I would suggest you go tour a few of the campuses that you mentioned. Many of them are very academically focused which may or may not be why you are looking for. I’d go visit with your daughter, maybe ask if she can shadow for the day. Leave some of the decision up to her. You can also usually go visit your local public middle school to get a feel for it. One of the great things about neighborhood public schools is that your kids make friends with neighbors nearby. There are pros and cons to both public and private so you have to do a little research into the certain schools to see which is a fit for your family.

We send our daughter to Pinewood in Los Altos. The school is devoted to quality academics and has an excellent athletics program.

Public schools today are way too diversified and the school boards overly political.

You also tend to meet a better class of people at the more renowned private schools.

Los Altos parent wrote,...."you also tend to meet a better class of people at the renowned private schools".

Are you kidding?

Both my children went all through the Palo Alto public schools. My daughter is now a psychologist in private practice downtown and my son is in his 4th year in a fully-funded PhD program at Harvard.

It seems to me that there are wonderful, loving, smart and interesting people in Palo Alto, all sending their kids to public schools!

"Public schools today are way too diversified ... . You also tend to meet a better class of people at the more renowned private schools."

But don't even bother applying if you aren't white Anglo upper middle class or higher. That "better class of people" is very fussy about who it lets its offspring associate with.

@ TongZ - Study hard for the ISEE. If your daughter has been in public school, she will be about one year behind her competition from other private schools. To narrow down what Los Altos Parent said, at the private schools you mentioned, all the kids are smart, so they can move much faster. All the schools are diverse racially. Harker is majority minority. Private schools get you aways from the worst behavior problems, away from the worst teachers (protected by unions in public schools). PAUSD is surprisingly mediocre considering the resources, and the general high quality of kids. But politics, unions, and bureaucracy drag it down. Too much teaching to the bottom in PAUSD.

Look into homeschooling. It doesn't have to be all at home. It just means you and they have autonomy with their education. If you value things like fostering creativity, your relationship with your child, their emotional health, their ability to be a functioning whole person, their ability to feel comfortable with all age groups, and their ability to take charge of their own education and work independently, then middle school is the perfect time to try homeschooling.

You can actually get higher quality academics in way less time than they would spend in school, and the kids have time to have a life and explore. You can travel on off-peak times, and make that a part of the education. And kids have time to do things like read great literature, take part in bigger projects, and see their friends. Colleges don't care what the kids did in middle school, and you can frankly find way better learning resources outside of the local schools. Why should the kids have to do after-school language with their limited time?

Homeschooling for middle school gives you the space/freedom to let your child transition from being dependent on external direction to being an independent learner. And none of it affects their college track, in fact, it's often a way that kids can find what works best for them to make them far better high school students even if they go back to school for high school, and far happier, too.

Just a thought. I know people who have more than one child but both parents work -- there are enough resources locally for homeschoolers that they can still "homeschool" by "ala carte schooling". They pick and choose the different resources their child uses. It allows the children to take part in an all-day outdoor science program one day a week, community college another, etc. You decide.

I have read that homeschooling changes the fabric of your existence. A really great time to start is middle school, because you really have a chance to explore without messing up high school records. We only ended up homeschooling because of how horrible middle school, but dearly wish we had known about it to start in middle school. It's definitely not for everyone, but it's also not just one thing. The great thing is the ability to create a custom education for your child, and the chance to have a completely different and more positive relationship as a family. (School operating under the presumption that "independence" means students practically divorcing themselves emotionally from their families.)

The Weekly did a nice couple of articles on it:
Web Link

Just a thought, since you have Nueva on your list. The philosophies and cultures of the different schools you mentioned are quite different, so it was hard to know what you are looking for. I really wish we had homeschooled for high school. We had one friend who did with their triplets and they were all so much more advanced in math because of it when they got to high school. One of them got to sing a lead in a major arts production in San Francisco, something he wouldn't have had time for if he'd been in school.

I commented first and said that one should visit schools. Nothing wrong with that at all. Tour the private ones if you’d like. I happen to have graduated from Pinewood and loved it but I send my kids to public.

HOWEVER... in which city does the author of this post reside? I would never in a million years send my kids to Palo Alto public schools, at least high schools. Never the high schools.

The way you speak down of “regular folk” would embarrass Pinewood admin so much.

I’m almost embarrassed to say I graduated from Pinewood when you make statements like the ones above. Trust me, there are “normal” people at pinewood too! Are their children smart and well-rounded? Absolutely. And they’re not stuck up either. Please don’t embarrass the school with your condescending comments. Scott and Sarah would be mortified.

For high school, be open to considering boarding schools. I know two absolutely outstanding ones very well.
As for public schools in general, California is flaky, they change standards and require districts to make curriculum changes, for better or for worse; locally administrations change, so...what may be tops at one point goes through a phase of being poor at another time. It’s cyclical, especially in this state.
As for middle school, some places have larger student populations (may not be ideal); check out adminstration leaders for the timeframe you would be involved. I recall with admiration a top teacher at Jordan - a social studies teacher!! I also revall an overly crowded school at the time.
You never know. There’s some luck involved with the public school system - and timing.

My child is at JLS, and is doing very well. Like yours, he is bright and motivated, with interests in sports and music as well as academics. He has found many similar peers at school, as well as some excellent teachers. I think the teaching over all would be better at Nueva, which has some terrific teaching methods and curricula, and probably stronger teachers in aggregate. But there is no doubt that your child can receive a good education and make great friends at our schools. Most of the private schools are very expensive, and they get more than their share of entitled and snowflake children. With even a quarter of the money you would save from private school, there are all kinds of supplemental activities your child can take part in, while also benefiting from a more diverse student body at school.

JLS is not for everyone. Private School isn't, public school isn't, homeschooling isn't. What kind of education are you looking for? That should decide where you start looking. I noticed that you didn't mention Keys or Khan Lab School, but the places you did mention are quite different. There's also Live Oak Academy, Fusion (one in Palo Alto), Stanford Online High School (which takes middle school students and has in-person meetings), and others.

Just realize that if your child gets into 6th grade a ways in a public school and your child really isn't happy, it's not the end of the world. California law (as in many states) allows you to simply remove your child from school and file a private school affidavit. You can then put your child in any number of private and even public programs for independent learning while you prepare your applications for something else.

It's harder to do what you want in high school unless you are fully committed to an independent education, but in middle school, if your child is languishing in school, unhappy, depressed, it's just not that hard to find another way. I wish we had. I know people who have been happy at every PAUSD middle school, and many who were very unhappy at the same schools. Our experience left us traumatized and still recovering. I wish I had known that we had options.

> JLS is not for everyone

Actually, JLS is for everyone. That's the point of public schools, right? It's all the other schools that aren't for everyone.

JLS is not perfect for anyone, but what school is. JLS is pretty good for a lot of people, and as good or better than the alternatives for more people than many people on these forums would have you believe. We aren't as special as we think we are, and the alternative schools aren't as special as we are led to believe. Perhaps yours is the true snowflake child, but there aren't many of them, and we are doing all the others a disservice by treating them as such.

@Public middle school FTW - There are plenty of snowflakes in PAUSD, which is part of the problem. The barrage of lawsuits, the principal shuffles, renaming, outrage over solar panels. Who's the superintendent these days, I have legitimately lost track after the last couple were run out of town.

