Public Schools on Westside

First of all, it's important to live in Santa Monica if you want your child to attend Franklin. They are sticklers for this, and if it's a permitting situation you might be in trouble down the line as far as middle and high school are concerned. Warner is an excellent elementary school, however, you run into a problem for middle and high school. Same with Westwood Charter. Unless you have magnet points, and Warner will not afford you the magnet points, your feeder middle school is Emerson and high school Uni. Alternatively you would have Paul Revere Middle School and Palisades High, or Palms and Hamilton. You are better off trying to get your child into Community Magnet (up in Bel Air) or Brentwood Science Magnet, then you have options. Fill out the Choices brochure in December and opt for one of those campuses. Oh by the way, my children attended Brentwood Science Magnet, then LACES and my oldest is now a freshman at UC Davis.

If it's not too late, get him into the lottery at SMASH.

Talk to the PTA presidents of both schools.
Living in Santa Monica could be very nice. One thing you should realize is that Warner Avenue is in the richest catchment area in LA. Can you and your child handle this? It could be interesting or a problem.
I well know the area and am a grad of Warner Ave. myself. Everyone I went to Elementary school with went to college and ended up with a profession. Some of the women stopped their careers when the married "well", but all got a good education. Why? not the school, but because of the neighborhood which is populated by well to do, successful parents.
Think about it.
You might love it or you might feel more of a balance in Santa Monica.
Anyway all the kids do fine where ever you send them to school. Really, it doesn't make such a difference.
B. v. O.

Hi,
I am not familiar with Warner, but I went to Franklin. Franklin is in the richest area of Santa Monica, which sounds similar to Warner. Last year, Santa Monica had to send a handful of kids who lived in their area to other schools in the district because it was full (with over 800 kids!) So, you absolutely must live in the Franklin district to even be considered. I went to the Kindergarten round up at Franklin in March, and most parents who attended have already filled out all the enrollment forms (and have a place at the school). The teachers seemed kind and excellent, but my tour/round up experience left me uncomfortable. The school is absolutely HUGE--there are 6 kindergartens. And the middle school (Lincoln) is also huge. My husband teaches at Lincoln, and he has 36+ kids in some of his classes. We decided to send our daughter to a smaller private school--even with the Franklin option.