Best Elementary Schools in Irvine?

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readytobuy

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anyone know which elementary schools are best now in Irvine? i heard stonegate and cypress village due to new facilities and programs but what other elementary are top choices? I am sure every school is "good" compared to other cities, but when you could choose to move where would be a good option?
 
I think Stonegate was #1 this past year?  I think in the next year or 2 it'll be the elementary school serving PP and GP being #1, are you going to be moving then too? 

If you are chasing a school for your kids due to their ranking I would suggest renting... so if one year Stonegate is #1 you can move to a home that that school services and if next year CV is ranked #1 you can move to another place that school services.. 

Honestly, if I were you dumb Irvine peeps I would move to Johns Creek.. we always ranked #1!!  8)
 
haha..well  I am not that crazy about following the best schools, as a matter of fact i dont want to go to stonegate because its going to be overcrowded ... just wondering what the general opinions for different elementary. Spoke to some moms saying that the school her kid is going to is not as great, blah blah blah... If you were to buy a new home in Irvine, and u had the chance to pick ...wouldn't u try to pick the best house, best school possible?
just saying..

 
Forgive Farmmiee... he's rolling in so much dough he can send his kid to any school he wants if he doesn't like it (because he owns like 12 homes in different hoods in Irvine).

Your question is very hard to answer because even the highest rated schools may not work for everyone. You just have to do your own due diligence, visit the schools, talk to the principal and maybe some teachers. You can go to a site likehttp://www.greatschools.orgbut reviews will always be grain of salty.

I think your main concern is to find a home in an area you like best and then whatever school services that area, be involved to make it work for your child(ren). If it doesn't work out, you can transfer, go private, go homeschool, etc etc (I've known parents who do this even when their neighborhood school is "reputable").

Good luck.
 
No need to forgive me...

To answer your question though.. I would pick CV because of the central location and when I say CV I mean Mulberry...
 
best advice i got thanks irvinehomeowner!  I currently live in west irvine just looking for more amenities and ISUD schools at this point. I am also in the process of touring schools .... so let me tell you what homes I am considering:

1) northwood , maybe upgraded older neighborhood? or northwood II, but with those prices i rather buy new?
2) CV : Saw laurel, was kinda interested but didnt like the location too much. (meaning surrounded by apartment homes?).didn't go to  see Mulburry because they are almost sold out.
3) Orchard hills-i like Strada...but CV is a bit cheaper...for same floorplans...and the split between ISUD and tustin is kinda weird to me will they change the boundaries in the future on me?!








 
We have 4 kids in the IUSD school district and one criteria we looked at was API scores.  We also looked at the socioeconomic/demographic breakout and read greatschools.com comments from parents.  We also visited various schools and proximity to other activities our children are involved in like piano, jiu jitsu, swimming.  Of course the cost of ownership of a home in a particular neighborhood was an important factor.  We had to make some compromises but are pretty happy with how are kids are doing in their school.  Below is a link to API scores if you are interested in looking.  Most irvine schools do pretty well.

http://api.cde.ca.gov/acnt2014/apiavgdst.aspx?cYear=&allcds=3073650&cChoice=2013BDst
 
Just to add to Logik's post, API is a great indicator but the other things they mention are also important.

Just as an FYI, we have one kid in a high API school and one kid in a lower one. While we aren't very happy with the low API school, the teacher is great and our child thoroughly enjoys the class so we've kept them there. As for the high API school, we do notice the difference school-wide when compared to the other school and the teacher is good too, but a little more strict when it comes to grades.

We've also toured "reputable" schools with high APIs but got a bad vibe from their staff so we ruled them out even though our friends highly recommended them.

So like I said, it's very subjective and wherever you decide to land, just make sure you put the time into it to help smooth out the bumps.

As for your 'hood choices, older and newer have pros and cons. Newer has the advantage that many of your neighbors will be families and have kids the same ages as yours, but older will have the advantage of an established school and staff.

But, you will notice a trend that the newest schools get the highest marks but that may have a chicken-egg effect as the parents are more involved since they've "invested" so much into their home and neighborhood.
 
I agree with you about the High API scores, its probably best to tour and decide, but yet i dont want that to be the sole reason why i am choosing a particular neighborhood to purchase, at some point something may have to give up...

yes I did notice, newer schools have higher api , parent involvement and maybe newer facilities or tools perhaps make the parent/ kids more excited to learn..another thing i noticed in the newer areas is the huge percentage of asian kids..i think its more like 80% vs 30% in some areas...



 
the schools assigned to West Irvine are not bad at all even though they are in TUSD. Myford is a good elem, and Beckman is close or may be even better than Northwood HS.

With comparable schools, similar location, WI homes tend to cost less than other comparable IUSD homes.
 