PS remember to vote yes on Prop $ (and give to PIE {and support your local PTA})

Palo Alto middle schools are good. Private schools are good. (And yes, @J from Los Altos, Palo Alto high schools are also good - ask my two kids and their friends, who all thrived there.) In my experience, most schools will work for most kids, esp around here where both the kids and the schools are usually great. But if you or your kid have a good feel for a particular school, go for it - since all the schools are pretty good, it will almost certainly work out well.

Middle school is an awkward time. I don't think anyone can look back and say they enjoyed middle school. Although, I heard of a parent raving about Girls Middle School. One issue about going elsewhere to middle school is friends after the transition to high school. Will they have friends who will attend the same high school?

I've had 3 children in PAUSD and their experiences were all different. There are so many variables: their teachers (can be difficult or not), their grade level (student personalities), their student involvement, their academic intelligence. The first two were creamed with 4 hours of homework at Jordan. The third had virtually no homework.

My biggest disappointment with PAUSD is the English teachers. Many are too lazy to correct papers so our students aren't learning to write in middle school or high school. Teachers often have students grade each others' papers.

To the person who suggested boarding school, gasp! Teen years are when they need the family support (unless it's an an unloving, unsupportive, dysfunctional family).

The poster is "middle class" which means that Casti, Menlo, Sacred Heart Prep are out. These schools expect donations in addition to tuition. Big donations.

Good News! Because you live in Green Acres your child is safe from Jordan middle school, or whatever they call it. Hell or Purgatory or??

Anyhow you live close to Bowman which is recommended by some friends of ours who escaped the horrors of PAUSD middle schools.

Having tried both, they’d clearly recommend private. Sign up early and don’t wait to”try public” as some might recommend. Slots fill fast once parents see the deprivation and despair of the public schools. Then it’ll be harder to find and choose a school you like.

(Okay now to pre-empt the criticism of my criticism: to be clear about 1/3 of public school teachers are great. But they have no oversight of the worst ones, and rolling a dice on teachers means your kid gets put through Hell in some class every year. And no. They don’t let you move to a different class. And no. They won’t solve your problem- that would involve admitting that they created your problem. And this is both well known in the community and there has been no effort to reform at all. None. The end result is a factory that churns our kids who are burnt out on bad teachers and hate school; probably with learned anxiety as well. Burnt out by 8th grade makes for a real challenge to motivate them through High School)

Don’t send your kid there. Don’t experiment with what’s broken.

Original post made by TongZ, Green Acres, on Oct 24, 2018

>> I’m looking for opinions on Public vs. Private for my daughter, who is going to Middle School very soon.


Posted by Los Altos Parent, a resident of Los Altos

>> Public schools today are way -too diversified- and the school boards overly political.

>> You also tend to meet a -better class of people- at the more renowned private schools.

It is the "better" class of -parents- you seek, right? Heaven forbid that your children are exposed to ordinary people. Better to keep your kids inside a bubble inside another bubble.

> You also tend to meet a better class of people at the more renowned private schools.

This is true in many instances. If your children won't be dealing with certain types of individuals as adults, there's no point in associating with them now.

I went to Hotchkiss and the socio-economic backgrounds of 98%+ of the student body were very similar. As an adult, I have rarely (if ever) had to deal with the other 2% and in doing so, I simply tolerate their differences and accept them for who they are.

Posted by Hotchkiss Grad, a resident of Downtown North

>> I went to Hotchkiss and the socio-economic backgrounds of 98%+ of the student body were very similar. As an adult, I have rarely (if ever) had to deal with the other 2% and in doing so, I simply tolerate their differences and accept them for who they are.

And yet, here you are, sharing space with me.

> And yet, here you are, sharing space with me.

As aforementioned...As an adult, I have rarely (if ever) had to deal with the other 2% and in doing so, I simply tolerate their differences and accept them for who they are.

For all I know, you could be a 98%er simply challenging my viewpoint. Perspectives run a bit more open-minded on the west coast than back east. I've noticed this since I've relocated to PA. Some of my former prep school alumni who also reside here actually do associate with the 2% from time to time but they are rarely 'close' with or to them...just casual acquaintances, work colleagues or online correspondences. *L*

@Hotchkiss grad, sorry that your parents deprived you of the wonderful diversity of American and of the world. Hopefully you will not inflict the same on your children. My dad went to prep school and vowed he'd never send his own kids there - we are grateful for that.

@WhereYouLive - the myth of people bailing out of PAUSD middle schools is wrong, though oft-repeated. They have a small drop off in PAUSD enrollment from fifth to six grade (last year it was 40 students, about 4%), similar to many other districts, since private middle schools are a common thing. Most kids thrive is PAUSD schools and most parents are extremely satisfied according the district surveys. You have your own particular experiences, I'm sure, but your generalizations are not supported by the facts.

>...sorry that your parents deprived you of the wonderful diversity of American and of the world.

This can be accomplished outside of the prep school environment (e.g. world travel. a brief drive through urban ghettos, and later enrollment in most colleges and universities).

There is always time to learn and cross-paths with different people.

Some you won't want to.

"...a brief drive through urban ghettos..."

I honestly did guffaw when I read that. Maybe it is intentional satire, I'm not sure.

Yes, slum tourism is a "thing," but that isn't quite the same as being part of a diverse school community, literally growing up with a wider range of people.

I'm so glad Dad sent us to public school!

we toured private schools for our daughter

she didn't like any of the visits so the idea for her to go to private Middle died there

she went on to Paly and irrespective of what school, city or planet - bottom line is that having some friends that you've know all your life (or since middle school) is fun

now in college they laugh and say "remember when..."

I'd suggest that it's all up to the reaction she has to the tours (or your own reaction knowing your kids)

“They have a small drop off in PAUSD enrollment from fifth to six grade (last year it was 40 students, about 4%)”

An alternative interpretation is that private schools are at capacity, so that limits the enrollment.

Which is actually what we found to be the case.

Don’t experiment with what’s broken.

(Ever wonder why historically a large percentage of School Board Trustees sent their kids to private schools? It’s because they are well informed.)

Glad that you agree that not many families leave PAUSD for middle school.

You'd think more private school places would open if demand were so great. But they haven't. And besides, the surveys show high satisfaction as well as student success among those who attend pausd schools. Which might suggest that parents should ignore the fear mongering that some do and try what is already working very well for thousands of families.

As for school board members, you might want to check your data there too. I don't think there are any school board Trustees in recent memory who didn't have some or all of their children attend PAUSD middle schools.

>>JLS is not for everyone
>Actually, JLS is for everyone. That’s the point of public schools, right? It’s all the other schools that aren’t for everyone. JLS is not perfect for anyone, but what school is…better than the alternatives for more people than many people on these forums would have you believe. But we aren’t as special as we think we are, and the alternative schools aren’t as special as we are led to believe. Perhaps yours is the true snowflake child, but there aren’t many of them, and we are doing all the others a disservice by treating them as such.”


@Public middle School FTW,

Just to clarify, in case the misunderstanding was an unclear English idiom, when I said, “JLS is not for everyone Private school isn’t, public school isn’t, homeschooling isn’t” I was using an idiom that means “JLS isn’t everyone’s cup of tea” (to use another idiom), or, regardless of what kind of schooling approach you choose, it may not meet your needs even if someone else you know has had a great experience there.

