A lot has transpired over the last two weeks with all the talk of the boundary changes to San Carlos Schools. I was disappointed by some of the commentary which I thought was uncalled for. I have removed those comments from the site. Having a difference of opinion is what this site is all about, however, I thought a few of those comments went too far and they have been permanently removed.
Clearly, folks have very strong opinions on their schools in San Carlos. As mentioned in several blog posts, in my opinion, it is most likely the number one reason that many buyers choose to settle down in San Carlos. I have been fortunate enough to sell a good number of houses in San Carlos over the past few years and I can tell you that it is on the top of nearly everyone’s list. Therefore, beyond the primary benefits which San Carlos schools provide to the students and families, the schools are also directly related to our housing market.
We are very fortunate to have such fantastic schools. All of the public schools in San Carlos offer a first rate education, in my opinion. Lately, I feel that two groups in particular have received a bad rap. Heather School and San Carlos residents living east of El Camino seem to be the focus of unwarranted criticism.
Let’s start with Heather. Heather is falling victim to what is becoming a very unfair indication of school quality when measured so tightly against other outstanding schools….the API Score. Heather is sitting at an 861, up significantly from last year. However, when compared against Arundel at 917, White Oaks at 913 and Brittan Acres at 907, many parents wonder about the discrepancy and assume that something is wrong with Heather rather than investigating further. This is the danger with relying too heavily on APIs. The APIs cannot give you a first-hand account of what it is like to attend that particular school. They cannot tell you anything about the PTA, the resources, teacher involvement, parent and student happiness, the administration and so on. One other item of interest here is to take a look at what happens after those students leave their particular lower elementary school. Interestingly, Tierra Linda, which has feeder schools of Heather and Arundel, scored a 921 on the APIs. Central Middle School, which has Brittan Acres and White Oaks as feeder schools, only scored an 881 on the API. In my opinion, this is the most concrete evidence that the rap on Heather is very unfair. Unfortunately, in the real estate world many buyers will purchase on perception. Many will not take the time to adequately investigate Heather before writing it off. Many buyers run exactly by the APIs and if one school’s score is far enough away from another, they will hesitate and possibly go another direction. Those homes that are currently zoned for Arundel, but may be re-zoned for Heather will take a hit with most buyers who are focused on schools. I do not think it is a major hit, but it will be enough to make some buyers think twice. It kills me to say that, but it is the reality of the situation. The bright side is that Heather seems to be making great strides on the API scale and hopefully they will be able to close the gap to where the score difference is negligible.
With regard to east side San Carlos, I can tell you that some of the most generous, supportive families in all of San Carlos live there and work very hard at making San Carlos a better place. As mentioned in an earlier article, many of the families in east San Carlos could not afford homes on the west side, but chose to live there because they valued education enough that they were willing to accept a slightly smaller house because they wanted their kids to be a part of San Carlos and the San Carlos School District. Dividing San Carlos will not solve anything. Last I checked, the 94070 covered both the east side and west side.
Finally, I think everyone can agree that there is not an answer to the impacting problems which everyone will agree with. I do have a substantial amount of faith in the SC School Board and trust that they will come up with the solution that works best for all of San Carlos.
14 Comments
Hey Bob, it’s also worth pointing out that the schools are a reflection of the kids and families who go there; as kids are rezoned into schools such as Heather or any of the schools, the performance of the school will be a reflection of the kids who actually attend. All the schools in San Carlos are great, and clearly the families in San Carlos place a very high priority on education. How fortunate to be in this kind of community. Having said that, you can have a wonderful experience at what might be considered a mediocre school, or a horrible experience at what might be considered a great school. Any school is what you make of it.
I think that outside of new home buyers the perception of Heather based on just API scores is, fortunately, more positive than otherwise. Without exception all families I’ve met in the Heather community have concern and show tremendous support for the educational experience at Heather. It is a wonderfully diverse community made up of families from all backgrounds, educational and otherwise, and I have been thrilled with my kinder’s experience thus far.
