We moved from the city to the east bay once we knew we would be in a a family way. We chose the…read morelower rockridge area in part because of the restaurants on college avenue, but also because of Peralta Elementary school. You know how a good dessert can make you feel great? We'll a step onto the campus at Peralta Elementary in Oakland does the same thing. it's not just parent involvement everyone loves the place and it shows ... --l (peraltaschool.org). http://www.peraltaschool.org

Best elementary school ever. I went there 55 years ago. The staff was amazing, Mrs Polito, Mr.Kyle,…read moreMrs Stacy, Mrs Holder to name a few

All 3 of my nieces and nephews attend Washington the teachers seem to be in a bit apprehensive when…read moreit comes to disciplining the children however the location as well as the classes are clean they always keep the parents informed of what's going on

As public schools go, this is a good one to consider despite the less-than-attractive architecture…read morethat greets prospective parents when visiting. We originally were disappointed with our assignment here (let's put it this way: Berkeley asked us to make our top 3 choices for schools where our kids would go. We did not get choice #1, #2, or #3. Welcome to Berkeley...) The school has an amazing garden which has been up and running since before 1908 (they have photos which document the life of this garden). The gardening teacher is cool! Her name is Tara and she is swell! The cooking classes use food grown in the garden and the lunches are all 100% ORGANIC!!! No weird stuff, no hormones in the milk, no growth hormones/antibiotics, etc. Every single kid gets a 100% organic Universal Breakfast at 10:00 each morning regardless of family income. It's a given, like PE (duh! Kids need exercise and good food in order to learn...we can't count on the government to figure that out. Remember Reagan telling us all that ketchup counted as a vegetable....) Anyway, sorry about the tangent, I just think this is such a cool arrangement. Here's the greatest part of the whole thing (for me, anyway). Every Monday morning there is an assembly welcoming the kids back to school and encouraging parents to stay. There is a teacher, Mr. Ted Watson, who is AMAZING!!! He leads the kids in campy songs that make me laugh so hard I almost pee my pants (imagine the average 3rd grader). My all-time favorite song is "The Weeny Man". Here's some lyrics and you decide: I know a weeny man He runs a weeny stand He sells most everything from hot dogs on down. Someday I'll join his life I'll be his weeny-wife. Hot Dog!! I love the Weeny Man!!! Well, there's more but you get the gist...Who wouldn't love this?! This teacher gives me faith that teachers can be fun, cool, get kids' attention, and have fun learning. Hot Dog!! I love the teachers at this school! The principal is cool, too. If you live in Berkeley, and you're bummed you didn't get into the fancy school on the hill (you know which one...), please give Washington a chance. It has a lot to offer. 4 Stars b/c some of the teachers need to retire or just quit teaching, most are good tho'. The cafeteria ladies remain humorless despite the high quality food offered.

I volunteered for Ms. Talbott's class a few years back and I had the most wonderful experience…read moreever. Ms. Talbott is one of the leading teachers at Washington Elementary in equity, forward thinking and compassionate teaching. The school board should model their philosophy after her teaching standards and practices. My work schedule does not permit me to volunteer anymore but for all of the parents out there looking for a stellar Kindergarten teacher at Washington, try to get into Ms. Talbott's class.

My daughter is a freshman and really likes Wallenberg. Where it is a small school, this comes with…read moresome great positives: small classes with more 1:1 teacher attention for students, ability for kids to get to lead clubs, participate in sports and get to know their community. Teachers are really responsive to parent and student inquiries and care about the kids learning and enjoying school. The principal and school administration works hard at ensuring kids are safe, getting a good education and feel supported. The wellness center staff is very active and supportive of kids, helping them navigate their teenage challenges and growing pains.

Don't go here 100 community service hours is required. They also don't allow free periods even if…read moreyou have finished enough credits for it.

This isn't the best school. I've came here years ago and didn't have the best experience. Teachers…read morewere mean and I was brainwashed with Catholicism. I pulled out of this school and went to public school for my senior year. Best decision ever. I don't know what the school is like today but this was my experience.

Great school! Just walking around the beautiful and clean campus you see how happy the students are…read moreto be there. The teachers and administration are top notch.

I went to a nearby McDonald's for dinner and was told the restaurant closes to customers between…read more4-5 PM--no one allowed inside. When I asked why, an employee told me it's because students from this school come in after dismissal and cause so much disruption that staff can't keep the restaurant open. Their words: students come in and "destroy everything." I didn't witness it myself, but the outcome is undeniable--a local business is shutting down during peak hours because of student behavior. That doesn't just reflect on the school. It speaks to a deeper lack of accountability--from leadership, and from parents. Kids don't act like this in a vacuum. This isn't about blaming teachers. But when behavior spills off campus and disrupts the community to this degree, something upstream is clearly failing. Right now, the surrounding neighborhood is left dealing with the consequences. Vote accordingly.

Oh my gosh is the best middle school ever I've never been to a better one be I've made so many…read morefriends

After leaving my son's other middle school this was so much better. There was this cool ass mother…read morefucker named Memphis Razack and made my sons week during the sick ass Washington DC field trip. Luxury hotel and cool sights as I saw with the different photos my son sent

I volunteered at King Middle School through the Be-A-Scientist program when I was a graduate…read morestudent (Ph.D.) in geophysics (volcanoes and planetary interiors) at the University of California, Berkeley. I participated in the program during autumn semester in 2015. As part of the program I was assigned a group of four 7th grade students to bring the scientific method to life through interactive and hands-on experiment design and execution. We, Be-A-Scientist volunteers, came in on a near weekly/bi-weekly basis to make progress in each student's project. The week's session was always in the theme of one of the steps of the scientific method. This way by the end of the semester the students had designed and performed their own scientific study/experiments according to the scientific method. Each session we went over each student's project discussing it as a small group so they could get feedback from others in the group and hone their communication skills. They also wrote up what they were doing, sometimes including drawing graphs/plots, and if it was a week dedicated to the 'experiment' step in the scientific method they performed experiment trials/experiments. I enjoyed that we were able to develop an experiment for each individual student and thoroughly enjoyed the experiments my students decided upon. One tested different substances on slices of bread to see which generated the most bacteria, one wiped different surfaces with Q-tips to see which yielded the most bacteria, one tested different potting mixtures to see which was best for growing plants, and one dried different fruits to see which one evaporated the most moisture. Some of the results from these projects, such as Q-tips wiped on the wall having less bacteria than Q-tips out of the container, were down right shocking. All of the students in my group were great, expressing mush enthusiasm for the task(s) at hand and each had their own distinct inquisitive style. I have only good memories of my time volunteering with these students and at King Middle School. If you are a visitor here, like I was, there is a main office where you need to sign-in when you arrive to the school and sign-out when you leave. This way the school can keep track of who you are, why you are here, when you are here, and what classroom(s)/teacher(s)'s classes you are visiting while you are here. We were allowed to use only the faculty/staff restrooms when were volunteering.

Please closely evaluate K.Wilk who teaches kindergarten. My child does not attend the school, but I…read morego on daily walks at hidden Lake Park and I have seen her yelling loudly at students and yanking them by their shirts. I found out her name after going onto the website. The other teacher does nothing to intervene. Very disturbing!

Involved parents and a great school. Have really enjoyed the teachers. Happy to be here!read more