I think it’s very important for @TongZ to consider what kind of educational approach her child wants/needs and focus on those schools/programs — it’s not about public versus private versus homeschooling, it’s about the needs of their child. Even our own district has as part of its vision to help each child reach their creative potential. That requires some individualization — I just don’t see that happening in PAUSD middle schools. (They’ve got a long way to go to do a good job fostering creativity, for one.). Homeschooling is another example. There isn’t one way to homeschool, and it spans the spectrum from very intense traditional curricula to unschooling to various models like Sudbury. Even within homeschooling, different approaches are not everyone’s cup of tea.

I completely disagree that JLS might be better for @TongZ’s child just because it’s a public school, or that another approach might not be demonstrably better for that individual’s child. The nature of public school is that it isn’t possible to individualize education (or at least, that’s what we were told when we tried). And yet, there are even public school programs that function like homeschooling to allow just that, individualized education. As much as I think those programs are amazing, they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, even though like JLS, they are public school programs open to everyone. I hope that is more clear.


@TongZ has asked about a range of schools with very different educational philosophies, so it’s not clear what their priorities are in education. Not knowing those priorities, I started by pointing out that different schools are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, i.e., not going to be the right choice for every person even under perfect circumstances.

But the odd defensiveness of your post does bring up a troubling problem in PAUSD that I do not yet see solved, and which can get much worse in middle school, which is that if someone’s child has a problem, even if the law provides that the district is supposed to accommodate a special need, or the child is gifted and their educational needs are not being met, we saw a lot of such unwarranted undefensiveness, claiming others don’t have the problem so it must be their own fault, making the issue about the school rather than solving the child’s need, etc, rather than prioritizing helping the child, has been one of the biggest downsides to PAUSD upper level education. (I think most of the PAUSD elementary schools are tighter communities where teachers and parents work together to solve problems more collaboratively, at least in my experience.). Private schools may not be any better at accommodating a special need, even a special need like gifted education. It just depends on the school, the educational approach, the needs of the individual.

Again, @TongZ has not specified why they are looking so it’s hard to know how to respond. We listened to the diverse array of feedback such as above and unfortunately put too much emphasis on those who, like you, had good experiences in our middle schools. Ours was pretty traumatizing, and unfortunately we did not know we had other options that @TongZ doesn’t seem to be aware of either. In hindsight, pulling out of PAUSD for any kind of individualized education like homeschool in middle school would have been far better for our child.

Your denigrating attitude toward “special snowflakes” can also be common in the district and a problem for gifted children. A lot of people seek alternative programs, including private and homeschooling, because their children may be gifted. Our district no longer has GATE (gifted and talented) programs, and has so lost any understanding of what gifted (and 2e) education is and why it is important (including to minimize depression among gifted students), the district website conflates gifted programs with offering lots of APs.

That’s what happened to us. Our child was made to feel stupid, wasn’t doing well, was overwhelmed by homework yet bored, and unhappy to be in class with students who were mostly focused on grades rather than on learning. When we left and were able to individualize education, standardized test scores went up (WAY up), said child was able to accelerate virtually all learning areas and have a broader experience, and is far, far happier. PAUSD could have done this in the school, but because our child didn’t fit the academic superstar mold, said child was treated like an underachiever, even though later testing showed student is “profoundly gifted”, and in a different kind of educational structure, excelled dramatically compared to being in PAUSD. I highly recommend this editorial by a PAUSD student about the perils of abandoning any understanding of gifted education Web Link

If we had stayed in the public school system, it’s a certainty that our child’s options and potential would have been largely wasted and/or harmed BECAUSE of the approach of the local public schools. It works for some kids, and it works well. It doesn’t work for everyone, and I think the number for whom it isn’t working is far larger than people realize, because so many students just accept that high school must be a grind or miserable to be any good, or that their struggling child is just not as “smart” as those for whom it works.

Math education in PAUSD was in particular a disaster from start to finish for our child. That’s one of the particular reasons we wish we had not gone to PAUSD for middle school.

But my point again, to @TongZ, is that you can decide to start in the PAUSD middle school without risk — if it turns out you made a mistake, you can simply pull your child out and find independent education options permanently or while you look for the right private program. The law allows it. My child had a great experience in PAUSD elementary but starting begging to be taken out in 6th, and I wish I had prepared enough to have been able to make the decision then instead of after 8th. The best time to explore educationally, in my opinion, is in middle school.

Good luck @TongZ! Thanks for starting this thread. I remember many people with the same soul searching. I think for a lot of them, as the JLS parent says, going to public school works out fine here. If it doesn’t, you have many options you may not even realize. Oh, by the way, have you looked at DTech High in San Mateo district? (Also a public school, but more focused on individualizing education. Hard to get in now from out of district, though.)

Thank you for defending the “yes, JLS is for everyone”. Actually it’s not. And that’s okay. Is working at Apple for everyone? No. Does that make JLS a bad school? No. But will every kid thrive there? No.

Some kids have learning differences and need special help JLS can’t provode, for example. Some kids need a smaller teacher:student ratio. Not everyone can be served by public schools. Again, that’s okay! Doesn’t make a parent or student or family less important. Our current situation may mean pulling our child out of public school even though we don’t want to.

I actually attended JLS and loved it so this is not to bash it at all.

"You also tend to meet a better class of people at the more renowned private schools. "

That would depend on how one defines "a better class of people." Presumably it means the more elite elitist class, whose members tend to summarily snub anyone they regard as their inferior. Therefore thoroughly research each social milieu in advance to avoid needless humiliation and wasted time. There is much more at stake for you in this enterprise than for your child.

To the person who gasped at my mild suggestion about boarding high schools, you must not be well traveled. They are out there, some are distinguished and outstanding. Nothing to do with poor family life.

You realize that fine private boarding high schools offer scholarships, right? We know two international ones that are not as 1% as you’d think. Life changing fine education, friends from all over. I disagree with the accusation of snobbery. Did you know Castinused to be a boarding school?

When my kids were elementary school, I would often read comments on this board like "PAUSD is great for kids in elementary school but goes downhill fast in middle school and high school, where the teachers are horrible, the kids are stressed out and miserable, etc.".

Now that I have actually seen my children go through three years of JLS, I know that those extremely negative comments about PAUSD middle schools are far off the mark. Having met all my kids' teachers over a three year period, I have been impressed with how passionate they are about their jobs and how much they honestly care about their students. I'm sure there are some teachers that aren't as great--as there are at both private and public schools--but I'm grateful that we've had good luck with who has taught our children. And what my kids have told me about their experience has been consistent with our good impressions of the teachers.

I appreciate that the district might work best for academically-oriented kids who are quick learners and stay out of trouble. Then again, it's also probably true that education in general, at all levels, probably works best for students like this. In any case, the posts above made by parents who found better solutions for kids outside the district obviously come after some difficult experiences in PAUSD for their kids. Clearly, some kids do get left behind and struggle in the PAUSD middle schools.

I'm just saying that despite these negative examples, the schools are a fantastic place for many of our students. Certainly better than the suburban middle school I went to, where fistfights, racial slurs, and all kinds of horribleness were much shockingly commonplace.

>> "a better class of people." Presumably it means the more elite elitist class, whose members tend to summarily snub anyone they regard as their inferior.

All classes of people do this. Even the lower class people snub other lower class people who they feel are inferior.

It's human nature.

