My kids go to Oakridge and it’s fine but the academics are not great. I have loved most of my kids’ teachers and I like that my kids have neighborhood friends, but if you’re looking for academics this isn’t it. Also I have serious issues with the principal.

Anonymous wrote:If you wanted ATS, you won't be happy at Claremont.

The schools are polar opposites and this tells me that you aren't committed to Immersion.

To get the benefit of Immersion, your child will need to stick with it until 8th grade or beyond. They will not be bilingual after 5th grade. There is a reason that it's a K-12 program.

I get this, but unfortunately these are my 2 options, unless I move...which isn't an option right now. It seems that between Oakridge where there is a no homework policy, no grades and a so-so principal vs. Claremont, Claremont would be a better choice?

If you wanted ATS, you won't be happy at Claremont.

The schools are polar opposites and this tells me that you aren't committed to Immersion.

To get the benefit of Immersion, your child will need to stick with it until 8th grade or beyond. They will not be bilingual after 5th grade. There is a reason that it's a K-12 program.

Thanks for the responses. I really do value the immersion aspect, but feel like academics, a sense of community, good teachers, and an overall happy school environment for my kid are most important. That said, given my 2 options, it seems like Claremont would be a better fit for us, and as a bonus has Spanish Immersion. My spanish is decent and my son has had exposure through caretakers, so I think he will be excited to learn the language.

We are at Claremont and we feel incredibly lucky to have such an amazing opportunity through public school. To the community point above, it's def more convenient if you go to the neighborhood school, but we have found the families at Claremont to be so welcoming and a real desire to establish a strong community.

Academically, our kid is just a couple years in, but I will say a few things 1) you definitely need to be committed to the idea of immersion. 2) our child is doing very well academically. I think he would be bored if he were in a non-immersion environment. His kindergarten teacher told us early on that he'd do well in immersion because the Spanish language would be his "stretch" zone - and she was right so far! 3) maybe we've just been lucky with teachers, but he is provided what seems to be a lot of differentiation in the classroom. 4) we're super impressed with the principal and her focus on social-emotional learning.

bottom line is that we love Claremont so much - but if you're not into immersion, not much else matters!

Would love to hear more about Oakridge experiences. I have heard such mixed things and the negatives make me nervous! TIA!

Spanish immersion requires a dedication to immersion. The learning style is different bc a big part of what your child is learning is another language. So, do you value that? Will you be able to push through and support when it gets hard? You will need to support the language development at home to help your kid succeed. Do you want to do that?

I can’t speak to Oakridge at all, but all schools have their perks and their lumps. I think, despite all the chatter here, kids can be successful at any of them.

I have two who went through Oakridge. For the oldest, the experience was mostly good. Strong academics and strong community support. Things started going sideway ~5-6 years ago, when the principal started to implement more progressive ideas. First, they ended homework. They adopted a terrible reading curriculum which they then realized was actively harming the students. Then they ended grades. Students now get a standards-based report card with "M"s, "E"s, etc. Teacher absenteeism (even pre-pandemic) was terrible. I don't think this is unique to Oakridge, though. This seems to be an APS-wide issue.

My child went to Oakridge and had a great experience and met a lot of other kids who live in the neighborhood.

Anonymous wrote:I am in a similar situation. I like the idea of immersion, but wonder which school is better academically?

Any statistical measure of a school’s academic quality is HEAVILY influenced by the SES of the student body. A school whose student body mostly have two parents with four degrees between them is going to have high test scores.

I am in a similar situation. I like the idea of immersion, but wonder which school is better academically?

Decide whether you want immersion. Full stop.

Anonymous wrote:If you’re new to the area and looking to make friends I’d stay with the neighborhood school. Also look at the start times to see which is better with your schedule (I think Claremont is 8am and oakridge is 9am.

Overall I think if you aren’t very interested in immersion you should not take the spot.

This. Immersion is a commitment.

If you’re new to the area and looking to make friends I’d stay with the neighborhood school. Also look at the start times to see which is better with your schedule (I think Claremont is 8am and oakridge is 9am.
Overall I think if you aren’t very interested in immersion you should not take the spot.

We are new-ish to the area and are deciding between our neighborhood school of Oakridge or Claremont Immersion(we got a spot in the lottery). ATS was my first choice, but have a terrible number in the lottery. Which school would you pick for K? I've heard mixed things about both academically, with regards to quality teachers and being a nurturing environment. Thanks!