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Pleasanton’s Stratford School is now accepting applications for its recently announced middle school, which will be added to the campus next school year.
The independent private school, which currently serves students in preschool through fifth grade, is located at 4576 Willow Road.
One of 23 Stratford campuses in California, the Pleasanton school will join four others in the Bay Area that offer sixth- through eighth-grade programs. The middle school program will begin with sixth grade in the 2017-18 school year, and if there is enough interest in seventh and eighth grades Stratford would add them next school year as well, according to spokeswoman Kathleen Hawkins.
“Since opening this campus in 2012, our intention has always been to open a Stratford Middle School in the Pleasanton area,” principal Maureen Christensen said in a statement. “Over the past few years, we’ve received a growing number of parent requests, and based on this demand, we believe it is the right time to offer Stratford Middle School.”
“Stratford School is fully committed to supporting the growth and development of students in Pleasanton with our middle school program, just as we have successfully done in a number of communities including Fremont, San Francisco, San Jose, and Sunnyvale,” she added.
Asked whether the school would be expanding its facilities in light of the growth, Christensen said the campus was initially designed with a middle school in mind.
“Currently, we have ample library space, science and computer labs, lockers, and open space to ensure a robust middle school experience for students,” Christensen said. “This is an exciting opportunity for current and new students to further their education in their community at a Stratford Middle School.”
The local Stratford school primarily draws students who live in Pleasanton, but there are also a small number of students from nearby communities like San Ramon, Livermore, and Dublin. Its 23 campuses currently serve more than 5,000 students.
To learn more about Stratford School, visit them online.
Clarification: An earlier version of this story included a quote that a Stratford School spokeswoman said was meant to be attributed to principal Maureen Christensen. The quote is now appropriately attributed.
This is indeed **welcome** news for parents frustrated by the teacher and administrator turnover at our local public middle schools, particularly Harvest Park (too many permanent and interim principals to count) and Hart (union-led ouster of Conde), lack of consistent texts, and subjecting students to being human “guinea pigs” with experimentation of so-called piloted instructional materials in class.
Teachers at Stratford are paid far less than public school teachers. Staff morale is low and turnover is high. Admission standards are low. All of that info is easy to find on the internet. Just because you pay all that tuition money doesn’t mean you get a better experience than with our excellent public schools. Stratford exists solely for the enrichment of the private equity/venture capital investors who own it.
…and what some people don’t know is at a private school you really have no say. there ‘might’ be a superintendent, but no school board. And the only threat you can make is leaving. Private schools are not all they are cracked up to be and I’ve been on both sides of this fence with my son.
“…and what some people don’t know is at a private school you really have no say. there ‘might’ be a superintendent, but no school board. And the only threat you can make is leaving. Private schools are not all they are cracked up to be and I’ve been on both sides of this fence with my son.”
Let’s just see how this works when you substitute a few words:
“…and what some people don’t know is at a public school you really have no say. there ‘might’ be a superintendent, but no functional school board. And the only threat you can make is leaving. Public schools are not all they are cracked up to be and I’ve been on both sides of this fence with my son.”
If the private places are truly terrible, then they should have shut their doors long ago.
FWM: Not sure the percent, but a big portion of private schools are religious in nature. Those have NO school board. He reports to whomever runs the ‘church’ entity.
And most families I know certainly can’t afford approx $1k per month for private school; so a new opening of a private school isn’t really an option for most.
I attended both public and private K-12 and public and private universities. Here is my observation of the differences.
Public: union “work-to-rule” where teachers do as little work as possible; less individualized attention; larger class sizes; students assigned numbers that they have to put on all assignments; principal doesn’t know students’ names; lack of textbooks; busy-work worksheets; Scantron bubble tests because teachers don’t want to bother to make and grade tests; little to no essays assigned; little to no writing assignments assigned; “peer” grading of work; center or group work assigned because less papers to grade; offload teaching to peers because ‘centers’ make the more advanced students teach the less advanced students; teachers absent; high turnover of administrators; unqualified administrators
Private: no unions for faculty; more individualized attention with smaller class sizes; teachers and principals know the names of the students and their parents; tests include short answer and essay questions with no ‘fill in the bubble’ Scantron tests; teachers assign writing assignments to individual students; teachers grade the work; teachers at work and teaching; much more consistency and qualifications of administrators
SHale
“Not sure the percent, but a big portion of private schools are religious in nature. Those have NO school board. He reports to whomever runs the ‘church’ entity.”
