“Does this house go to Carlmont?” It’s becoming more and more of a frequent question in San Carlos. A few days ago I had a buyer walk into one of my open houses and ask that very question. When I responded with “Sequoia,” the buyer stated that she “was out of here,” turned around, and walked right out the door.
It’s really too bad because Sequoia has worked very hard to make improvements and many San Carlos families do have a wonderful experience there. The reality is that many buyers are not willing to give Sequoia a chance. For many, it’s Carlmont or finding an appropriate private high school.
Most of San Carlos is now designated for Sequoia High School. There is a small section of north San Carlos that is still assigned to Carlmont. However, with recent impacting issues at Carlmont there is speculation that Carlmont will eventually be off the board entirely for San Carlos. Carlmont was originally designed to service both San Carlos and Belmont. Even the name was born out of combining the names of the two towns. Currently, Carlmont, Sequoia, Menlo-Atherton and Woodside high schools all fall under the umbrella of the Sequoia Union High School District. Students are pre-assigned to one of the schools based on their address. Students are also allowed to apply for an intra-district transfer to any of the four schools as long as space is available. Until a few years ago, many of the students living in San Carlos who were pre-assigned to Sequoia, freely transferred to Carlmont. When Carlmont became impacted a few years ago, those transfers were no longer granted.
As mentioned, the truth of the matter is that many San Carlos families do not consider Sequoia an option. With Sequoia off the table many families have started to look toward private school possibilities, rather than a transfer to Menlo-Atherton or Woodside.
The private high schools getting the most attention from San Carlos families are: Notre Dame, Serra, Mercy and Saint Francis.
Notre Dame High School
Notre Dame is an all-girls high school located in Belmont on Ralston Avenue. Tuition and fees for the current school year are $16,650. A link to their site can be found by clicking here.
Serra High School
Serra High School is an all-boys high school located in San Mateo on 40th Avenue. Tuition and fees for the current school year are $15,540. A link to their site can be found by clicking here.
Mercy High School
Mercy High School is an all-girls school located in Burlingame. Tuition and fees for the current school year are $16,592. A link to their site can be found by clicking here.
Saint Francis High School
Saint Francis High School is a co-ed high school in Mountain View off of Miramonte Avenue. Of these four private high schools, Saint Francis appears to be the most difficult in terms of admission. Tuition and fees for the current school year are $13,400. A link to their website can be found by clicking here.
30 Comments
I have a child in grammer school in SC. I’m wondering why Woodside & Menlo-Atherton are not options for most parents? I remember when I was in high school (in the 80’s) these schools both had a good reputation. What happnened?
Also, I did a search on the Sequoia High School District website and found out that kids in Redwood Shores & East Palo Alto were assinged to Carlmont. That seems unfair as kids in San Carlos are located closer proximty to Carlmont than kids in Redwood Shores or East Palo Alto. What happened to being assigned to the school that is nearest to you? That is how it was done when I was in high school.
PS – I agree about not wanting to send kids to Sequoia. I understand that many kids may find it a good experience…but it’s hard to get past such a bad reputation.
There is another public school option nearby. Summit Prep in RWC is a charter high school with several kids from San Carlos (including mine) attending. It is also the ONLY No. Cal. public school named by Newsweek recently in their Best High Schools in the country list (came in at #76 in the nation). A link to the article is below.
I know that Sequoia has improved significantly in many respects over the last several years, and I think it is a good place for some kids, but not for others. Parents need to be aware of ALL of their options when making choices, and home buyers should know about all of them as well. If I had not been involved in the efforts to launch the charter San Carlos High School, I would have never known about Summit’s existence. There are other charter high schools that are great as well.
Newsweek article: http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools.html
As a parent of a Sequoia student, (and no, my student is NOT in all IB or advanced classes, but is taking some according to my student’s strengths), I find it unfortunate that anyone is writing off Sequoia as an option based on “reputation”. Reputation according to…evidence? hearsay? My suggestion is that anyone who is concerned should actually visit the campus. It’s safe (read the district reports), clean, and has wonderful art, wood shop, and theater facilities, and the improvements are ongoing. The Sequoia staff are by-and-large young and dynamic, with many of them coming out of Stanford’s education programs. Yes, there are a couple of duds, but we’re talking about a large public high school. Yes, it has a very diverse population, many of whom are bilingual, and has a large proportion of students who come from economically disadvantaged homes. Maybe some people in San Carlos find those kids scary, but I have found the students to be polite, respectful, and helpful during the times that I have volunteered at Sequoia, and my student has made some great new friends there. You’re right, Sequoia clearly isn’t for everyone, but the dismissing of Sequoia as an option based on reputation alone is ignorant.
