Possible relocation to L.A. w/kids--school help needed!
 

My husband's business will most likely be moving to L.A. in January. We currently live in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago where the public schools are great! We are trying to gather as much info as possible about neighborhoods and schools. Apparently the LAUSD schools are not so great, but there are little pockets where they are OK. I have heard that the Beverly Hills schools are good. I have also heard that the schools in Calabasas are good, though a bit crowded. My 3rd and 6th grade boys are in classes of less than 20 kids, and I know that won't happen in CA. If I had no kids to think about I would live on the Westside, because it is cooler (weather-wise) there. Calabasas is supposed to be a great community, but it is much hotter there. Private schools are also an option, but if I could find good public schools I would send my kids there. Any suggestions?

California schools have a API (Academic Performance Index)rating that you might want to see. The schools are rated against each other comparing similar schools. I don't know all the criteria, but check out the California Department of Education website under "Testing and Accountability".

The Santa Monica school system is great. The elementary schools on the westside (give or take a few) are also excellent. They go to the 5th grade. The schools is Pacific Palisades are good. The top rated elementary school on the Westside is Clover Avenue in the Westdale area, south of Rancho Park. Fairburn is good, Westwood Charter is good, Overland Ave. is good, as is Kenter and Roscomare. Junior highs -- There's Laces (combo middle and high school), which is a magnet school; Paul Revere in the Palisades. All the Beverly Hills schools are good. The schools in the Las Virgenes school district (which includes Calabasas, Agoura, etc.) are good. Great school out there for elementary is Lupin Hill. Most catholic schools around town are good, relatively inexpensive, and they accept children who are not catholic.

forget Pasadena's school district - its awful! Especially the high schools...great area to live in, but if you want a decent education you have to pay for private schools. We spent almost 50k on K-high school...well worth it, but it saddened us that we couldn't send our son to a local public school!

We were just out in L.A. this weekend and looked at some houses. We really liked the feel of the Palisades but I heard that they bus kids into the Palisades schools, which according to what I've heard is not such a good thing. And if the elementary schools are fine (which I've heard) what do you do for middle and high--private?

Hi Martwork. I live in the San Fernando Valley. My son goes to an LAUSD school, but it is a magnet. It was o.k. for elementary school (much better than our local elementary , which is supposed to be one of the best),and o.k. for middle school (much less crowded than our local middle school) and we'll see how it is for high school. So far, so good.

I live close to the Las Virgenes school district and have many friends with children there, who I would be happy to put you in touch with. Also, check out Oak Park school district,(Agoura and Agoura Hills), Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks school districts. As you mentioned, there are MANY excellent, expensive private schools, both in the Valley and the City. I'd be happy to talk to you further about this if you contact me at [email protected].

Where will your husband be working? You've mentioned Calabasas, Beverly Hills and the Westside. That's a huge geographic area. As I'm sure you know, public transportation in L.A. is nearly non-existent, so you have to think about your husband's driving time or he won't be spending any time with those well-educated children.

The beach towns of Manhattan, Hermosa and El Segundo have excellent schools, reflected in some of the highest test scores in the state. Manhattan and Hermosa are independent systems and share one high school. El Segundo is independent K-12.

High quality schools (and at the beach, excellent weather) translate into very high real estate values and subsequently very high property taxes. Another rule of thumb: The better the weather, the smaller the lot size. You can spend your money on private schools or on real estate in good-schools areas. Either way, it's expensive.

BTW, just showing up at a private school with a good transcript and a healthy bank account does not mean your children will get in. The better private schools have lengthy application processes (starting now for next year), multiple interviews, etc.

Good luck in your move.

I'm with Jean. Something is not computing here. Either Martwork's husband is the business owner and can, therefore, locate the business once they have decided which part of town they want to live in....or they are not comprehending the enormous commute times and traffic jams involved with living anywhere in the greater LA area.

Also, money is clearly no object if you are not blinking an eye over living in Pacific Palisades - since that is perhaps the most expensive place to live in Southern California. Given that money is of little concern, then private schools are a logical option.