@ Another - "When my kids were elementary school, I would often read comments on this board like "PAUSD is great for kids in elementary school but goes downhill fast in middle school and high school, where the teachers are horrible, the kids are stressed out and miserable, etc.". Now that I have actually seen my children go through three years of JLS, I know that those extremely negative comments about PAUSD middle schools are far off the mark."

That's the conventional wisdom, and I agree it is off the mark, but for the opposite reason. The elementary schools are totally overrated and are mostly glorified day care. The math curriculum is a joke, and without tracking teachers are forced to teach to the bottom (which is now an official political mandate as well). Without the aggressive parental supplementation (which shouldn't have to happen), the kids would be learning very little. Go look how packed the Mathnasiums, Kumons, Coding and Chinese schools are in the afternoon to see where much of the learning happens. The elementary schools are mostly "nice" but not that good. Given the quality of kids and resources, PAUSD just underperforms.

Also, people are so obsessed with their home valuations in Palo Alto, that they dread any criticism of the schools because it literally threatens their livelihood.

Thank you, @Another, I think endeavoring to ensure all kids at JLS have that kind of experience should be a priority of the new superintendent. I think politics from above had a lot to do with otherwise good teachers and site administrators behaving in a reprehensible and damaging manner, and also just a lack of an upstander culture when challenged. We witnessed teachers saying their mind to a whole roomful of people then claiming in front of the principal that they would never say that.

The fact that many kids do fine in that kind of educational model can make teachers feel that everything is fine and the problem with everyone else is them. The one thing I would push back on about the above is that the district actually has a legal responsibility to accommodate learning differences, special needs that may affect learning (including medical), and teachers have a responsibility under the Childfind Provision (IDEA, I believe) to proactively identify students who need accommodations, apprise families of their rights, and extend accommodations. Because studies show this is cheaper overall in the long run and better for the kids. Unfortunately, our district culture has created a situation in which the district is willing to spend far more on legal fees fighting families to NOT develop a culture that individualizes education and accommodates needs so that everyone the district has a responsibility to educate reaches their creative potential (as the district's vision aspires to do).

So, while the district has this responsibility under the law, the reality is that only parents who have a lot of money can fight the district if their child needs accommodations, and sometimes even if they win, administrators can retaliate in how the local site sees and connects (or not) with the family and child, and create a hostile environment. I know more families than I could count on both hands who have left the district, traumatized, because of that treatment. I have known even more who decided on private school to just focus their efforts and money on moving forward with what their child needs in a situation that is more collaborative for their family. Some of those have chosen one private school, then moved to another private school, or chosen independent learning centers in combination with homeschooling. The point is, they may have had rights in the district, but in reality the district has violated the law to make it necessary for many to fight for those rights and in the process, still effectively denying them. At some point, parents just have to choose to do what's best for their child, even if they have to walk away from a legally due FAPE that they are even paying for in their taxes.

It's hard not to notice that among high school homeschoolers locally, it's about two to one boys to girls. So a girl may have a better chance of fitting in the educational structure (although the student who wrote the editorial about how the district is failing to meet the needs of gifted students, in some ways harming them, is a girl).

Again, you know your child. If your child is a lot like the children who are thriving in the local schools, and there are many, then things should be fine. You really are risking nothing if you try the local school, if it doesn't work out, it's not like private school where you lose your tuition. And you have a legal right to simply pull your child out and file a private school affidavit, and just independently educate your child until you can transition the child to a better match. In middle school, there's really no down side to that. In high school, it gets a little dicier because of college application. The best time to explore educationally is middle school.

Palo Alto Middle and High Schools are large so your student and you are not going to get the attention that's available in a private school. However, it is possible to get a more rigorous academic education because of the greater offering and high caliper of some of the students. It's not Harker or Stanford Online HS, but it's decent. On the other hand, if your student wants athletics opportunities and a average education, it's better in most private schools.

@john_alderman: Elementary schools in PAUSD are good. It's the Asian immigrant kids who are doing the major supplementing, as they always do, even in China. The only reason it's really necessary to supplement was the Everyday Math program, which has now been replaced, but by another deficient program, perhaps. They really should choose Singapore Math next time. We lived in the Midwest and my children attended public schools considered good. The teaching was so deficient that in 3rd grade, we went to Disney World many times and he missed 30 days of school. But it didn't matter because they weren't teaching much anyway. The only private school option was the Catholic system, which we tried and rejected for its strict, unreasonable control over the students.

We were more disappointed with the Jordan teachers. Paly teachers are mostly okay. However, the AP teachers expect too much and are the reason for the overload on stress. When students can get a 4/5 on the AP Test yet get a "C" in the class, something is wrong. My children said that their professors are so much better than their AP teachers were. I think the AP teachers use the AP status as an excuse for teaching less. My teens had to get tutors and figure out a lot of stuff on their own while their professors in college teach well. Sure, there are some decent AP teachers, not all are bad. But I can guarantee that the AP teachers in the midwest don't expect as much from their students as the PAUSD teacher do.

Singapore Math is great. That’s what my kids use & we’ve been really happy with it.

> If your children won't be dealing with certain types of individuals as adults, there's no point in associating with them now.

This is true and it has nothing to do with feeling (or being) superior. Everyone lives in their own world and it is oftentimes best to primarily associate with those who share the same plane.

"You also tend to meet a better class of people at the more renowned private schools."

You most certainly do. As an AARF (African American Republican Female) who attended Andover on a grant scholarship, many opportunities arose for me to meet interesting and well-educated people. I would never have had those options had I remained where I was born...in an impoverished black Detroit urban ghetto.

I was also fortunate in having been able to remove myself from the ghetto and attend Princeton upon my completion of preparatory school. While I may have been a 'token' acceptee to some of my fellow students at Andover, the escape was well worth any possible scrutiny.

Today I am an associate professor of literature and happily married to a internist (who happens to be white). We have two lovely children who are also planning to attend eastern prep schools except that in their case, they will not be granted acceptance as a token black student as they both look white in overall appearance and as parents, my husband and I now have the connections and available financial resources to accomodate their needs.

I shudder to think what might have happened had I remained in a black Detroit urban ghetto amongst the ubiquitous poverty and illicit street activities. So yes, connections do matter and you do meet a higher grade of people at most prestigeous prep schools. For me it was like comparing inner Richmond to the Piedmont hills.

Agree - the elementary schools are fine. PAUSD doesn’t manage the middle schools, that’s where you want to get off.

Why experiment with something broken?

When we were shopping around for a home in Palo Alto, the RE agent told us that the PAUSD educational offerings were akin to that of an exclusive private school. What a load of bull (but typical RE agent doublespeak).

Our two middle school aged kids are now at Pinewood (Los Altos) and the older one at Menlo School (Menlo Park).

It naturally costs more but has none of the petty distractions and issues of attending a PAUSD 'educational' facility. The upoming election speaks for itself.

@Been There -- your posting sums up our children's experiences too at Palo about 16 years ago. AP teachers pouring on the work -- getting a C for the courses but a 5 on the actual AP test. Some teachers were good but the AP physics at that time was teach yourself. Sounds like not much has changed and no wonder our students are stressed.

>...the RE agent told us that the PAUSD educational offerings were akin to that of an exclusive private school. What a load of bull...

So another prospective PA home buyer fell for that line...amazing.

Perhaps a key reason why some of the newer families from China are seeking a school board candidate that truly reflects the best interests of their children.

My husband and I sent our two children to private eastern boarding schools back in the 1980s. It worked out well in that they received a quality education and made lifetime friends.

