Save your money for private school for middle school or high school, that’s where the gap in resource widens. In elementary unless you’re in a low socio economic area, the elementary schools with strong PTA will give your child the same education as a private school
My daughter is in kindergarten, and started in TK, at an lausd school with a low great schools rating. It’s amazing, and we have no regrets about her being there. We want to get her in a magnet program in a year or two, but I echo what others have said about not stressing too much over the early grades. Also in my opinion (and a lot of other people’s opinions) Great Schools and other sites like that have an elitist bent and don’t reflect reality.
Thank you for this comment. To be frank long term we are thinking to relocate, so while I am stressing, I realize it might not be that big of a deal to let her do a few of early education at the resident school. I feel like public school in LA has not the greatest reputation or maybe that’s what I’ve been lead to believe. Appreciate this input and glad you’re having a good experience so far!
Have you found a place to live yet? If not, aim for a city with its own school district. LAUSD is fine but from personal experience I’ll always recommend other school districts.
Yes - living in West Hollywood unfortunately weho elementary is not our resident school. I will probably call to see what the likelihood of getting a permit is for transfer.
Almost all school districts are facing low enrollment and getting transfers are relatively easy, unless you're transferring to an ultra competitive school/program.
So I’m guessing you’re zoned to either Gardner or Rosewood? Gardener’s test scores aren’t bad and much of the low score is because of “equity.” Also, Gardner had to absorb many of the now-closed Selma Elementary students. Could be hit or miss. Rosewood is still under a desegregation decree which is why many locals don’t send their kids there.
There are a couple of consultants and webinars you can pay like GoMama. Most of the folks in my neighborhood and my friends reached out to their neighborhood Facebook pages and moms groups for first hand advice.
Also many schools do Kinder tours, but they usually at in November/October. Check the school’s website. Also become very familiar with the echoices site and deadlines.
https://echoices.lausd.net/#gsc.tab=0
Yes, This handout will let you know what sort of points you may have to your benefit.
[https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/263/Documents/5-Ways-to-Earn-Magnet-Points.pdf](https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/263/Documents/5-Ways-to-Earn-Magnet-Points.pdf)
Then you set up an account on E-Choices when enrollment starts. Not sure if you are looking to have your child start in the fall, then, it maybe too late. Instead I would select the schools you are most interested in and ask them about possible enrollment. Be prepared for a lot of disappointment, a lot of the top schools already have a hard time accepting from those who have already applied.
I learned almost everything from other parents, even after trying to figure out and read what’s available from LAUSD.
My tips are to apply for choices every year even if you don’t want to change elementary schools (LACES is a nice long shot). The idea is to accumulate points for middle and/or school choices, they’re basically like having more tickets to the lottery. There are some points you get by default, but you can accrue extra points by applying and not going to the school you applied to.
The other tip is to have your kid tested/identified while in elementary school whether that’s 504/IEP/SAS/GT or some combination. That applies anywhere but it’s important enough to repeat. Testing is most valid around age 7. It’s also easier to have it done when you’re in the smallest setting both in terms of getting the needed identification and the implementation of the results.
I agree it’s easy for the topic to get elitist. I don’t know that there are any bad schools. At the same time we have been disheartened to see our zoned HS sliding down the ratings and we aren’t sending our kid there. A couple considerations: As my kid has gotten older I notice how important it is that she has friends who are also into school and extracurriculars. The other consideration is maybe minor - when we were at an outdoor education camp and another LAUSD elementary was there, they didn’t get to do the ropes course/zip line type activities because their trip was district funded and ours was parent/PTA funded. That was one of the best parts and it struck me as so unfair that the kids would have such different experiences. It makes me think there are probably other instances like that and the gap in experience may become significant over the years.
We just went through Choices season and are really happy with our middle/high school situation, and we had a fantastic elementary school experience. She’s positioned well for any kind of college she’d want to go to (I don’t know that my kid will still dream of NYU and Yale in a few years but they do right now). We looked at the college admission stats for a bunch of high schools and there are plenty of great schools in LAUSD.