We had been through 4 elementary schools. I would say the best way to find a suitable school is to talk to the principle. Most of the time, you can know at once the school is more academic orientated or more happy orientated. It depends on your kids' situations.

But it is still hard to say. I did not like the principle of our home school. But my oldest kid was lucky enough to be in classes with super excellent teachers in past years. My younger one was not so lucky. So I have mixed impression about my home school.

Judging from API is not a very good way to me. It really depends on if kids are academic competitive or not.

Anyway, I do not think elementary schools in Irvine make huge difference.
 
The California Court Company said:
the schools assigned to West Irvine are not bad at all even though they are in TUSD. Myford is a good elem, and Beckman is close or may be even better than Northwood HS.

With comparable schools, similar location, WI homes tend to cost less than other comparable IUSD homes.
Click to expand...

agreed, i just think IUSD has better rep some may say overhyped but yet still people want to buy homes zoned to the irvine schools so when i decide to sell should be even better from an investment prespective. also, there are a lot more choices of excellent schools when something does happen and i can apply to another elementary or high school. with TUSD there is fewer good options available to switch, elementary best one is myford already and beckman is already the best. what are other best options? i am afraid not much and i cannot apply to any ISUD because west irvine is zoned to TUSD. Open enrollment is only allowed within the same district.

another reason i am looking to change is because i want other things in the house now that we had our second kid last year so ready to move up and and why not look into the schools.
 
kiki said:
We had been through 4 elementary schools. I would say the best way to find a suitable school is to talk to the principle. Most of the time, you can know at once the school is more academic orientated or more happy orientated. It depends on your kids' situations.

But it is still hard to say. I did not like the principle of our home school. But my oldest kid was lucky enough to be in classes with super excellent teachers in past years. My younger one was not so lucky. So I have mixed impression about my home school.

Judging from API is not a very good way to me. It really depends on if kids are academic competitive or not.

Anyway, I do not think elementary schools in Irvine make huge difference.
Click to expand...

wow, why 4 different schools? and what kind of questions did you ask the principal.

 
I agree with the idea that the principal can be an important factor in the quality of the school.  Our kids are currently in Canyon  View Elementary which we felt was an excellent school.  Dr. Kemp was the principal there and was very visible and involved.  I believe she is moving to Cypress Village Elementary School now.  Interestingly enough the principal of University High for 10yrs, John Pehrson, will be the new principal of Portola High when it opens in 2016.  I assume this is intended to make sure the property values of the rest of the Great Park are maintained by bringing in strong leadership. Generally these folks take some of their trusted teachers with them as did Dr. Kemp. 
http://newsflash.iusd.org/2013/10/e...llage-and-portola-springs-elementary-schools/
http://newsflash.iusd.org/2015/01/u...s-inaugural-principal-of-portola-high-school/
 
readytobuy said:
kiki said:
We had been through 4 elementary schools. I would say the best way to find a suitable school is to talk to the principle. Most of the time, you can know at once the school is more academic orientated or more happy orientated. It depends on your kids' situations.

But it is still hard to say. I did not like the principle of our home school. But my oldest kid was lucky enough to be in classes with super excellent teachers in past years. My younger one was not so lucky. So I have mixed impression about my home school.

Judging from API is not a very good way to me. It really depends on if kids are academic competitive or not.

Anyway, I do not think elementary schools in Irvine make huge difference.
Click to expand...

wow, why 4 different schools? and what kind of questions did you ask the principal.
Click to expand...

Both of my kids have some disciple problems. So we have a lot of experience with home school principle. When we did open enrollment and APAAS transfer, we just told other principles about our kids' situation. Sometimes, we will ask about how RTI (reading classes according kids' level) is implemented.  But whenever we heard about district psychiatrist, that is a big No No.
 
Logik said:
I agree with the idea that the principal can be an important factor in the quality of the school.  Our kids are currently in Canyon  View Elementary which we felt was an excellent school.  Dr. Kemp was the principal there and was very visible and involved.  I believe she is moving to Cypress Village Elementary School now.  Interestingly enough the principal of University High for 10yrs, John Pehrson, will be the new principal of Portola High when it opens in 2016.  I assume this is intended to make sure the property values of the rest of the Great Park are maintained by bringing in strong leadership. Generally these folks take some of their trusted teachers with them as did Dr. Kemp. 
http://newsflash.iusd.org/2013/10/e...llage-and-portola-springs-elementary-schools/
http://newsflash.iusd.org/2015/01/u...s-inaugural-principal-of-portola-high-school/
Click to expand...

Beyond topic, what is the fastest route from south Irvine to canyon view elem?
 
anyone here had kids go to peters canyon elementary? I went to a tour and i think its great school, a lot of parent involvment and more fun than myford. Also last year the api was higher there as well, 942 which is pretty good for TUSD.
 
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