Here are some other highlights form a presentation given to Saratoga Rotary Club on April 26, 2011:

• With Asians accounting for over 50% of Saratoga High School students, their 963 API score brought up the average.
• 99.1 percent of students graduate (class of 2009)!
• 98% matriculate to college (84% of class of 2011 went to 4-year colleges and 14% went to community colleges)!
• 29% of students are involved in music programs as electives.
• LGSUHSD is considering a local parcel tax that would cost property owners between $49 and $89 annually to make up for state budget cuts.

St. Andrews Episcopal School is located one block away at 13905 Saratoga Ave., Saratoga, CA 95070. They are having a winter admission open house on Saturday, January 29, 2011 from 2PM to 4PM. Saint Andrew’s offers preschool and K-8 advanced, comprehensive academic programs plus enrichment in the areas of the studio and performing arts, physical education, foreign languages, technology, character development, religion and community service. Although affiliated with the Episcopal Church, Saint Andrews’s welcomes students of all beliefs and includes teaching about all major faiths.

Saratoga Presbyterian Preschool is located at 20455 Herriman Ave., Saratoga, CA 95070  It was founded in 1992 by the members of Saratoga Presbyterian Church who recognized the need for quality childcare in the community.  Their program is open to all young children, regardless of race, nationality or creed, who are three years old in December and toilet trained. They offer a developmental based program that integrates basic Christian teachings and values into the curriculum.

Village Preschool of Saratoga is located at 20390 Park Place, Saratoga, California. 95070. Phone 408-867-3181

There are now several color-coded, graphic ranking systems that allow home buyers to see at a glance the relative ranking of public schools in Santa Clara County.  One of the ones I like the best is School Performance Map (shown above) – the dark indigo color along the western foothills of Santa Clara valley corresponds to high property values.

Another map tool is California School Rankings. Both of these graphic systems are good for getting a quick overview, but most serious buyers know the API score for public elementary, middle and high schools in neighborhoods they are considering or eliminating.

My open house tomorrow is at our Robsheal listing in Willow Glen that has a highly desirable neighborhood and where many families consider sending their kids to Booksin Elementary school or parochial or private schools.

Rick Bonetti | APR Referral Network | 408-857-8800 | DRE #01237009

This entire week, the students of Saratoga’s Redwood Middle School are celebrating Unity in Community. Tomorrow March 11, 2010, there will be a Heal The World Outdoor Assembly featuring the RMS Honor Chorus and the students’s Unity In Community chain. All Redwood Middle School homerooms will gather on the upper field to link together their UIC chain links. The entire school will also sing Heal the World with the RMS Honor Chorus.

Among the homeroom projects are:

• Collecting used laptops for a learning center in South Africa, In Africa Shoes
• Collecting blankets, towels and animal food for the Humane Society and San Jose Animal Shelter
• Diaper drive for Sacred Heart Community Services
• Collecting recyclable bottles and cans for the American Red Cross: Save The Bay
• Making gifts for seniors at Our Lady of Fatima
• School wide book drive for Friends of Saratoga Libraries
• Collecting reading books for Developments in Literacy
• Wii for Haiti during lunch One Dollar For Life: Haiti Fund
• Natural Bridges beach clean up for Surfrider Foundation
• Raising funds for Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, Ronald McDonald House, The Nature Conservancy, Dorobo Fund for Tanzania and more…

Great work Redwood!

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Search of homes for sale in Saratoga, CA, by families with school age children, almost always starts with schools.  Market valuation of homes is directly related to API school scores.  Frequently at open house I will open a detailed map that shows the district boundaries for schools in Saratoga.

Saratoga Union School District covers Argonaut, Foothill and Saratoga Elementary Schools as well as Redwood Middle School.  Cupertino Union School District serves the northerly portion above Cox Ave. with Blue Hills and Krista McAullife elementary schools.  Campbell Union covers K-12. 

At the high school level Saratoga High School is the most coveted, followed by Monte Vista and Lynbrook High, then Westmont and Prospect High.  Saratoga is served by three high school districts: Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, Fremont Union High School District and Campbell Union High School District. 

Realtor.com has a map function that shows a variety of characteristics of neighborhoods.  The map above shows the boundary for the three school districts in Saratoga, CA 95070.  The website also has “heat maps” for average listing price, number of listings, average rental price, number of rentals and median household income.

Realtor.com’s points of interest map show homes for sale, schools and parks.  Showcase properties default to the top, most espensive 20 listings, so you have to toggle to see the price range that interests you.  I do like the feature that allows to zoom to Street View.  However, it does not seem to be up-to-date about status (it does not identify our listing at 20385 Wolcot  as pending). 

For most accurate homes for sale search results I suggest my Alain Pinel Realtors website (see link in the upper left corner of this blog).  If you send me an email I can also set up an automatic search engine to send you the most current updates… or just call me for help finding the best deal.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800 | DRE #01237009

St. Andrews School, Saratoga, CA 95070

This Saturday,  St. Andrews School and Sacred Heart School, two of Saratoga’s outstanding private schools, are featuring Open Houses to boost enrollment.  St. Andrews admissions open house is November 14th from 2 PM to 4 PM and Sacred Heart School’s Pre-K and Kindergarten Open House is November 14th from 10 AM to Noon.

St. Andrews School

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal School is a coeducational, Pre-K through Grade Eight day school located in Saratoga, CA 95070.  The school, located on Saratoga Avenue, across from the Saratoga Library, offers an advanced, comprehensive academic program plus enrichment in the areas of the studio and performing arts, physical education, foreign languages, technology, character development, religion and community service.  Although affiliated with the Episcopal Church, Saint Andrews’s welcomes students of all beliefs and includes teaching about all major faiths.

Founded by Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in September 1961, the school today serves approximately 325 students from over 15 communities in the South Bay and Peninsula Area.  The School is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES).

Sacred Heart School

Sacred Heart Catholic School, also located on Saratoga Avenue, is  somewhat closer to Saratoga Village.  It was established in 1956. The School is a Catholic community that promotes and supports students in developing a strong and deep faith in Jesus, reaching their highest academic potential, and behaving as compassionate and generous Christians in the world.

The School is fully accredited through Western Catholic Educational Association and Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The administrative staff consists of a lay principal and vice principal. The dedicated teaching staff consists of 19 professionals. There are nine homeroom teachers, specialty teachers in the areas of science, math, technology, art, music, Spanish, physical education, early reading intervention, and special needs, all credentialed by the state of California – many with Advanced degrees.  In 2006 a pre-kindergarten class was added to the school.  It is directed by a licensed early childhood development professional, and two qualified teaching assistants.

In addition to outstanding public schools in Saratoga, these private schools enhance the value of real estate and community in Sartoga, CA 95070.

Rick Bonetti | Alain Pinel Realtors | 408-857-8800

* LGHS grew from an API of 846 to 874 (+28)
* SHS grew from an API of 928 to 933 (+5)
* The District API grew from 876 to 897 (+21)

Saratoga, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno have two of the best high schools in California! Thank you to our students, staff and administrators for your hard work – you have built a culture of excellence. And thank you to our community for your continued support!

For more information about District and state API scores, go to http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/

Saratoga School currently has a stunning API score of 952, one of the highest in the state.

Saratoga High School was not completed when I was a boy, so I went to Los Gatos High School.

Click >here for a video about Saratoga High School, produced by the students.