This arrangement also allowed my husband and I to keep the 'spark' in our marriage. Not having kids around the house before/after school afforded various opportunities like private vacations, weekend getaways and time to pursue our individual hobbies and interests.

We only saw our kids during the Christmas/New Year's holiday as they generally made their own arrangements for the short Thanksgiving time-off and early spring breaks (usually group ski trips to the Rockies). During the summer months, we would take a one-week family vacation and then they would pursue other outlets like being camp counselors (often at an eastern resort area).

All in all, they appreciated the personal freedom as well. Unbeknownst to us (until later), they would often sneak-up to the NYC clubs during school weekends and party with their friends. At times, I became a bit concerned about the alcohol and drugs but they always managed to stay in control and out of trouble.

Today one is a sales engineer having completed his BSEE at Boston College and the other went to Northwestern where he received both his BA in Political Science and an MBA from he Kellogg School of Business. They did OK and our marriage is still going strong.

Sometimes you have to farm the kids out or it can ruin a marriage depending on the dynamics of the relationship.

@Prep school works. -- is this for real? Why have kids in the first place when you don't want them around?

>>> @Prep school works. -- is this for real? Why have kids in the first place when you don't want them around?

It wasn't that we didn't want them around. We just didn't want them around all the time.

While it may sound selfish to you (and perhaps others), it's really no different than parents of another era who had governesses and/or tutors who handled most of the child rearing and various recreational outlets. The only difference is that we sent ours away to school. It's not only a common European practice but in some circles, an American one as well. If other parents around the country weren't doing the same, there would no private boarding schools, right? And it takes money to do so.

Besides, there are exclusive private boarding schools right here in the SF Bay Area as well and it would be unfair to brand the parents of these 'away from home' students as non-caring individuals. Many do care, but in their own special way. Our decision was based on our children getting a quality education while establishing good connections and an academic pedigree of sorts. That it allowed my husband and I more personal 'free-time' was just an added bonus.

Incidentally, I should also mention that my two sons met and eventually married young women from prominent eastern families who were also attending private prep schools in Connecticut. You're not going to get that at Paly or Gunn as most students attending public schools generally meet their future spouses at college or through work later down the road.

The upper middle class eastern world of prep schools and socializing is a far cry from what is commonly offered and available on the west coast...it's an entirely different universe and it's not necessarily an ideal scenario for every student as these institutions have their share of drop-outs and renegades as well.

I think prep school and homeschooling/independent education, even though they are so different, work best if the student is choosing it, otherwise children may not do well. This is not about whether a child IS independent or not - that’s a fixed mindset. Even people who think their kids do better with external direction, cannot know their kid couldn’t work well independently because they’ve never worked on it. It’s learned, and for most people, very hard to do in a very entrenched traditional schooling model. Prep school is kind of the extreme of pushing the independence from the breaking-the-family-bonds side of things, which tends to lead to a lot of that rebellious behaviour if students don’t choose it. I think middle school is a littl early for a student to know that’s what they want because of the lifelong emotional implications, but there are cultures where it’s the norm, as the previous poster says.

The one thing about homeschool/independent education that is truly helpful for college is how it teaches - no surprise - independence. But it does so quite differently from school. School requires a lot of constant external direction from people at school, so they find it easiest to tell parents to exit the picture. The trouble is that students are basically distancing themselves from their families in order to allow a strengthening of dependence on school, where there is less emotional connection. School can’t help but maintaining the dependence, the current model of education was based on creating compliant workers, it was designed that way.

So schools often make the misguided effort to, in many ways, damage family emotional bonds thinking it’s the only way for kids to become independent. You can hear and read about how colleges are getting kids who can’t think or do for themselves - and most keep blaming parents. Except what I see in independent education (public AND private, this is not about whether schools themselves are involved, just what model of education) is that families can actually be closer as part of kids becoming more independent. It’s really heartbreaking to hear from the Palo Alto families for whom the educational model is not working, and how their kids don’t have a life, and worse, how it hurts their relationships. I heard from a college administrator who said that the homeschoolers generally are much more independent, because that’s usually the premise of their educational model. If you look at the difference between graduate school and undergraduate, that’s kind of the distinction - academic overhead that is really for the needs of the system is minimized so students have time to do creative work and major projects. But I think it can only work well if students and parents are on the same page about it, because independent education takes away a lot of the constraints that people get used to - and gives control to the student for their own learning.

I think there are good boarding schools, and I even know one homeschool family where the daughter chose to go to a boarding school, after identifying it and making the choice herself. But if you have money for boarding school, and private school, then you have money for “ala carte” education, such as, for example, some Stanford OHS, some community college, some real-world education such as outdoor science programs one day a week in various fields, or arts education not possible when kids are in school. In fact, there are so many options, a major complaint I hear is how easy it is to take on too much. Which is of course a common experience in high school, too, but in independent education, students drive all the choices - in itself a great life lesson when the kids are making all the choices of how to spend their efforts and time instead of so many constrained choices as in school.

I personally think middle school is too early for prep school, and it wouldn’t be my cup of tea or my student’s. If you can afford to get help for independent education, that can also make for a lot of freedom for the whole family, and freedom for the parents if that is their wish, even as it allows families to be closer. This is often cited by homeschool families as a main benefit of homeschooling.

Regardless of what you choose, middle school is a good time to experiment with educational choices at home, to try different styles of private education, to homeschool, to travel school. It can be hard to experiment in high school, not impossible, just harder.

Oh, there are even private schools that have full-time students, but also ala carte education students who may attend only a few or one day a week. Some have semester-long classes, like Live Oak or Stanford OHS, and others have a more student-driven model, like Fusion or SIL.

@Truth in Advertising,

I think in elementary school, there are some ways PAUSD schools can be better than private schools. But it depends. It depends on the parent community, on the school educational approach, and how well a match the child is to that approach. The reason I say this is because elementary schools tend to be a better community of collaboration between parents and teachers than upper grades.

As you get into middle school, there are just a lot of teachers who don't see any reason to pay attention to working with parents and even resent it, and seem to have no knowledge at all of the significant ways the California ed code encourages parent participation and even rights. The private schools you've mentioned have a reputation for being very family focused, and probably allow more student autonomy than our public schools.

I think the real estate agent was not wrong when it comes to comparing the district to some private schools. The trouble is that the district is a taxpayer funded public school, and many of its drawbacks actually come from its aspiring to be like a private school instead of a fabulous public school that serves to help every child reach their creative potential (district's own vision). The choice programs that district has at the elementary level provide something unique that many people leave for private school to get — and were started because of parents -- but those choice programs don't have the commitment to those visions in middle school, as they start funneling kids into the same high school program.

If the commitment to the Ohlone vision were maintained through middle school and high school, we might have a choice program akin to Menlo School at the high school level. The district does have the resources, it's just suffered from a crisis of administrative culture. The district has been quietly making independent education possible for some people under the table and (illegally so, unfortunately) not for others the staff don't like as much. Which is too bad, because it's usually the people who don't fit in the schools (and thus more likely to run afoul of the compliant student/family expectations) who really need the independent education. It would be possible to make such a program broadly available, almost overnight.

Against my wife's better wishes, I am sending our 12 year-old son to a military academy. It will teach him order and discipline in addition to offering quality academics and various sports outlets.

