I’ve looked at the High schools throughout my time here–not systematically–but just when I’ve been curious about them. It’s a lot easier now since people publish the list of where seniors have been admitted on the web!
For example,
Bellarmine: News Bellarmine Preparatory School
Menlo-Atherton: http://www.mabears.org/+uploaded/file_470.pdf
Woodside High School: http://woodsidehs.org/+uploaded/file_25133.pdf
To get more detailed information on schools, I use school digger:
School digger does not use the old API test scores. It use the latest Smarter Balanced tests scores. Latest update was September 2015. This is the result where state provides % of students that exceed standard, met standard, nearly met, and did not meet. School digger than rate the school based on percentile.
Just be aware of the latest Smarter Balanced testing result can be extremely limited. I read that my local school district, <50% of high school students actually took Smarter Balanced test. Most students opted out. Not sure if that skewed the score up or down.
my own life experience as well.
Ah ok, @tomhVallejo, let’s explore this subject more. Do you have kids? If so, do you “spoil” them? I can understand the concept that you don’t want your kids to go through what you did and you want your kids to have fun of course but again do you end up actually potentially hurting your kids by killing or not building that hunger drive you want from your kids??? Yes, classic double edged sword, I get it.
No kids. Grown step and grand kids.
My growing up was easy actually. Middle class, BA suburb. “The Wonder Years”. Of course, like all kids, I didn’t see it as easy then. I had parents that loved me enough to be stricter than most of the neighborhood parents. I thought they were the parents from hell. Until I was about 30 years old. 
No, I try hard not to spoil my grand kids. But in at least one case, it’s a losing battle as there is such a large, extended, child/grandchild-less, well off trust fund family around her that, she is going to be spoiled no matter what I do. I worry about that. But, there is little I can do.
When I referred to “my own life experience” I was thinking of high school and college and the other students I knew predominately. I went to public school through all of grade school. It kept me humble.
But, I ended up in a well known, parochial high school with a mix of students from well off families from Alamo, Walnut Creek, etc. and kids from less fortunate communities like West Pittsburg or Oakland who got in through Christian Brother’s charities. I was “in the middle”. What I have observed over time is that the latter group seems to be more successful in life than the former. And, while I was in high school, I watched many in the first group self-destruct because, in simplistic terms, they’d had everything handed to them by loving, permisive parents who didn’t understand that they were taking away the incentive for self development in their children by spoiling them so.
Looking back some 40 years later, I can see that many of those from leaner backgrounds have managed to do quite well for themselves driven by what you refer to as hunger.
And, I attended UC Davis and encountered something similar. Many of the students I met my first year there were from the vaunted, Acalanes School District as well as a contingent from West Hollywood. Compared to me, most were brilliant. But, like those "rich kids’ from high school, combined with the social mores of the time, they self-destructed under the pressure of college. Whereas, students from a less fortunate background that I knew, especially those that were working and going to school as I was, focused on their academic and career goals and did very well for themselves.
And yes, IMHO hovering over your kids and demanding they do as you say and perform at a level you dictate is as likely to result in failure later in life as ignoring them.
I guess the best way to explain my view/experience on the matter is that parents that encourage kids to be independent and find their own way while providing enough guidance to keep them from falling off a cliff are the best parents and present the best chance of having those kids turn out to be well adjusted adults, successful in whatever why they define success.
At least that’s been my own life experience. But then again, what do I know? 
Please post the address if and when approrpiate
313 Silvera St milpitas.
I think it’s sold for 785k (we’ll see after close) but more homes are coming into market, buyers market is almost here guys!!
I may come across strongly opinionated, but one thing I value considerably is the ACTUAL experiences of older people in general. They have insight that no wipper snapper kid can ever provide me.
It is a generalization but I am NOT impressed with most young people. Very short sighted and frankly lazy. They are not willing to work for it. Period.
sfdragonboy
I don’t consider you opinionated. It seems to me you just state your
case vigorously. There is nothing wrong with that!
I really enjoy the banter on this forum. As long as it doesn’t devolve
into personal attacks. Which it seldom has.
