SFUSD's top 20 hidden gems

When I was searching for a kindergarten last year, I focused on the most popular public elementary schools, where the test scores were high and the PTAs were raising lots of money. I wanted a school with a sound-proofed gym, a garden overgrown with vegetables, and an art room stocked with supplies. I dreamed of getting my child into Alice Fong Yu, West Portal, Rooftop — the schools where the tours packed 40, 60, even 100 other involved parents. My SFUSD enrollment form was filled with these schools in Round I and, of course, we didn't receive an assignment at any of them. My husband calculated that we had something like a 1 percent chance of getting our first choice (Alice Fong Yu).

By Round II, I was looking at some less-popular schools — the hidden gems — and I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't find the same fancy facilities, but I did meet principals and teachers who were clearly as exceptional as those at the rock-star schools. I discovered small groups of parents with the passion of a grassroots movement planning fund-raisers, planting gardens, and hiring reduction teachers. The schools tend to be smaller and the communities more close knit, so the children thrive in these nurturing environments. I realize now how lucky we were to end up at one of these hidden gems. Now that I'm at Jose Ortega, you couldn't pay me to go to anywhere else.

As you finish up your school tours and finalize your list of seven, I'm hoping you will consider some of the hidden gems in the diverse list below. Nearly all of these schools had fewer than 20 families list them as their first choice in Round I. Last year, 238 families put Rooftop at the top of their list, 268 listed Alice Fong Yu, and 284 wanted Clarendon. 

1. Bryant GE
2. Cesar Chavez GE
3. Cleveland GE
4. Cobb GE
5. Daniel Webster GE and SI
6. Garfield GE
7. Glen Park GE
8. Harvey Milk GE
9. Hillcrest GE
10. John Yehall Chin GE
11. Jose Ortega MI and GE
12. Junipero Serra GE
13. Leonard Flynn GE
14. New Traditions GE
15. Paul Revere GE and SI
16. Rosa Parks GE and JB
17. Sheridan GE
18. Sunnyside GE
19. Sutro GE
20. Visitacion Valley GE

This is not a final list. Rather, I consider it the beginning of a conversation. I hope that you'll tell us about your own hidden gems in the comments. And please, if you're a parent at any of these schools, feel free to share your experiences.