Port of Los Angeles High School. We are both very happy with that decision so far. My 7th grade son is homeschooled (pulled him out of Dana the middle of this year because he hates it there) until 9th grade where he will go to the Port of LA High school too.

We used to live in Torrance, and the schools are much better as far as academics and attitude over there, but in the upper grades they do have a drug problem (my older 2 daughters went there up until 12th grade), which I think is hard to get away from in any public district.

Both of my younger kids were tested for the GATE program in Elementary School. If that's something that you want, you will need to request it from their teacher. That's how mine got tested. If they say no, insist on it and go over the teacher's head if you have to.

I think that the honor programs are better than the regular programs are at Dana and Dodson. At least the kids try a little harder in those classes as apposed to reg. ed where the kids celebrate when they get "D's" and "F's" on their report cards.

I'm sorry to be so critical of the schools, but I do notice that a lot of the teachers who teach at Dana and San Pedro HS, put there own kids in private school, whether it be Holy Trinity or Mary Star. I also worked for the district for a while at the district level, and I know that the schools in LAUSD leave much to be desired.

Best to You!
S.

If you want public school go to your home school and ask for the choice package it gives you more option on schools very good program all my children have gone to magnet schools

Hi Tara...

We live in San Pedro, I homeschooled two of my daughters at various points. I have 4. One foster, she went to SP schools all her life and the great thing about SP High School, when it was glaringly apparent that she would not graduate on time without extra measures, her counselor recommended her to extra classes-a "0" period in the morning and a few at Harbor Occupational. The counselor made herself available if she had any questions or needed any help. The High School is big but if you-the parent-or the student-request help, they will help, they do care.

My second oldest, we combined homeschool and public school. She thrived but her favorite years were the last two when she did the independent study with LAUSD and was able to work for her car at the same time. She was in Pt Fermin for 5th also, and yes, it was questionable, but to be fair to the school, I was pregnant and in school full-time myself. I was not as involved as I should/could have been. However, she did make a couple lifetime friends there.

With DD3, she was homeschooled for p-k and kinder but started at Bandini ES for 1st. It is a small school and she loved it. I put her there because I knew some of the adults including the principal, one of the former 5th gr teachers, and the prior parent advocate. DD3 went on to absolutely shine. Everyone at the school got to know her, they had no problem calling me if there was a question, a problem, or something to work out. She was there when my hubby and I separated and divorced. I was able to tell her teachers, please call me if you notice anything I need to address. They did and for a little while she had to be monitored for anxiety due to the separation. She is fine now and went on to Dana MS where she was straight-A's and student body president. Now she is at SPHS in Honors and even though it is a lot harder and this year has meant some real adjustments, she loves it and DOES NOT want to change schools. She had an invite on full scholarship to two private schools. She said no.

DD4 is at Bandini ES and has been there from kinder. Again, her teachers are wonderful and it has really helped that the consistency is there. The teachers know me, the staff knows me, they call me if need be. She struggled with school, didn't like it too much (talked too much) until the third grade. In third she had a wonderful teacher, now retired, and "grew into herself". The past two years have been very good ones, scholastically, for her and she now loves school, is a very good student, and is rather looking forward to Dana MS next year. I will be keeping an eye on her and making sure she is within her level. DD3 is also very good about helping her when necessary.

I think one thing that has made a difference, all of my kids know that I WILL show up to their schools or call their teachers if I feel like it. I have been known to walk into a class just to meet the teacher. Then I give my kid a kiss and a hug and say goodbye. They tell me the other kids are astonished by this behavior but they think it is cool. Knowing that I do care makes my kids stand out to the teachers and knowing I am capable of that makes my kids pay attention in class. I let the teachers know that I appreciate their teaching and that their time allows me to go earn a living since I am supporting them and cannot stay home any more.

Sorry if this is too long but your question hit a huge spot in me. I feel slightly guilty that I can't do the things I used to do when I was at home. The best I can do now is try to help them 1) learn to play the game at school, 2) learn to think independently, and 3) let them know that I am paying attention.