And if academic rigor is a concern, there is always the full IB (International Baccalaureate)diploma program at Sequoia, that is not an option at any other school, public or private, in this district.
I couldn’t agree more with what SCMom wrote. My child will be a Junior next year, and she & I both have had nothing but positive experiences with teachers, administrators and students of all stripes. Perhaps due to a negative reputation that Sequoia had several years ago, I have found the administration and teachers to be particularly responsive, open and dedicated to creating a safe, inclusive learning environment. The Sequoia campus is as safe (if not more so) than other district school (see note above about district reports), and I think it is time that this urban legend about safety at Sequoia is put to rest. Families may choose another high school for any number of reasons, but not choosing Sequoia because of a concern about safety or perceived lack of academic rigor would be a mistake.
I would encourage families to check out Sequoia for themselves. The campus is beautiful, has a warm feeling (I say this based on my own feelings when visiting Carlmont’s somewhat institutional-feeling setting) Take a look at the state-of-the art science facilities, talk to students (especially those that don’t look like they live in SC!), and faculty about the programs and atmosphere and hopefully you will get a sense of why so many families wouldn’t consider any other school in the district-private, charter or otherwise.
I can understand and respect the opinions of SequoiaSupporter and SC Mom. However, this is a decision that will vary from family to family. While I am happy that Sequoia has made improvements over the last few years, the fact remains that there are better options available. For our family, the decision came down to wanting to send our daughter to a school that already maintains the standards we were looking for, not one in the process of getting there.
BC
Dear BC:
I’m not sure what in my comments led you to believe that I feel that Sequoia is “in the process” of maintaining high standards-it is and does maintain very high standards right now. As for better options being available-that is a mater of opinion, and I don’t happen to agree that there are necessarily better public school options in our district-just different ones.
That said, I do respect your perogatative to send your child to whatever school you feel would be the best fit for her. I certainly do hope that you did take the time to visit Sequoia yourself, speak to the administrators and have your daughter shadow there and that based you decision on what you discovered personally rather than hearsay.
Sequoia High School has some wonderful programs that rival programs in other area high schools–public or private. Sequoia’s math program is truly exceptional. I encourage all kids who have an affinity for math to consider Sequoia High School. Their full IB program is also one of the most rigorous programs in the Bay Area. A student who successfully completes a full IB program can earn up to one year of college credit–equivalent to a $25,000 scholarship. You do not have this option at Carlmont. It is much more safe than their reputation indicates. I hear more stories about fights at Carlmont than I do at Sequoia. However, both schools are large so there will be issues such as this at both schools.
While Sequoia has a strong program, schools like Summit High School and Everest High School have the same quality programs—their biggest advantage is their size. I believe smaller is better. A principal should know the name of each student in their school. This is just impossible at these large highschools. Students coming from smaller schools report a greater sense of safety because they see the teachers as partners to help them to achieve and these adults can provide additional support should a student experience difficulty. Both Summit and Everest are public schools so enrollment is done by lottery. Their greatest drawback is the lack of a comprehensive sports program.
Living in San Carlos, we are lucky to have so many great highschool options so close to our homes. Though a particular school may not be a good fit for one child, you can bet that one of these schools will work for most all of our children. And, should a family exercise their choice to consider private schools, other great private highschools include Menlo School and Sacred Heart in Atherton, St. Ignatius in SF, and Woodside Priory. All three are excellent options and many San Carlos families have kids at these great schools as well.
Great topic, Bob!
What BC fails to understand, is that to perpetuate the idea that there are better options, when in fact there are just different options, is fundamentally wrong.
There are students who were accepted to Menlo, St. Francis, and other private high schools, who chose Sequoia for reasons other than the price tag. There are students at Carlmont who spent one or more previous years at Serra, Notre Dame, St. Francis, and Sacred Heart and changed their minds. There are students districted for Sequoia who chose Carlmont, and students in the Carlmont district who chose Sequoia. There are students and parents who are making their high school choices, both public and private, based on sports, rather than academics. There are parents who want to send their children to a school with a class of students in an environment of excellence, and those who wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing.
“Better options” only exist in the context of your own child, with accordingly specific needs, and there is no benefit to anyone to imply or outright state that the high school you choose for your child on the Peninsula is superior to another.
I think we need to consider how we as a community want to portray our districted public high school – without criticizing anyone’s decision to send their child to private school, all of us ultimately will bear some cost (i.e., property values) from the fall-out of perpetuating a negative REPUTATION, not facts, about Sequoia. My child is a student at Heather, so like parents with kids currently at Sequoia I know what I’m talking about.