There will be more wars involving US participation in the future and while it is my hope that our son never has to be actively involved in one, I want him to be fully prepared by having a solid understanding of military science and what it takes to successfully defeat a relentless enemy.

Attending military school also provides a sound pedigree for becoming an officer in the event he is ever called or volunteers for service. Being a grunt is no picnic.

At present, my son is looking forward to the experience as he will get to wear a uniform and also learn how to safely and effectively operate firearms during marksmanship training. I have tried to instill in him that weapons are only to be used for killing foreign enemies of the United States...not animals, tin cans or other American citizens (unless he happens to be a law enforcement officer in the line of duty where no other option is a feasible consideration). Respect for weaponry and awareness of its destructive power is paramount.

I am a retired USMC Lt. Colonel and while the military is not for everyone, someone's got to go out there to serve and protect the citizens of the United States. I would like my son to be well be prepared but in the event he opts to be a bohemian poet later down the road, I have no problem with that either. At least he will understand that there are those protecting his Bill of Rights.

@Semper Fidelis,
Thank you for your service. My father and two brothers served, one USAFA. I appreciate your reasons, but I think it works best if it is your son's idea and your wife is on board. We had a friend who sent their son to military academy for order and discipline that he clearly needed, and he developed a drug problem that ultimately killed him. I am not saying that's cause and effect from the military academy, however, in his case, in hindsight, he may have needed something different. My brother got an absolutely top notch education in the USAFA. But that was college, and students were there to achieve -- a lot of people send their school age kids to military academies because they think the kids are unruly and they want someone else to discipline them. Your son will be immersed in an environment with a very different kind of student than if he goes to a military academy for college.

Aren't there ROTC programs or Civil Air Patrol where he can get the skills and discipline, while also respecting your wife's judgement? I have several nieces and nephews in Civil Air Patrol (different state) and it's been a positive experience for all of them. But they were already disciplined, good kids with good sense. They brought those things to the experience rather than expecting them to come from the experience, which unfortunately is what a lot of parents who send younger kids to military school expect. Your son is young enough that he's going to pick up values from peers in a disproportionate way. I think you have good reasons for what you are doing, but as with all other educational alternatives, they work best if the whole family, especially the student, is not only agreeing to it, but is the one driving the decision.

Someone has to serve, for sure, but why not prioritize learning how to be a diplomat while ensuring he gets self-defense and safe firearms training? I think middle school is the best time to experiment with education, but kids are still developing emotionally at that age. And the likelihood that his peers in military school will be there because the parents want someone else to deal with a discipline problem is higher than college military programs. Why middle school?

BTW, my brother who was USAFA, did not participate in our high school's JROTC program, nor did he have any experience with riflery or guns, or really anything related. He wasn't even a jock, although he was athletic. He had an unusual background in electronics for his age and was really smart and hardworking. They put them through basic training when they go to military academy, it's not necessary to have a military academy k-12 background.

Private school expensive. Public school better if academics are good and needs of students covered.

We vote for Kathy Jordan. She make better Palo Alto middle schools and high schools.

> We vote for Kathy Jordan. She make better Palo Alto middle schools and high schools.

Please elaborate as I am somewhat unclear on these PAUSD candidate platforms.

Lastly and back to topic, middle school is always a peculiar time in an adolescent's life as it is an intermediary step between grammar school and high school. Lots of stuff going on.

While private schools are great for those who can afford it, we will opt for private tutoring in the event our child's academic development begins to fall off.

@Public school parent

You can link to one or all of the candidate forums for school board through the Weekly site or the LWV site. You don't have to watch all of them, but it's extremely instructive to watch at least one. I think for the first time in memory, you really can take the candidates' statements about themselves and their intentions at face value. The debates are very helpful.

My feeling is that Kathy Jordan is the board member least likely to go along to get along when the board is faced with problems, and if the last 15 years has demonstrated anything, we need that. They can't be allowed to backtrack on the coverup culture. The broad support Jordan has gotten from the community shows that a lot of people are still having problems and things are not all hunky dory. A school district is a public organization that serves everyone; beware of anyone who thinks it's even desirable to aim for having no problems (they should aim for handling problems with transparency and partnership with all stakeholders).

I think private tutoring is great, but what you are doing if you have to hire tutors is basically "double-schooling". One thing that homeschoolers say is an advantage of homeschooling is that they can make a lot better use of their time.

There are public homeschool/school hybrids in the Bay Area, where the kids have the ability to take a few classes at the local school, if they want, but they do their other work independently under the aegis of independent study teachers. This is somewhat similar to DTech in San Mateo, where, for example, if the school doesn't offer the advanced math your child wants to take, or can't provide the right instructional approach for something your child needs, they let you take your kid out early and go get the instruction from an independent educational vendor who can provide it. They let you individualize your child's education.

I wish PAUSD would make that generally available. They do for some people (part of that whole some families are better than others favoratism which is kind of shocking in a public district), but it would be nice if there was an above-board program. Then your child wouldn't have to both take a class and spend their time in tutoring, they could learn in a more effective way that values their time.

Posted by Los Altos Parent, a resident of Los Altos

>> We send our daughter to Pinewood in Los Altos. The school is devoted to quality academics and has an excellent athletics program.

I'm glad their program suits you. I hope it suits your daughter as well.

>> Public schools today are way too diversified and the school boards overly political.

Public schools are legally required to accommodate various kinds of students with various special needs. Is that what bothers you?

>> You also tend to meet a better class of people at the more renowned private schools.

There are lots of wealthy parents in PAUSD schools, -also-.


Posted by john_alderman, a resident of Crescent Park

>> To narrow down what Los Altos Parent said, at the private schools you mentioned, all the kids are smart, so they can move much faster. All the schools are diverse racially. Harker is majority minority.

Racially diverse, but, all the kids "are smart", and, apparently, are not special needs kids with learning disabilities, ADHD, and so on-- is that correct?

>> [...] Too much teaching to the bottom in PAUSD.

Says it all.

>> The broad support Jordan has gotten from the community shows that a lot of people are still having problems and things are not all hunky dory.
>>> Public schools are legally required to accommodate various kinds of students with various special needs.

Which is why so many to vote for Kathy Jordan. She believe in helping Chinese students get ahead.

Posted by Liang Hu, a resident of Greenmeadow

>> >>> Public schools are legally required to accommodate various kinds of students with various special needs.

>> Which is why so many to vote for Kathy Jordan. She believe in helping Chinese students get ahead.

I'm not sure where you are going with this. Can you be more explicit?

Kathy Jordan is only voice in PAUSD for Chinese parents and students.

She promote our children rights for better education by acknowledging Chinese culture. That is 'special need'. Must not be overlooked.

^^^^ Is there a difference between 'special needs' and preferential considerations?

I would like to believe that every student is getting a fair shake in PA public schools. Then again, I could be mistaken as I am not a recently arrived resident from overseas.

Posted by Liang Hu, a resident of Greenmeadow

>> She promote our children rights for better education by acknowledging Chinese culture. That is 'special need'. Must not be overlooked.

"Special Needs" in education generally refers to students with disabilities. Web Link Relevant laws include (from the link):

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973: guaranteed civil rights to all disabled people and required accommodations for disabled students in schools.

The 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act (EHA)

The 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

The 2001/2004 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)


PAUSD has gotten in legal trouble over the last 10 years by reducing its commitment to special needs students. Some of the resulting issues have been chronicled in the Weekly/Palo Alto Online.

