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Moving to LA - need help with Public and Charter School please

4 replies

Chipmunkaroundtheworld · 23/03/2022 13:41

Hi all,
we are moving to LA at the end of July and I am in desperate need of advice for public/charter school. DD will turn 8 and will join Grade 3 - we are planning to live somewhere around Santa Monica/ Culver City/ Marina Del Ray. We do not have address yet so we couldn't apply for any public school just yet (big worries!), so I am looking at Charter schools that are still accepting application/wait list right now. Here are the ones that I've applied/waitlisted - any thoughts on any of the schools would be much appreciated.

  • Goethe International Charter School (i went on virtual tour and very much on board with their curriculum - DD is half German - but the fact that they share a campus with another middle school is a bit of a let down to me - any thoughts would be great)
  • Citizens of the World Mar Vista
  • Larchmont Charter School
  • WISH Charter School

As for public school - would they bound to give her space anyway if we move in July or how does that work? We couldn't move earlier as I want her to finish UK school year.

Thank you so very much for all your help smile

OP posts:
DilettanteMum · 25/03/2022 11:23

I am from Santa Monica. If you end up there you will be in whatever school you are near to. SMMUSD (Santa Monica Malibu united school district) public schools are good so I wouldn't worry about that. My brother went to Roosevelt elementary and we both went to Lincoln Jr High and then Santa Monica HS. He went on to UCLA and mySelf to Boston University.

LA school district is a different kettle of fish and a lot more complicated. I have never been a parent there but I have old friends who have navigated the system and it's not for the faint of heart. I hope you get some helpful advice.

DilettanteMum · 25/03/2022 11:25

And yes if you live in the zone for a public school in SM you will get a place. It's not the same as the UK.

LaLon · 25/03/2022 21:31

I'm from the UK but have lived in LA for a decade - and the school system here is CONFUSING. I believe that if you live within LAUSD, you will automatically be given a space at whatever your assigned "resident school" is (there's an LAUSD resident school identifier where you enter your address and it will tell you what your resident school is). Whether or not you like that school is another issue... Then you can also apply to charter schools, which it looks like you've been investigating! (There are also gifted and magnet programs which you apply for differently as well, just to make things more confusing.)

As pp said schools in Santa Monica (which is it's own city, so not part of LAUSD) are generally thought to be good. In reference to the schools you listed, I don't know anything about Goethe or WISH so can't comment. People RAVE about Larchmont, and it's massively oversubscribed. However, as it's a lottery, you may as well apply and see if you get lucky! The main campus is lovely, and the lunches there are allegedly delicious if that sort of thing matters.

My own kid is in kinder at a CWC school (but not Mar Vista, as we're on the Eastside). She is loving it. Student and teachers seem dedicated and enthusiastic, great community feel, specialist art and music classes for all, and excellent and varied after school clubs. Traffic at drop off is a nightmare, but otherwise I honestly couldn't be happier with her experience so far.

The main problem you might have with the charter schools is that the lottery system is weighted -- for Larchmont and CWC I believe they give top preference to LAUSD residents. Which means you can live anywhere within LAUSD boundaries and be treated equally for this, but I imagine you're going to be low down on the wait list if you apply before you are resident in LAUSD... Which doesn't make it impossible, but imagine chances would go up hugely when you are resident within LAUSD. There is a lot of movement within the schools, so even if a place is not available immediately, people seem to get charter school offers as the school year starts...

I found the lottery system slightly terrifying, but we did end up with a place we are very happy with. Good luck!

Skippingabeat · 25/03/2022 21:45

The school district you move to will have to accept your daughter no matter when you move. You can check greatschools.org for school ratings as people usually choose where to live based on the home school rating.

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