The issue with Heather’s low API scores is simple–the school has a high number of “Tinsley” students (disadvantaged kids bussed in from outside the SC school district). These students bring down the overall test scores. Beyond the API scores, Heather is a terrific school with great leadership and involved parents. Also, I have to disagree with your decision to selectively eliminate public comments from your site. Except for profanity or personal attacks, everything should be fair game. The posts you removed were neither–they were part of an intelligent, fact-based exchange which you just happened to disagree with. Your site has lost credibility as an open community forum.
I am long time east side resident (on Springfield) with children attending BA. Happily I missed the commentary that Bob removed. Although at the superintendent’s meeting it was suggested by more than one group that since we already have to drive our kids to BA why not have us drive them to Heather? Sheesh.
I can attest with all honesty this negative image of east side residents has been around since I went to Central some 35 years ago. These imaginary lines have been in place for a long time, and unfortunately they aren’t going to go away easily. I don’t want my children growing up as I did thinking they are less than others because they live on the “other side of the tracks”.
I hope that as continue to show up at meetings (school board, planning commission, city council, etc.) armed with our intelligence and perseverance we may be able to start changing some of these negative perceptions.
Steve,
I do take issue with the last part of your post. I did not selectively remove posts. In fact, out of the three years I have run this blog and the hundreds of posts on this blog I have never removed any prior to yesterday. If I selectively removed posts I did not agree with, half of the posts on this site would not exist. Additionally, any post which is degrading a particular neighborhood in San Carlos is not acceptable. Calling a San Carlos neighborhood “ghetto” is not a part of any intelligent conversation in my book. There are ways to get your point across without degrading a group of people. Further, the terms of use for this site are clearly spelled out on the About page.
Bob
I wrote on the earlier school boundary post, as my family is in the Devonshire area slated to move to Heather. I just wanted to say that the biggest issue here is NOT the Heather API scores.
The issue is walkability and the neighborhood school. I hear the bells of Arundel during the day. I can hear the kids when they are at recess. I can walk (without being too winded) from my home to Arundel in under 10 minutes. Over Thanksgiving holiday I walked (hiked) to Heather. It took 20-25 minutes. The change in elevation is 160 to 460 ft. To get there you have to walk up Devonshire, down,around, & up Windsor (no sidewalks) then up Torino (7-8% grade) I barely made it! Try walking a 6 yr old up that- not possible.
Bob
I want to thank you for removing those awful comments that were written about the East side San Carlos residents. I thank you for your support for our neighborhood as well.
It angers me that someone can be so misinformed about our neighborhood.
I have happily resided in the “East side” neighborhood for 14 years. We have wonderful neighbors,(Police officers, scientists, teachers, engineers to name just a few). We also have lots of nice young families with wonderful and intelligent children. My children and my neighbor’s children are excellent students and have the test scores to prove it.
So please don’t make assumptions that are hurtful to others.
I am looking at these posts for the first time, so I don’t know what material was that you deleted. I do agree that, to be credible, all material should be available, as long it doesn’t contain profanity. That’s what most credible BLOGS do. Good people can defend the unjust.
I agree Heather is a good school. I think it’s unfair that they have to be the only school to take Tinsley, because then you end up with the problem that the District has today. It would be better served if SCSD could do a better a job at making everything as equal as possible across the board. ALL of San Carlos would benefit from this.
The biggest problem with this whole boundary thing has been the roll-out by the District. There was no outreach in notifying the community (stakeholders) and getting input. Because of this, I now question their ability. However, the two women who sit on the board do seem very thoughtful, careful and honest.
Now, schools have been pitted against schools and hurtful things have been said. Big mistake! And the map they send out you can’t even read the street names. I would be fired, if I performed this way.
I want the East side to know most people at Arundel could care less about socioeconomics, race or otherwise… we open our arms to everyone. This perception is by far the most inaccurate of everything I’ve read.
What, is most important in this whole deal is that there is fairness across the board. Again, then all S.C. wins.