> "Special Needs" in education generally refers to students with disabilities.

All kind of special needs. Chinese ones just as important when it come to school and place in community. We pay more for Palo Alto house so expect some consideration as well.

Shu Wen, please consider that calling "Chinese culture" a special need does a disservice to the kids here who are disabled and truly require special help. It is extremely difficult and trying to raise a child with special needs, and our public schools need to help those families. All children are different, but "special needs" has a well-defined meaning. That said, our schools of course should be inclusive of all cultures.

>>> ^^^^ Is there a difference between 'special needs' and preferential considerations?

>>> I would like to believe that every student is getting a fair shake in PA public schools. Then again, I could be mistaken as I am not a recently arrived resident from overseas.

I suspect that there is some disgruntlement amongst the PA Chinese community that their children's educational needs are being inadequately met in the PAUSD.

As I am not familiar with the cultural parameters and expectations, this is an issue that will have to be investigated by the district in regards to validity and improvements (if any).

To date, Ms. Jordan has assured PA Chinese voters that she will work on their behalf to ensure that their wishes are met.

Now getting back to topic and keeping this issue in perspective...perhaps it is time for the newly-arrived Chinese residents to create or charter private schools that reflect their concerns and interests. I can think of no other way in that the needs of all Palo Alto students must be addressed and perhaps this is a 'specialized' situation.

Before Ken Dauber was first elected to the Board of Education in 2014, he did have children attending PAUSD. But by 2014, he only had his youngest child in K-12 (the rest were 23, 23, 27, according to public info), and that child had been going to private school since middleschool. So he has had ZERO children going to PAUSD while serving on the board. Apparently, by 2012, Mr Dauber knew enough about PAUSD to send his only school-age child to private school for middle school, and later for high school. That says a lot about PAUSD.

Posted by Shu Wen, a resident of Charleston Meadows

>> > "Special Needs" in education generally refers to students with disabilities.

>> All kind of special needs. Chinese ones just as important when it come to school and place in community. We pay more for Palo Alto house so expect some consideration as well.

As noted previously, "special needs" has a specific meaning in the education world.

Getting back to your point, the job of the School Board is to determine policies and budget. What, specifically, with respect to policies and budget, would you like to change from what things are currently?

[Post removed due to same poster using multiple names]

Posted by Zhao Feng, a resident of Leland Manor/Garland Drive

>> > What, specifically, with respect to policies and budget, would you like to >> change from what things are currently?

>> Kathy Jordan know best what to change.

Are you saying that you don't know what the policy stance of a candidate is, but, you support that candidate anyway, because the candidate knows what is best for you? [Portion removed.]

Kathy Jordan must be conveying a very strong persona amongst the Chinese voters in the upcoming PAUSD election. More power to her considering some of the recent attacks by her opponents.

Since I no longer have kids in school, I'm leaving this one blank. Doesn't concern me.

I suspect the same person(s) is behind @Anon and the Chinese-sounding usernames @Shu Wen, @Liang Hu, and @Zhao Feng. These posts sound like non-Chinese trying to imitate Chinglish but are not doing a good job. @Shu Wen, @Liang Hu, and @Zhao Feng, could you make your points in Chinese? I apologize if you’re really Chinese, but if that’s the case, you could at least get your points across more clearly in Chinese, albeit to a smaller audience.

> ...you could at least get your points across more clearly in Chinese, albeit to a smaller audience.

Curious. If they did so, wouldn't some detractors cite postings in Chinese as a failure to assimilate?

Lastly, being a predominantly English-reading community here, responses in Chinese would only be understandable by a limited readership. Is that what you are advocating? If so, it sounds a bit like exclusionism which may (or may not) be the crux of their parental/student concerns.

@PA Voter, You have missed the point I made in my comments above. I'm still curiously awaiting those Chinese-sounding usernames to make at least some comments in Chinese to dispel my suspicion. To avoid sounding "exclusionism" (whatever that is), maybe they could post some comments in both English and Chinese.

Wow. That would be some next level trolling.

@Shu Wen writes: “We pay more for Palo Alto house so expect some consideration as well”


Ah , ha, ha, ha!!! You think the rest of us haven’t paid a fortune for our house? Trust me, you’re no different than the rest of us, and therefore there is no special consideration. If Kathy Jordan is telling you that you deserve special treatment because you paid a lot, she is fooling you.

We all paid a lot to live here.

...paying a lot for your house doesn’t get you to the front of the line.

Because there is no line for special treatment.

Think of it more like a community where people work together to make a better place. Paying a lot for your house will get you in the community. That’s all. If you want that experience to be something special, you have to put time , effort, and money into making it special.

>> could you make your points in Chinese?

Kathy Jordan represent 勇气
She is 龙 when it come to taking stand.
She fight 火 to ensure rights.

The school board sets -policies-.

Kathy Jordan supports what 政策 ?

My mother (Liang) asked me to translate an earlier post by another contributor.

Kathy Jordan represents COURAGE.
She is a DRAGON when it comes to taking a stand.
She fights FIRE to ensure rights.

All very noble attributes.

Jason need to improve his native Chinese. Correction.

>>> She is a TIGER when it come to taking stand.

No video games for him tonight.

>> Kathy Jordan supports what 政策 ?

She fight 火 to ensure rights of all students. Not just Chinese.

In response to @TongZ original question:
Every child is unique, and the decision one makes for a child should be a family
decision, not a community decision. As a community, we should support a family's
decision for their children.
You know your child best, and as a parent you want what is best for your child. So
research the school choices and make an informed decision. What class you belong
to doesn't matter.
I'd discourage community input as you may not get the whole story.
Also, the Board elections should not affect your decision.
Be proud, flexible, and take responsibility for your decision.

^ See Google for difference between 龙 dragon and 虎 tiger.
(if browser supports extended character set)
Always fun trying to learn new things here.

@Shu Wen, @Liang Hu, Your dismal skills in Chinese proved that you are indeed not Chinese as I suspected and are simply impersonating a Chinese immigrant by writing in bad English. Anybody can use Google Translator to get a few discrete words or phrases translated into any language. Even @Anon is able to do that.

Back to topic and away from the PAUSD election and language authenticity debate...

> But don't even bother applying if you aren't white Anglo upper middle class or higher. That "better class of people" is very fussy about who it lets its offspring associate with.
>>Presumably it means the more elite elitist class, whose members tend to summarily snub anyone they regard as their inferior.

In addition to ideally getting a better education, isn't this also one of the primary reasons for attending an exclusive private school? Some of the earlier responses seem to indicate so.

Or as another poster wrote...
>>>All classes of people do this. Even the lower class people snub other lower class people who they feel are inferior. It's human nature.

While I'm not endorsing this kind of mentality, it seems to come with the territory as some parents apparently feel that excessively dwelling on diversity is highly over-rated in terms of the big picture. Besides, many private schools have minority quotas and grants to compensate for this oversight, if any.

"Your dismal skills in Chinese proved that you are indeed not Chinese as I suspected and are simply impersonating a Chinese immigrant by writing in bad English."


Articles (e.g. a, an, the, etc.) are not of common usage in traditional Chinese language. As a result, certain translations from Chinese into English can often sound rough. We have frequently encountered these idioms in Confucian phrases, fortune cookies and while watching Hop Sing converse with the Cartwrights on Bonanza (for those old enough to remember).

