What's a good resource for finding out about private schools in SF (city/county)?

[Anonymous]

Having trouble finding a good website, article, database, anything aside from individual school websites.

[Anonymous]

I live in SF. Your best bet is just ... Google. Or word of mouth.

[Anonymous]

SF Proper:
Big Money/Blue Bloods their kids to more traditional, single sex schools: Hamlin (f), Burke's (f), Town (m), and Convent/Stuart Hall (Catholic, but not an archdio school, separate f and m classes).

More progressive schools (also funded with lots of money...) are coed: San Francisco Day School, San Francisco Friends School, Live Oak, Presidio Hill

Marin Country Day is a progressive coed school that has gained a lot of popularity with the Pac Heights/Marina/Presidio Heights families because they now have buses drive them over the bridge from those neighborhoods.

I don't know as much about East Bay and Silicon Valley, except Phillip Brooks school is supposed to be good.

Just an FYI, almost all the schools above are K-8. Private high schools in SF is on a whole different level. I know University is one of the tops.

Also, good luck trying to get your child into one of the above schools if they are not: 1.) entering in K, 2.) a sibling (though that is not a guarantee these days), 3.) student of color

Finally, expect to pony up $35k+ for tuition.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SF Proper:
Big Money/Blue Bloods their kids to more traditional, single sex schools: Hamlin (f), Burke's (f), Town (m), and Convent/Stuart Hall (Catholic, but not an archdio school, separate f and m classes).

More progressive schools (also funded with lots of money...) are coed: San Francisco Day School, San Francisco Friends School, Live Oak, Presidio Hill

Marin Country Day is a progressive coed school that has gained a lot of popularity with the Pac Heights/Marina/Presidio Heights families because they now have buses drive them over the bridge from those neighborhoods.

I don't know as much about East Bay and Silicon Valley, except Phillip Brooks school is supposed to be good.

Just an FYI, almost all the schools above are K-8. Private high schools in SF is on a whole different level. I know University is one of the tops.

Also, good luck trying to get your child into one of the above schools if they are not: 1.) entering in K, 2.) a sibling (though that is not a guarantee these days), 3.) student of color

Finally, expect to pony up $35k+ for tuition.

This about sums it up for SF. Some SF kids also go to Nueva which is a school for the gifted on the Peninsula and the kids are bussed. Another progressive school is Children’s Day School. If entering K, CAIS (Chinese) and FAIS (French) as well as the Lycee (French) are also options. Another traditional boys school very popular with the well heeled crowd is Cathedral (religious but also not connected to the arch diocese) but is nearly impossible to get in if not super connected or wealthy.

High Schools - All kids want to go to Lick Wilmerding but it’s location is awful if you live in the North part of town. It not only has strong academics it’s a STEM kids dream with its various shops. University is a traditional pressure cooker. Urban is super liberal with good academics. Bay School has a balance of academics and progressive methods. Drew is more traditional but not as academic. International has an IB program ...it’s a bit quirky but academic and attracts a lot of students who have parents from other countries. Convent/Stuart Hall - same sex schools but combined classes (religious as described above) Brandeis (Jewish - traditional), large catholic schools with competitive sports are Saint Ignatius and Sacred Heart. Some kids also attend school in Marin - Branson and Marin Academy being two of the top choices.

[Anonymous]

Posted above- if you have specific schools you have questions about...just ask.

[Anonymous]

There are probably several people here who can tell you what you need. Are you limited only to SF?

[Anonymous]

The peninsula has a number of private K-8s and high schools. Nueva, Sacred Heart, St Matt's Episcopal, a number of Catholic parochial schools, the Carey School, the Jewish day school in Foster City, Serendipity. These are just in the order I remembered them. Prices are all over the board in this list.

[Anonymous]

I can fill you in a bit on east bay.

k-8: Bentley, Seven Hills, Saklan, Prospect Hill, Redwood Day; Head Royce

High school: College Prep (easily the most academically competitive HS in the SF or east bay); Head Royce; Athenian (middle and high); Bentley; Orinda Academy (small, more focused on kids that learn differently or have anxiety); Maybeck

Happy to give thoughts on the feel of each. We've been through the admissions process.

IF you ask

[Anonymous]

talk to these women! very helpful. they know their stuff

http://littleandmolligan.com

[Anonymous]

There is also a Bay Area Private Schools Facebook group.

[Anonymous]

Little and Molligan were absolutely not helpful and should have known and advised against the schools we looked at. Surely they should have known the culture was exactly the opposite of what we hired them to help us find.