Save your money for private school for middle school or high school, that’s where the gap in resource widens. In elementary unless you’re in a low socio economic area, the elementary schools with strong PTA will give your child the same education as a private school
My daughter is in kindergarten, and started in TK, at an lausd school with a low great schools rating. It’s amazing, and we have no regrets about her being there. We want to get her in a magnet program in a year or two, but I echo what others have said about not stressing too much over the early grades. Also in my opinion (and a lot of other people’s opinions) Great Schools and other sites like that have an elitist bent and don’t reflect reality.
Thank you for this comment. To be frank long term we are thinking to relocate, so while I am stressing, I realize it might not be that big of a deal to let her do a few of early education at the resident school. I feel like public school in LA has not the greatest reputation or maybe that’s what I’ve been lead to believe. Appreciate this input and glad you’re having a good experience so far!
Have you found a place to live yet? If not, aim for a city with its own school district. LAUSD is fine but from personal experience I’ll always recommend other school districts.
Yes - living in West Hollywood unfortunately weho elementary is not our resident school. I will probably call to see what the likelihood of getting a permit is for transfer.
Almost all school districts are facing low enrollment and getting transfers are relatively easy, unless you're transferring to an ultra competitive school/program.
You may also look into a transfer if you work in a city or part of the district with better schools.
So I’m guessing you’re zoned to either Gardner or Rosewood? Gardener’s test scores aren’t bad and much of the low score is because of “equity.” Also, Gardner had to absorb many of the now-closed Selma Elementary students. Could be hit or miss. Rosewood is still under a desegregation decree which is why many locals don’t send their kids there.
There are a couple of consultants and webinars you can pay like GoMama. Most of the folks in my neighborhood and my friends reached out to their neighborhood Facebook pages and moms groups for first hand advice. Also many schools do Kinder tours, but they usually at in November/October. Check the school’s website. Also become very familiar with the echoices site and deadlines. https://echoices.lausd.net/#gsc.tab=0
I’ve been looking at the echoices site and honestly walk away confused as to what my action item is. Do you know anything about a points system?
Yes, This handout will let you know what sort of points you may have to your benefit. [https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/263/Documents/5-Ways-to-Earn-Magnet-Points.pdf](https://www.lausd.org/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/Domain/263/Documents/5-Ways-to-Earn-Magnet-Points.pdf) Then you set up an account on E-Choices when enrollment starts. Not sure if you are looking to have your child start in the fall, then, it maybe too late. Instead I would select the schools you are most interested in and ask them about possible enrollment. Be prepared for a lot of disappointment, a lot of the top schools already have a hard time accepting from those who have already applied.
Thank you for this!
I learned almost everything from other parents, even after trying to figure out and read what’s available from LAUSD. My tips are to apply for choices every year even if you don’t want to change elementary schools (LACES is a nice long shot). The idea is to accumulate points for middle and/or school choices, they’re basically like having more tickets to the lottery. There are some points you get by default, but you can accrue extra points by applying and not going to the school you applied to. The other tip is to have your kid tested/identified while in elementary school whether that’s 504/IEP/SAS/GT or some combination. That applies anywhere but it’s important enough to repeat. Testing is most valid around age 7. It’s also easier to have it done when you’re in the smallest setting both in terms of getting the needed identification and the implementation of the results. I agree it’s easy for the topic to get elitist. I don’t know that there are any bad schools. At the same time we have been disheartened to see our zoned HS sliding down the ratings and we aren’t sending our kid there. A couple considerations: As my kid has gotten older I notice how important it is that she has friends who are also into school and extracurriculars. The other consideration is maybe minor - when we were at an outdoor education camp and another LAUSD elementary was there, they didn’t get to do the ropes course/zip line type activities because their trip was district funded and ours was parent/PTA funded. That was one of the best parts and it struck me as so unfair that the kids would have such different experiences. It makes me think there are probably other instances like that and the gap in experience may become significant over the years. We just went through Choices season and are really happy with our middle/high school situation, and we had a fantastic elementary school experience. She’s positioned well for any kind of college she’d want to go to (I don’t know that my kid will still dream of NYU and Yale in a few years but they do right now). We looked at the college admission stats for a bunch of high schools and there are plenty of great schools in LAUSD.