Cross-language variances can also be reflected in the use of double negatives. While it is considered improper English to use them, they are considered an essential element in languages such as Spanish.

Anyone who has traveled to Hawaii has probably encountered 'pidgen'. It is neither English nor Hawaiian but rather a haphazard mixture of both languages and anyone who questioned whether the speaker was an actual Hawaiian islander would probably be scoffed at as a fool.

That said, this thread sort of got hijacked by becoming a platform of sorts for an upcoming school board election and a collective group of concerned citizens.

No biggie. BTW, I went to a semi-private school in Hawaii...Punahou.

Where I come from, private schools were for students who couldn't cut it in public school.

Seems to be the same here, apparently.

Can you guys please delete this racist "Shu Wen" crap? It's very obviously some idiot thinking he's being funny by impersonating an Asian immigrant. Thank you.

> It's very obviously some idiot thinking he's being funny by impersonating an Asian immigrant.

An unfair assessment unless we are absolutely sure. My great-grandfather used to speak in that manner as English was a second language and difficult for him to master.

Many parents in the PA Chinese community (especially the newer residents) are highly concerned about their children's education, preparation for college and the PAUSD's efforts to ensure their success.

I should note...this is not a major issue for Chinese families who have been here for multiple generations. There is a language barrier of sorts going on amongst the newly arrived Chinese and perhaps something is being lost in the translation and interpretation of key issues pertinent to their concerns.

Kathy Jordan has apparently addressed these concerns effectively.

>...excessively dwelling on diversity is highly over-rated in terms of the big picture. Besides, many private schools have minority quotas and grants to compensate for this oversight, if any.

Yes. Having attended a private school myself, there were always some individuals who were accepted on a 'special needs' basis. Some were minority students and others received financial assistance. All were very bright and worthy of acceptance.

Associating with people of diversity works well when they share common goals and aspirations. Associating with the ones who don't is usually counterproductive and in many cases, a waste of time and energy. What's the point of associating with those that you will probably never cross paths with later in life whether they be in social, vocational and/or educational surroundings?

David Chang,

Come on. Read the post from "Shu Wen" below. Anyone with any decent knowledge of Chinese (I'm assuming you don't know Chinese or perhaps didn't see the post below) would know that this was not written by a native speaker, just some bozo trying to be funny using Google Translate.

------------

>> could you make your points in Chinese?

Kathy Jordan represent 勇气
She is 龙 when it come to taking stand.
She fight 火 to ensure rights.

Posted by David Chang, a resident of Embarcadero Oaks/Leland

>> I should note...this is not a major issue for Chinese families who have been here for multiple generations. There is a language barrier of sorts going on amongst the newly arrived Chinese and perhaps something is being lost in the translation and interpretation of key issues pertinent to their concerns.

I, for one, would actually like to understand what these concerns really are, and, why the recently arrived feel that their concerns are not being addressed. PAUSD students have the option of taking just about all AP classes their junior and senior years, for example. Lack of academic opportunities doesn't seem to be an issue. There must be other issues.

>> Kathy Jordan has apparently addressed these concerns effectively.

Apparently she has marketed herself that way. Until we understand what the actual concerns are, it is a little difficult to assess whether she has addressed them effectively, and, will, if elected to the school board.

>> I, for one, would actually like to understand what these concerns really are, and, why the recently arrived feel that their concerns are not being addressed.

They sense prejudice and resentment towards their children's academic success and overall presence in the PAUSD.

While equality can be legislated, the elimination of prejudice cannot.

As increasing numbers of wealthy Chinese families settle into Palo Alto, this issue will probably diminish somewhat. Call it strength in numbers as certain demographic %s will be altered over time.

Thank you! Everyone, who shared a lot of wonderful experience and comments. I am interested in hearing from parents or grandparents who had sent their kids to these private schools, and welcome the more recent views for these school. I checked out all these private schools, knowing their philosophy. My first child went through Public school system, I was disappointed not just by the system but rather myself.

>> They sense prejudice and resentment towards their children's academic success and overall presence in the PAUSD.

>> While equality can be legislated, the elimination of prejudice cannot.

>> As increasing numbers of wealthy Chinese families settle into Palo Alto, this issue will probably diminish somewhat. Call it strength in numbers as certain demographic %s will be altered over time.

Why do you frame this as prejudice?

Many Chinese families who come here do not understand the American educational system and expect our schools to bend to their needs. China has a very different culture and school system based on rote learning and teaching for the exam with less critical thinking, and a lack of creativity and most of all challenging authority.

The best public and government run private schools in China are filled with the children of wealthy Chinese and have the best teachers. Kids with special needs or from a lower status need NOT apply. Our public school system is set up to help all children including those with special needs and ones who come from poor families.

Chinese parents come here expecting our public schools to be like their elite public schools in China because they spend millions on houses here. It might be a good idea for these parents to try and understand the American way of education which has its own set of challenges but overall, is still very good.

The US has the best University system in the world, filled with all kinds of innovative, creative, independent students, and that is what our elite Universities, including Harvard are looking for.

BTW, my son is now doing a PhD at Harvard in Cultural Anthropology. He never did well in High School (PALY) because he would not do all the boring, rote, endless math homework but get an A on the tests.

He is the classic independent learner that does not fit into the homework driven educational system that does not recognise different learning styles. The Chinese system would be even worse because there is no room for critical or challenging thinking.

I am so grateful for Foothill and UCSC.
After college, with straight A's, my son spent three years teaching English in Vietnam and then two years as the director of a media arts collective in Nepal.

He got a perfect score in both English and very high Math scores on his GRE's. Harvard offered him a fully funded PhD degree not only because of his GRE scores but also because of his photographic and writing talent and most of all, his independent learning style.

Our public schools need to support independent learners as much as the collective rote learners.

^^^^ @ eileen...your son is an exception to the rule of thumb. He was obviously academically gifted to begin with but bored with the standard format of public school. In other words, a renegade scholar but one who has flourished...on his own terms.

My daughter has an MA in Cultural Anthropology and is currently working as a food server at the French Laundry. She was a professional student and IMO, not all that bright to begin with...but she does have a gift of gab (mostly BS). I am still supporting her to some extent (e.g. car, rent, 'emergency expenses' etc.). After subsidizing 8 years of college + room & board, she probably would have been better off going to cosmetology school as most hairdressers also have the gift of gab and I would have saved myself a ton of money along the way. As it stands, she still has no real ambition towards putting her MA degree to work...even as a P/T junior college instructor.

She has emphasized that her education was for personal fulfillment and a sense of inner 'discovery'. What she has actually discovered is a subsidized lifestyle courtesy of her parents.

The Chinese parents are far more practical in their outlook towards college. Get a good education and put it to work. If Harvard is their reference point, so be it.

" I am still supporting her to some extent (e.g. car, rent, 'emergency expenses' etc.)."

Sounds like someone needs to cut the cord.

> She has emphasized that her education was for personal fulfillment and a sense of inner 'discovery'.

Sounds like an expensive journey (at parental expense). My son achieved this end by entering the service after high school. After two tours of duty, he had all the discovery he needed and decided to go to college. He is currently studying computer science and due to graduate after 3-1/2 years (including summer school).

For many kids, going to college is just an escape from the real world and those are the ones who are usually majoring in the softer subjects (i.e. liberal arts and the humanities) which tend to provide the minimal of vocational foundations unless pursuing an academic career.

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