I have family members who went to private schools run by Presbytarians and Catholics, and even in the 90s they made every effort to make sure students of other faiths are welcomed and treated equally. Muslim students are given special breaks for their prayers that occur during school hours. Students with dietary needs are given consideration. Religious education was kept to a minimum and non-Christian students were allowed to opt out and most did. You idea seems to be out of touch with reality.
“And most families I know certainly can’t afford approx $1k per month for private school; so a new opening of a private school isn’t really an option for most. ”
Then what are you worried about? If they are in fact so ineffective and so expensive that everyone will avoid them either due to cost or incompetence, why do they still exist in a supposedly great school district like ours?
“And most families I know certainly can’t afford approx $1k per month for private school; so a new opening of a private school isn’t really an option for most. ”
One additional comment on that.
Why do you think a 3 bedroom house in town rents for at least 3k a month? Do you think a 1500 sqft normally rents for 3k in say, Antioch or Pittsburgh, or Hayward?
Newsflash: people are spending 1k or more extra a month to rent in Pleasanton for the school districts. I know there are 3 bed homes around town that go for closer to 4k a month. They are likely not paying all that premium just for the great non-hard water source or the weather.
FWM: Huh? Not exactly sure what you are asking or stating? My point was ‘private’ school(ing) is not all it is cracked up to be ie better than public school. My son has been on both sides of this street. And, pretty sure, I said religious school w/o stating exactly which faith. Yes, they accept just about anybody who can pay, regardless of practicing faith.
My 2nd point was that private school is not an option when the public school system isn’t working out due to you must PAY. Additional pain is you actually pay twice when in private school; once to the school and continually in RE taxes.
As I said my opinion most can’t afford private school tuition. Kinda reason we moved to SRVUSD; even better school district and I don’t have to pay beyond the never ending fund raisers. :}
@ PrivateVSPublic
” Public: union “work-to-rule” where teachers do as little work as possible”
This comment says much more about YOUR work ethic than any public school teacher I have ever seen. To make the assumption that teachers are doing as little work as possible just describes your own distorted and angry view of the world. Most evolved adults have intrinsic motivations and a belief in their fellow humans that you are clearly lacking.
Sad!
Is PUSD the only public school in the area that requires sixth graders to do needlework samplers, cross stitch, and back stitch? I have never heard of anything similar. I did see a TV show some years back about some Amish school in Pennaylvania requiring yarn stitchery for young ladies. I certainly hope Stratford’s courses do not come from another epoch. Glad they are opening a private middle school.
SHale
“My 2nd point was that private school is not an option when the public school system isn’t working out due to you must PAY. Additional pain is you actually pay twice when in private school; once to the school and continually in RE taxes.
As I said my opinion most can’t afford private school tuition. Kinda reason we moved to SRVUSD; even better school district and I don’t have to pay beyond the never ending fund raisers.
”
Seems like your arguments are the perfect justification for the school voucher crowd. The government imposes mandatory taxes that makes it impossible to not double pay to have a choice in your kids’ education.
Yet, despite ALL that, private school exist right here in Pleasanton. What does that tell you about our public schools?
I also neglected to add that in public vs private schools many public schools use children as essentially teacher’s servants, i.e. non-paid labor performing menial tasks instead of paid staff. If you look at this quote from the LA Times “But I hadn’t seen such an egregious case where kids are used as help in the classroom” and read the article, you will see what I mean.
Though I have never heard of this in private schools, many K-12 public schools in Alameda County and across the state of California offer what is known as “fake classes” or “sham classes” http://www.latimes.com/local/education/community/la-me-edu-cruz-v-california-settlement-fake-classes-20151105-story.html
For example, if you have ever had a student in Pleasanton assigned to a course with no educational content where they show, for example, Disney and Pixar films (sound familiar?) every class period, this falls into the what has been defined as “courses without educational content.” The suit was filed in Alameda County called Cruz vs California and Jerry Brown signed AB 1012 into law to stop this practice.
See http://www.srcs.k12.ca.us/District/SS/Documents/AB%201012%20Course%20Periods%20Without%20Educational%20Content.pdf However school districts such as Castro Valley are trying to still get away with the “students as non-paid labor” by approving course outlines called “Teaching Assistant” which are essentially job descriptions for children to perform menial tasks without educational content.
I have never heard of private schools in the U.S. seemingly violating child labor laws as has been discovered in public schools in Alameda County.
>Yet, despite ALL that, private school exist right here in Pleasanton. What >does that tell you about our public schools?
That parents like options? Most cities have several private school choices; many cities have charter schools. What does that tell you?
Options are never a bad thing. Just some options cost more than others.