What are some areas in Silicon Valley that have a good public high school (850+) but not so good elementary and middle? We plan on using private schools for educating our kids early on and then use public high schools.

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Question on Quora:

What are some areas in Silicon Valley that have a good public high school (850+) but not so good elementary and middle? We plan on using private schools for educating our kids early on and then use public high schools.

Robert Lei, REALTOR, E-PRO at Century 21 M&M and Associates

Hi, Yes, I know the perfect spot within Silicon Valley for you if you want excellent high school but do not need excellent elementary. One part of Sunnyvale has just this scenario. To see what region I’m talking about, go to this link: Silicon Valley School Districts . Scroll down and click on “Sunnyvale Elementary”. Look for the light-blue region along the western edge of Sunnyvale bordering Mountain View that says “Vargas Elementary”. This is the part of Sunnyvale that has an excellent public high school (Homestead High School API=873) but not as good elementary (Vargas Elementary API=776). Usually, elementary schools have higher API and the API gets worse as you move from elementary to middle to high school. However, this pocket of Sunnyvale is an exception because Vargas Elementary is joined by the two star elementary schools Cherry Chase Elementary (API = 952) and Cumberland Elementary (API = 947) when they reach high school at Homestead High.

Note: The API scores I’ve reported above are the 3-year average of the last 3 recorded years of the Academic Performance Index (API) from the California Department of Education website.

I’m guessing you are asking for “not so good” elementary because you are hoping to get the good high school without paying such a high price for the house as you would be forced to pay if you bid on houses that had all 3 schools — elementary, middle, and high school — all highly ranked. If so, you are correct that the prices of these homes aren’t quite as high as the homes that are in the Cherry Chase Elementary and Cumberland Elementary attendance areas.

All Milpitas Unified Schools Dropped API in 2013 except for John Sinnott Elementary and Milpitas High.

In 2013, all the schools in the Milpitas Unified School District dropped in Academic Performance Index (API) except for John Sinnott Elementary and Milpitas High. 
John Sinnott Elementary rose from a 2012 Base API of 915 to a 2013 Base API of 928. 
Milpitas High rose from a 2012 Base API of 825 to a 2013 Base API of 830.
Aside from these two bright spots, the rest of the schools in the Milpitas Unified School District dropped in API.  The biggest drops in API were from Calaveras Hills Continuation High School (dropped a whopping 121 points from API=626 in 2012 to API=505 in 2013), Robert Randall Elementary (dropped 42 points from API=795 in 2012 to API=753 in 2013), and  William Burnett Elementary (dropped 39 points from API=894 in 2012 to API=855 in 2013).  The next biggest drops were the two middle schools.  Rancho Milpitas Middle dropped 24 points from API=881 to API=857.  Thomas Russell Middle dropped 18pts from API=889 to API=871.  It's hard to say why 10 of the 12 schools dropped in API. 

The drop in API scores might be due to the district diverting more resources toward implementation of the Common Core State Standards for the 2014-15 school year.

Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) Warren Hyde Middle School Surges in API Results

Cupertino Union School District (CUSD) Warren Hyde Middle School Surges in API Results

Examining the newly released 2012 Growth Academic Performance Index (API) scores for the Cupertino Union School District, the one result that glaringly sticks out is the sudden, huge improvement in API for Warren E. Hyde Middle School.  While the four other middle schools in the district barely budged, Hyde Middle School's API jumped a whopping +39 points to almost break the 900 barrier.

Sunnyvale Elementary School Gap Appears to be Closing

Sunnyvale Elementary School Gap Appears to be Closing

Posted Under: Home Buying in Sunnyvale, Home Selling in Sunnyvale, In My Neighborhood in Sunnyvale | October 17, 2012 11:56 AM | 13 views | No comments

The gap in performance between schools in the Sunnyvale Elementary school district appears to be closing, based on the recently released latest API results. For many years, we had Cherry Chase #1 and Cumberland #2 both FAR ahead of the rest of Sunnyvale schools in Academic Performance Index (API). Ellis Elementary then emerged as a clear #3 with the remaining schools still far behind.

However, the latest results show a strong improvement in Bishop Elementary (+25) and good improvement in San Miguel Elementary (+7) while a couple of the top schools Cherry Chase (-11) and Ellis Elementary (-4) dropped slightly. If Bishop Elementary and San Miguel Elementary continue their climb, they will break the 800 API barrier next year. From an investment point of view, you might be wise to buy houses in those two neighborhoods while they are still below the psychological 800 barrier.

By the same token, now may be the smart time to buy in the Cumberland Elementary neighborhood. Cumberland Elementary looks poised to overtake Cherry Chase as the #1 ranked school in the Sunnyvale School District. If/when that happens, it will be a huge psychological stimulus for Cumberland home prices.

Robert Lei, REALTOR, ePRO
Century 21 M&M and Associates
474 E. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
(408) 893-2410