The Former Hippie School Gone Upscale

You've got to have a Plan B.

My Plan B, Part A, is to apply to one Catholic school and one independent school. Plan B, Part B, is to pray that we get a terrific financial aid package. [Plan A is to get into one of the perfectly fine, but very big, public middle schools that everyone else wants to get into.]

Alex and I set out this morning to continue our Plan B research and check out The Former Hippie School Gone Upscale, an independent school located in what a friend of mine (who sent his child to this school) calls the "armpit of San Francisco." The school is nestled in a cozy nook created by freeway overpasses, where Interstate 80 meets 280. The sound of cars whizzing by is a constant backdrop and over time begins to sound somewhat like distant surf. Nevertheless, this school is highly prized by its parent community. While it's not one of the most selective schools in the city, its reputation is solid gold.

Once Alex and I pass through the school's rustic wooden front gate, set in an ivy-covered wall, we feel we've entered a world far removed from the armpit of San Francisco. We're in a magical realm where any child would be happy to learn and play. The courtyard is nicely landscaped. There's an "adventure" garden on the hillside. Well-tended plants thrive in planters decorated with handmade tiles.

The principal meets the touring families to deliver a brief statement before his staff takes us around. He tells us many things about the philosophy of the school, including "Your child will learn to ask: How does my understanding of science help my stewardship of the Earth?" and "This is a safe place for every child to bring their whole self to school." Very crunchy granola. The school's hippie roots are showing and I like it.

But now for the "upscale" part. For $18K a year, parents would get:

• A small school with only 30-32 children per grade level
• Four hours of Spanish per week
• Art twice a week
• Music three times a week, plus - and this is a big plus - the music program is run by a gentleman known as the guru of local music teachers and who is world renowned among musicians and educators.
• Annual field trips to Yosemite and Mexico

Aside from the price tag, and the not inconsiderable distance from our house, I could see being a part of this community for three years. Quickly, I run the numbers in my head. Last year there were 12-15 openings for the sixth grade and they had 47 applicants. That translates to roughly 1 in 3 got in, better odds than the popular public schools and many private schools. I think we should give it a go and apply. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, they say.

Alex, unfortunately, was less than sanguine about The Former Hippie School Gone Upscale, saying: "The school was OK. It seemed small and I want a small school, except for My Sister's Old School because that's a good school. I just want a school that has nice children and nice teachers. The children seemed nice. I liked the library because it was small and cozy and they had good books, like Calvin and Hobbes. I liked the yard, which was small and cute and everyone was having a lot of fun. I like The Bare-Bones, Humble, Catholic School better though because it has a cafeteria. Like, what if someone didn't have a lunch, what would they do?"

Comments

[lee]

I'll keep my fingers corssed that Alex get's in!! This sounds like a great school.

Lee

[A Parent]

Beware. Our family tried a very similar school and found many serious flaws: the neighborhood - our school was in a bad neighborhood with very little parking. Indigents waiting for the public bus would beg at our cars if we arrived early to pick up our children. Theft while the car is unattended is also an issue. The grounds/garden: turns out our school's grounds had no gardener or maintenance person. Areas near the fences were filthy with trash, statues were broken, and the sports field was dangerously ridden with gopher holes. None of the very high tuition went towards groundskeeping. The handful of parents on the PTA did little but endlessly argue with each other about how to spend tens of thousands of dollars saved from various fundraising efforts. Meanwhile, all the other parents were "commuter" types who couldn't care less about the school.

The "upscale" part of this crunchy granola school was: tuition (the same as the highly esteemed, academically rigorous school down the road), small class sizes, and "enrichment" like Spanish, music, and art -- each twice a week. However, the Spanish taught to the lower grades consisted of little other than colors and numbers. Music was memorizing 2 songs a year for 2 school concerts a year. The only truly undeniably exceptional feature was the huge art studio and well-esteemed and incredible art instructor (this is what sold us on the school and what made it hard to leave).

Unfortunately, the classroom teachers we experienced used rote, traditional methods of instruction, heavy on worksheets and coloring in the lower grades. Our child was unchallenged and uninspired by the academics, refused to do much of the work, and the teachers allowed it!

So be very wary of such "upscale crunchy granola" schools.

[Astrid Beighle]

Hi There,

Eventhough the Former Hippie School sounds like music to my ears, I do believe that Alex makes an excellent point about the cafetaria.

At least he is thinking of his fellow students. He has a plan B in mind too. And sometimes we need to listen to our kids.

Maybe this is an idea for the schools' principal and staff to think of establishing a cafetaria?

Good luck to the both of you in your search for a good school!

Astrid

[Learning Spanish]

Cool!