I understand that it looks like Sequoia has improved a lot over the last few years and the bad reputation seems to be from previous years and doesn’t reflect how it is now. I am glad parents are speaking up about it to educate us other parents who will have to make a decision in a few years about which high school our child will attend. Though I have to admit that it does seem unfair that my child could walk to Carlmont but instead I may have to drive to Sequoia. Carlmont seems like such a large campus, I’m surprised that it can’t fit all the San Carlos & Belmont high schoolers on the campus.
(Sorry Bob, I’d rather not give my name or e-mail as my views are probably not going to be taken well… hope you understand.)
Here’s something to consider… where does the CHILD want to go? Shouldn’t that be the number one thing here? I know there are many kids in San Carlos where that option has been taken away and the child is being made to go to this school or that school.
Regardless of what parents may think, the high school experience is for the student’s growth.
Seems to me, words like “wanting to send our…” and “I would have never known about…” identifies it’s the parents driving the bus away from Sequoia, not the kids.
The kids in the IB program at Sequoia live in a bubble like the Green Zone in Baghdad. So if you’re not one of these IB kids, then the regular classes are ‘soft’ and a joke. I should know; my daughter attended Sequoia.
Just about any student coming from San Carlos should take ICAP (precursor to IB) classes as a freshman. The level of work and culture will be more in line with what they are used to, and after that, they can decide how much IB they are willing to take. Chemistry is Chemistry whether it’s regular or advanced, French 4 is French 4, etc. and they are not soft. The full IB diploma students are in a bubble academically, but they are a small minority, and if they choose to remain in a bubble outside of their classes, then that is their unfortunate choice. The IB students I know don’t stay in the bubble.
@SCMom: It’s ludicrious to say that Chemistry is Chemistry whether it’s regular or advanced. IB Chemistry is more rigorous and covers more depth than the regular Chemistry class. Next time you get a chance, compare the hw problems and the test on Acid-Base reduction for instance.
Julie, I think you misunderstood my statement. Regular Chemistry certainly does not approach the rigor and depth of IB Chemistry or AP Chemistry, but it is also not a “soft” option or a joke. It’s Chemistry, which many intelligent people find challenging.
The point here is that there are different choices for different students, and that saying one school is better than another, based on hearsay, is ludicrous. I would venture to say that your student’s success at a given school, and beyond, has more to do with the student than the school and how well you matched your student’s needs with the options available.
Going back to the context of Bob’s original discussion, if I were looking at real estate and found a house that I loved in this area, the specific high school boundary would not be a factor in purchasing or not purchasing that home, because there are so many choices available. I do not know of a single student who wanted to go to a specific public high school (regular or charter) that was not able to either attend that school, or found that they actually enjoyed their “second choice” after giving that school a chance.
I’m just curious if there are ongoing efforts to launch a charter school in San Carlos?
I’ll tell you my perspective. My daughter attended Sequoia, was in the non IB classes and got A’s in English but couldn’t write a decent paragraph. The SAT test scores proved it. Determined not to make another mistake, we sent our son to St. Francis. He’s among students that want to challenge themselves and there aren’t any “easy” teachers that water down the assignment or give fluffy grades. He’s a “B” student, but he’s earned it with a great deal of effort. That’s the difference between the two schools.
I am guessing the idea of a charter high school really can’t get off the ground unless and until an existing or potentially new facility can be identified. I have to believe the community would overwhelmingly support a charter school, I know I would based on my impression of CLC.
There are already two charter high schools in the Sequoia High School District; Summit and Everest. Everest had a very challenging road in finding space and support. CLC graduates currently go on to both of those charter high schools, Carlmont, Sequoia, Menlo, Crystal Springs-Uplands, among others, and the other options already available. I don’t see the community supporting another charter high school that would take resources away from the existing schools to benefit yet another small group of students.
Both Sequoia and Carlmont are California Distinguished Schools, an honor reserved for a small number of California’s “exemplary and inspiring” public schools. The Sequoia district maintains an open enrollment policy, and the vast majority of students and their families choose the assigned comprehensive high school and most intradistrict transfer requests are granted.
All of the Sequoia district’s comprehensive high schools — Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, Sequoia and Woodside — appear on Newsweek’s 2010 list of top U.S. public high schools — a ranking based on the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) exams taken by students.
Perhaps even more noteworthy is the number of students scoring three or higher on the AP exams as this is a predictor of success in college and the likelihood of graduation from college within four years. Across the four comprehensives, students taking AP exams outperform their peers in the county and state, with nearly three quarters (72.7%) scoring three or higher. Similarly, Sequoia’s IB students continue to exceed national and international pass rates.