Yes, my husband can put the business wherever he wants. He is considering Sherman Oaks or Westwood--possibly Santa Monica. He is out there almost every week and is very familiar with the traffic. We will probably rent at the beginning, I think. The biggest concern we have is the schools. Both my husband and I attended public schools and if we can find a good neighborhood one we would like to do that. Money is an issue but we will make private school tuition work if we have to.

Because he can put the business wherever he wants it makes the choice of where to live even more overwhelming. I think the choice of school will drive where we end up living. Thanks for all your help--keep it coming!

If schools in Santa Monica hold up to inspection, that is sure a nice neighborhood IMO. If you're moving to California, might as well live near the beach!

I have to put in a plug here for the Palos Verdes Peninsula. It's on the coast, south of LAX, north of L.A. Harbor. It has a rural feel, with 26 miles of horse trails winding around the Peninsula. It also has the cool coastal weather. You might want to check it out on your next trip to the area.

Although houses may be pricey, they wouldn't be as pricey as Pacific Palisades, BH or SM. Lot sizes are also larger on the Peninsula than in the beach communities.

Check the API for all schools in the PVPUSD- elementary, middle & high. They are among the highest in the state.

Thanks lvk--I know a woman who used to live in PV and she raved about it. My husband thinks it is too far south, unfortunately. Can anyone give me a bit more info on the Palisades and Beverly Hills public schools? Is there a lot of busing or are the students mostly neighborhood kids? I just spoke to someone at Paul Revere who said the average class size is 36 kids! That sounds like a lot to me. At Marquez they told me about 20-1 with about 5% of the kids bused in. I will attempt to compare test scores, etc on all these schools when I have a bit more time later.

Here's a link to the API for L.A. County:

http://api.cde.ca.gov/API2005/2004Ba...19,LOS,ANGELES

I think the fact that PV is removed from the "L.A. scene" is a plus. I do understand, however, that it might not be the ideal place to locate a business.

Good luck in your quest!

Dare we ask what type of business is your hubby in, what kind of building requirements will he need, and how many employees will he have ?
What he is doing may help dictate where to relocate to.

It's an entertainment business with 6 or 7 employees, all of whom will relocate from Chicago. Some new employees will be hired once the business relocates. I know he wants to live close to the business, so he will locate it fairly close to wherever we decide to live, which will be dictated by school choice, unless we decide to go private, although I don't want to have to drive all over to get them to school in that case either!

The Carpenter school district in Studio City--right near Sherman Oaks.

If you want something closer to the downtown area, you may want to look at La Canada-Flintridge. It is northeast of Pasadena, and not a bad commute to the Burbank/Hollywood area which has a good amount of entertainment firms.

The public schools are fairly good, and there are several private schools in the area that have smaller class sizes.

I agree with tennislvr1 that Pasadena is a great place, and east of there, Arcadia has some nice areas, but you might want to send your boys to a private school (although mine survived nicely in public schools a few years ago).

Housing is so expensive in So Cal that school districts don't always factor into the equation.

La Canada is a wonderful family-oriented town in the LA area with excellent public schools. No, it's not on the west side, but it is a very attractive community with beautiful trees and nearby mountains. It is right next to Pasadena and close to downtown LA as well. I lived there for five years. Don't count on private schools right away to bail you out. I second the advice that getting into the good ones is tough. Many private schools only have openings at certain grade levels and competition for those slots is intense, often statistically more difficult than getting into an Ivy League college. It would be especially difficult to place your rising 4th grader in a private school as many of the good schools have no openings at that level.

Miranda, LOL we both posted La Canada at the same time.

oops I am directionally challenged. La Canada is NorthWEST of Pasadena.

I am getting more depressed by the minute! How are the Santa Monica schools? It seems as some of the L.A. public elementary schools are good enough--the issue is with the middle and high schools. I believe some of the private schools have 7th grade as an entry point, if you can get in. Am I understanding this brave new land a little bit?

Check out their website at www.smmusd.org. It has a very detailed report on each school within the District covering everything from ethnicity to education levels of the teachers to the number of computers per student. This is probably one of the best school websites I have seen. You should be able to see if these schools meet to your expectations.

Not meaning to pry, but "entertainment business" is still a broad description and L.A's a big place, even in terms of the entertainment industry. Motion pictures? (Post-production? Promotion?) TV? (Development or production?) Commercials? Recording industry? Or entertainment-related business, as in management or representation or financing? Will his company interface/work with other entertainment companies? There are elements of the entertainment industry throughout L.A. County (which is the size of Rhode Island, BTW).