At Arundel, what we do care about is the ability to safely walk to school and the traffic congestion around our school. Our main drop off is absolutely dangerous and more traffic will make it unbearable. A worse problem exists at TL. I hope the Board will be responsible and do REAL traffic surveys and crunch this data, so they do not make a huge mistake here.
I wonder if they have taken into consideration of all the current traffic on San Carlos Ave. already? I wonder if they have considered the city’s plan to add a 3 story apartment building on the East side? I’m a number cruncher and it’s not all adding up to me.
We’re now seriously considering moving to Palo Alto or Los Altos. They get much more funding from the state and safer schools to get to!!
I truly wish the best for San Carlos.
I agree with the posters above about not censoring blog comments because you disagree or find them distasteful. This isn’t China.
Hi Patti,
Thanks for your post. The posts you are referring to were not in line with the terms of use of the site which are clearly stated on the “About” page.
Again, this NOT about be agreeing or disagreeing with the posts or ideas. I thought the particular post in question did have some very valid points. However, some of the terms used to describe, and ultimately degrade a particular neighborhood in San Carlos are not in line with the Terms of Use. There are ways to get your point across without resorting to that type of rhetoric.
This blog does have limitations as described in the Terms of Use. If this blog is not suitable for your purposes, there are plenty of others that will host those types of posts.
Thanks,
Bob
The argument referred to above – that East San Carlos residents can just as easily drive up to Heather – may end up backfiring. Increased traffic to and from Heather was cited as a potential problem when the White Oaks overflow was in debate – as everyone knows the overflow came to Heather anyway so it is simply illogical to argue that additional increased traffic flow to Heather is a solution that can be accepted on its face. I am not saying otherwise, just that the argument loses some credibility if one thinks the traffic to Heather is a non-issue as compared to any other school.
I don’t think that sending East side to Heather is the best idea. I think sending a few closer streets from either WO or Brittan Acres to Heather is the best idea. They are the closest aren’t they? To me, it seams like Laureola should be able to stay at Brittan Acres because it’s the closest to them.
Any issues of traffic can only be determined by the Public Works Director, Police Department and Transportation and Circulation Depart. They are the experts that make these decisions on traffic. Were they consulted by WO people who said there was too much traffic to go to Heather?
A couple of questions:
1. Why is the map that the district used and sent out divided up by voting precincts??
2. Is Heather the only school to take Tinsley? If so, Why?
3. We used to have 4 or more “at risk” boys at Arundel (that I know of), they went their from kindergarten all the way up until 3rd grade and then all of a sudden they were taken out and sent to Heather. Why?? Does anyone know the story here? I’m just curious.
4. Does anyone know if WO takes any ESL, EEL, Tinsley, Special Ed or any kids that may be at risk? Do they have any kids that come from apartments/townhomes?
If you know the answers to these questions, I would like to know. Please help.
@Love to bike!
I can’t recall the web address but if you do a search you will find plenty of information online about the Tinsley program and how it works; basically the program applies to all school districts in San Mateo county and transfer is granted on an as-available basis. I don’t know if in San Carlos any schools other than Heather have enrolled transfer students under the program, but the vast majority of those accepted have been enrolled at Heather simply because unlike the other SC schools Heather historically has not maxed out on its enrollment.
As a Heather parent I can tell you I am not the least disturbed that the student body includes kids enrolled under the Tinsley program. So far my child is challenged and thriving and I don’t see any implication that her educational experience is being compromised by any one group of students. Now the effects of the economy on the other hand…
I have to wonder what is behind your question about whether or not the WO student body includes kids from apartments or townhomes. Would you care to explain? For what it is worth a former neighbor of mine (former because the house went into foreclosure) went on to rent in WO and succeeded in winning enrollment through the WO lottery. There are other issues going on there as well on which I won’t comment further except to say that I’m sure there are many families living in apartments and townhomes that are much more stable in comparison.
It was just an observation. I agree 100% that it doesn’t matter where you come from to do well in school and in life.