While test scores alone don’t paint a ocmplete picture, one measure each year is particularly telling. Each spring, the state releases rankings that compare schools (on a scale of 1 to 10) with other schools of similar demographics. All four of the comprehensives scored in the top tier with a 9 or 10 ranking.
The portfolio of career technical education (CTE) programs continues to expand at all four comprehensive high schools, and passage of $235 million in bonds by the local community since 2004 has enabled (ongoing)construction of some of the best facilities on high school campuses in the state, including professional-quality performing arts centers; facilities to house leading-edge CTE programs; and fields, gyms, swim stadiums and other facilities for championship athletic programs.
Last week (before retiring on June 30), Superintendent Gemma shared his retrospective of the past year — both the challenges and the accomplishments (he went into more detail about some of the facts listed above). He noted launch of a revitalized district website (seq.org), which has been designed as the most vital, comprehensive and up-to-date resource about the district and schools. Supt. Gemma said, “A high priority for us continues to be informing parents about our schools. We support choice. At the same time, we want to ensure that parents and students are armed with current and comprehensive information about their options so they can make sound decisions. The assigned high school of any student in the Sequoia district is stellar, and the progress and achievements of the past year made that all the more true.”
As a parent living very close to Carlmont in San Carlos I am quite troubled by this statement: “However, with recent impacting issues at Carlmont there is speculation that Carlmont will eventually be off the board entirely for San Carlos.”
Where is this information coming from???
another SC Mom, I agree with your comment regarding Carlmont being off the table for San Carlos. I live in San Carlos and teach in Belmont and have not heard that comment mentioned before. I find it highly doubtful that kids going to TL for middle school which is literally 100 yards from Carlmont, would be forced to drive to RWC for high school. Bob can expand on this speculation?
Hi Ken and another SC mom,
Thanks for your posts. We first started covering SUHSD meetings when the blog was started back in 2007. 2007 coincided with Carlmont stopping intra-district transfers for students who did not have a pre-assigned address for that particular school. Since that time there has always been talk and a certain amount of “reading between the lines” by those that have followed the situation closely. Until enrollment drops to more normalized levels and spreads more evenly among the four high schools, this will continue to pop up from time to time.
Bob
Bob is right. Also, it should be noted that attendance at Tierra Linda Middle School does not mean you will attend Carlmont HS. Many students who attend TL live in a San Carlos neighborhood zoned for Sequoia HS.
There are also many kids who attend Central Middle School who live in the Carlmont HS district.
I appreciate the clarification, and the post. I am curious as to where the larger student #’s are coming from (making an assumption that Carlmont is greatly impacted compared w/ Sequoia. Growth in Redwood Shores?
My babysitter just graduated from Carlmont. She lives in Belmont and says a ton of kids come from Redwood Shores. They had to build another elementary school to accommodate the growing population in Redwood Shores, so I doubt this trend will end any time soon.
As a random aside, while on the playground with my kids at Heather last weekend, I met a principal from an elementary school in San Mateo with kids of her own zoned for Sequoia. She said she would never even consider Sequoia, as the demographic is very unfavorable — a much smaller percentage of families in its zone pay property taxes — economically, most of the kids Sequoia serves are in a far different place than most San Carlos kids.
I personally attended a high school similar to Sequoia (Monterey High, where most kids are bused in from Seaside/most kids with money from Monterey go to private school; there are at least five nearby). I would never send my kids to my former high school, because so much of the school’s resources were dedicated to things other than academics. There weren’t enough parents demanding better, and I had a limited number of peers who were interested in academics. I ended up switching senior year to the very well-funded Carmel High and had a great experience, much more rigorous academics, more like-minded kids.
“The demographic is very unfavorable”? Wouldn’t want those entitled like-minded students mixing with those pesky economically challenged ones. Please, if that is your view, stay far away from Sequoia. The Fall freshman class is going to be huge this year, and we need the room for people who are a bit more broad-minded.
In response to Caroline. I would like you to know that our family lives in San Carlos and fits the “average” San Carlos demographic. I find your comments extremely offensive. My daughter will be a junior this year a Sequoia and her experience both academically and socially has been nothing but positive.
My personal experience with what you cavalierly call the “undesirable demographic” has been non-existent. The various times I have been on campus the students have been warm, polite and even gallant! Often taking the time to walk me to various locations that I had been unable to find.
By the way, do you recall the movie “Dangerous Minds”
It was bad on Carlmont High School. Schools change, people change. Please consider that.
oops! last sentence, I meant to say based on not “bad” on…