I don't agree that "some" of the LAUSD schools are "good enough." They are, pretty much across the board, a step below private schools and schools in independent systems. Of course, it's still up to the individual child to succeed or fail, and there are quality differences among private schools and independent school systems too.

FYI, there are film studios in Manhattan Beach (all of David Kelly's series, several motion pictures, lots of commercials) and adjacent office space.

If you haven't spoken with any real estate people yet, I'd suggest you contact a few in the areas you're considering. An effective real estate person would be able to provide test score, class size and other info on the local schools in his/her area.

I live in Beverlywood where we have a fabulous local elementary school, Canfield, but our public high school (Hamilton) is a not so nice. However, they have a few magnet programs that are terrific (theater arts, for one.) I must admit, my kids are in private schools. I went to Bev Hills' public schools all K-12 and it was an incredible system at the time. I've heard it's still very, very good though it's "changed". Some kids from outside the district can apply to Beverly Hills schools on special waivers, but it's not exactly "busing" since it's such a contained little district. The best thing to do is make a visit, just to spend a day at each school you are considering. That would probably help you decide where you feel most at home: public, private and what area of town.

LTR, that was funny we both mentioned La Canada within minutes. It is a great community.

One private school with a 7th grade entry point is Flintridge Preparatory. Their website is www.fprep.org. You would need to apply now (or soon) for next school year. Perhaps there are other schools with a 7th grade entry point, but I don't know of any offhand.

Thank you all so much for all your help! I will show all of this info to my husband. Mommar, my husband really likes Beverlywood--what about the middle school there? Another idea is to put the 3rd grader in public and the 6th grader in private. I know that the private schools' application process is starting now--just another area to stress me out! I have a very detailed book with info about all the private schools. Unfortunately there is no such thing for the public schools!

Hi Martwork,

The middle school is Palms. You should visit the LAUSD site for more information. It's not a great site (a little too big, just like the school district.)

The Canfield school site is here: http://notebook.lausd.net/portal/pag...hool_code=2740

The Canfield Parent's Organization site is here: http://friendsofcanfield.com/

Another option for your 6th grader is the Magnet schools which you can research on the LAUSD site.

One great quality about Beverlywood versus Beverly Hills (coming from someone who grew up in BH) is that the houses are closer together and it's so easy for the kids to all meet. And there is a little park (merely a gathering place) the kids walk to on the weekend to meet each other. I've met a lot of neighbors through our kids weekend social activities. In BH it's a longer walk between houses and there aren't as many families with kids, so you had to make more structured play activities.

good luck!!

The Palms Middle School website is palmsmiddleschool.org.

I have also been following along with Sparklegem's search for schools. We will know this week if and when we will be moving. We have not yet made a decision on where we would live. This is so hard!!!

It's official. We're moving to L.A. around Feb. 1st. We ended up renting a house in Beverly Hills. After doing a lot of research and talking to a lot of people, we are going to send the kids to the Beverly Hills public schools. Hopefully this will work out--if not there is no shortage of private schools.!

<<I have heard that the Beverly Hills schools are good. I have also heard that the schools in Calabasas are good, though a bit crowded. My 3rd and 6th grade boys are in classes of less than 20 kids, and I know that won't happen in CA.>>

Why do you say it won't happen in CA? It happens all over CA. There are many public schools with classrooms of a smaller population. The very first thing you need to learn when you move to any state is to not put down the state inwhich you are moving and never compare the two states, making your former superior, to the locals...unless you want to ostracize everyone around you. It's commendable that you want to send your kids to the best schools. We are sending ours to the best schools public and private and it's paid off considerably. Good luck.

Whoa, Tess, slow down. I didn't mean to put down the state of California. I'm not viewing my current state as better or worse, just different. I happen to live in a city where the class sizes are unusually small. And, yes, I realize that is not the case in most of the L.A. schools. There was no judgement meant and I sincerely apologize if you took it that I was judging the entire state of California. Thanks for your good luck wishes. I am looking forward to this move. As I assume you are, I am just a parent trying to do my research and find the best situation for my kids and my family.