And WE LOVE BANDINI ELEMENTARY!

I heard that Crestwood is good. I went to a private high school that had a lot of private middle schools (from San Pedro and surrounding area) "feed" into the school. I wasn't impressed with any of my classmates academically or socially, especially not compared to my classmates at my public middle school, or compared to the students who came from public schools in San Pedro. Try www.greatschools.com to research and compare schools, but nothing competes with going to the school and checking it out in person. Even with that, there is no magic formula to find a school that works for you.

I understand the "home school plague." I home schooled for one year only, because my daughter's first grade teacher was down right abusive to her. (She went to a beautiful private school for kindergarten and then we switched to public school for 1st grade.) The school refused to change classrooms. Apparently, I wasn't the only mother who had complained and they said they would have to change half the class out if they did it for me. They also justified it by saying the school was providing the teacher with additional training. I pulled her out of school to home school. I hired a substitute teacher who was also sick of the school to come work for me instead, as a personal teacher 15 hours per week. She diagnosed my daughter with dyslexia on the first day. When we went back to public school in 2nd grade, to a different school, the school insisted her reading problems were due to home schooling and refused to help her with her dyslexia. After two years of that garbage, we had to switch schools again! I did a mega research project and picked my favorite 10 schools. We looked for a place to live near each school; until we found a place across from our number 4 choice. Then we moved. After all that, we hate the principal. It's her first year and she's a total crackpot. I just can't stand to have my daughter switch schools again. I can't afford the area I grew up in, which has great schools. So, sadly, what I've learned is that there are never any guarantees. We are committed to making the best of it. My daughter is probably going to learn more about dealing with difficult people than anything else, but she will still learn. Any transition is difficult, probably more so for the parents sometimes. As long as my daughter is happy in the classroom, I think that's more important than the stress of my dealing with a principal that has 85 IQ points.

Best of luck!

Well school is definately a great place to excel in sport if your boys love it too.
There is a websit called great schools. and I think the website is greatschools.com, though I may be wrong.
You can plug in your area and it gives a huge amount of info.
Everything from class size, grade average, ethnicity, cresited teachers and more. You can also compare online to other schools you have in mind. If you play around with this site you will find a lot of very informative stuff.
I have found through my own experiences that in some private schools not all the teachers are credited. You really want to make sure your childs teacher is. Don't be afraid to go to the school itself and ask for a tour with the principle.Just don't do it when school is starting. Then ask him all the questions you want.
Remember this is your child and you want what's best. Nothing wrong with that. That is a great mom.

This probably won't be much help but I know there are a lot of children in my daughter's school that live in San Pedro. We live in El Segundo. It's a bit of a drive but there are quite a few who do. We really like our school and I'm sad we are leaving it. Either of the elementaries in ES are great.

Hi! We're San Pedroians, too - and Pt. Fermin is our "school" as well. I'd advise against that...
My daughter attended the South Shores magnet school for first grade and we had an awful experience (teacher who didn't care to challenge her; ridiculously huge focus on fundraising...). We had her tested, and she placed into the Gifted/Talented category - but we were informed that they couldn't do anything with that until she was in third grade.
So, we decided to go the HS route for 2nd grade. I'm a college professor, so it made sense. Academically, it was great - but we wanted "socialization." Alas, Pt. Fermin was our choice for third grade.
She got plenty of socialization - but not any kind I'd like her to repeat. There are no "quality" possibilities for friends (I'm not a judger; many of these poor kids range from having meth-addict moms to others who are simply raising themselves). She's learned lots of things in school - like how it's "cool" to dislike learning, the "meth" dance (good Lord, don't ask), truck-driver vocab and other lovely traits!
Needless to say, it's back to homeschool again for fourth grade. We were on the waiting list for one of the other magnets, but it doesn't look good.
The only other option that we're considering - we have been told that the local Catholic school (Mary Star of the Sea?) deserves a look.
Good luck!
OH - one more thing: I STRONGLY suggest checking out Brighter Days for your youngest - it's off Western on Summerville, I think. AMAZING academics and fantastic teachers. It's pre-school and K...