Like you, I can come across as opinionated. But, I am really more open
minded than I may seem. It’s just the strong way I frequently state my
case I guess. And, as wonderful as the internet is, the lack of facial
expression, voice tone and the ability to banter quickly in real time
makes meaningful discussion difficult.
There are some things I’m passionate about which you can probably tell
by my posts. One of those is the general acceptance of a patriarchal
government structure. The “nanny state”. Why on earth people will
trash the wealthy or profitable corporations as being greedy, uncaring
and just bad overall but turn around and say that government is good and
regulation enforced by government will make life more “fair” is
unfathomable to me. History is littered with well intended regulatory
actions that had negative consequences.
Both corporations and governmental agencies are organizations comprised
of human beings. Those, both are fallible. As fallible as the people
who work at them.
I worked for many years in the “greedy” private sector and have spent
the last nineteen years in local government. The malfeasance,
inefficiency and yes, “unfairness” I’ve seen in government is far worse
than anything I saw in the private sector.
Sometimes, people here on the forum have said things that challenged my
views and caused me to think really hard about why I have presented what
I have and whether I am being open minded about other’s views. IMHO,
being challenged and having to review one’s position is a good thing!
You can either be persuaded to see things differently and change or, one
can bolster their position and defend it more vigorously because of this.
I frequently don’t understand young people today. That’s not to say
there is anything wrong with them. I just don’t “get it” sometimes. I
know my parents and grand parents felt the same way about my generation
when we were kids. But when I feel this way about today’s youth myself,
I feel old. And maybe irrelevant. I’ve never respected my elders more
than I have now, as I approach 60 myself. Whereas there were times in
my life I may have dismissed their opinions as being outdated or
outmoded, I now see that they very well may have known what they were
talking about and that I perhaps should have listened to them and
respected their experience more than I did. Now, I know how they felt!
Having young people such as you express their thoughts and opinions on
forums such as this is a good thing. We are communicating. That’s a lot
better than just ignoring or tolerating each other.
Keep on sharing!
Hmmm, you have become like buyinghouse kind of person, too long to read…
So Jil, you are saying you have a restricted attention span? 
Sometimes, three bullet points just won’t cut it. I know that isn’t popular sentiment in today’s culture of instant gratification. But the results are apparent in what our public schools are turning out. Reading comprehension and deep thought are dead. I guess that’s why I find so many of my coworkers mindlessly texting, tweeting and playing games on their computers instead of doing productive work.
Actually, that response I originally sent in reply to an email in my inbox. I thought it was a private exchange between sfdragon boy and myself. However, it was returned as undeliverable and I dropped. But then last night, realizing that his original post to me was on this forum, I decided that might response might be as well.
I take no offense to anyone not reading any of my posts. I might be offended if they try to engage in argument without reading them though. 
Shorter is better…we live in the Twitter age…The average American has the attention span of a Cocker Spaniel
Work ethic is a being bred out of America…we see sports stars and even Technology stars like Gates, Jobs and Zuckerman drop out of college and get rich…why work hard?..hope foe a miracle instead…besides thanks to the social safety net you can do absolutely nothing and survive…or you can work your ass off and the government takes half your earnings…kind of destroys the puritan work ethic thing…
Which ones? 
Half CA pays state income tax, half dont…If we all did the rate would be lower…
Oops, sorry, @tomhVallejo. Aah, we all family now, you can say what you want out in the open but as family you do want to be reasonable whenever possible.
Not your fault sfdragonboy. It was my unfamiliarity with the new service that manch has so graciously set up for us.
I didn’t write anything I wouldn’t say to all. I was just thinking they wouldn’t be interested as we had strayed too far off topic.
But then, Jil proved me wrong. 
But, but, but you know, the rich half can afford to pay taxes. So Bernie’s people can get the help they need. 
Are you saying Gates, Jobs and Zuckerman did not work hard? Or they just got lucky?
Percentage of people going to college & finishing a Bachelor’s degree is at an all time high today.
Maybe that is the problem, people are getting degrees but they aren’t doing anything (unlike Gates, Jobs, and Zuckerberg who did so without the paper)…
Some of you may disagree, but if I had kids, I would say go learn a trade if you can’t find your way in the books. Electricians, plumbers, etc make decent money and are always needed.
