Hi guys, I’m reposting my thread from OC real estate here - didn’t see the Schools thread first:

So we are considering buying a house in either of these neighborhoods:

- Woodbridge
- Westpark
- Oak Creek
- Woodbury
- Turtle Ridge
- Newport Coast

The question is, if school quality is our #1 priority, which school district (and possibly neighborhood) you do recommend. API tells me that IUSD is a bit better than NMUSD, but I am hesitant to base my decision on numbers alone. Also, we have toddlers, so elementary schools (and preschool programs) are our focus here.

Thanks!

This was a slightly older post, but my sons went to school in NMUSD near Newport Coast and now attend in Irvine.  The two districts cannot even be compared beyond the elementary schools!  My sons attended school in Newport & Eastside Costa Mesa - the elementary’s (specifically Woodland Elem = Kinder-2nd Grade, Kaiser Elem = 3rd Grade - 6th Grade) were GREAT!  They have an “Art Masters” art program that brings in college level instruction, the parents are VERY involved and the PTA is well supported which seems to equal excellent after-school programs. 

However, once they get to the Junior High and higher level, the Newport Coast parents mostly put their children into private school.  The ones that are left are primarily the party-parents (i.e. the ones that milked their HELOCs to impress their friends and are now working 2-3 jobs IF they still have their homes) who do not pay much attention to their kids and hand them cash to keep them busy and out of their hair.  My oldest son actually BEGGED me to transfer him (when discussing the merits of Irvine vs. Costa Mesa, as we had been in Irvine previously) and said “Mom, I know kids do drugs everywhere, but the kids I know in CM are making bad choices, and the ones I know in Irvine aren’t!”

I have friends with High School-aged children and many have either moved, or their kids are in OSHA.  The other few (who attend Newport Harbor) are kept EXTREMELY busy between sailing (if your children are into sailing, then this area may be worth consideration, the Newport Harbor program is AMAZING!) and other sports so that they do not have time to get into trouble.  Much of it will depend on the personality of your children too, so be brutally honest with yourself.  My youngest son will go anyplace and excel, my older son is an above-average student, but his social standing is a major deal to him, so that took me back to Irvine in a hot second!  Hope that helps!

with newport mesa you can’t look at the district as a whole, rather you have to look at the individual schools.

In terms of academics, you cannot go wrong with Irvine schools.  But frankly, a kid can do well in almost any school in Orange County.  If it was my choice, any school with an API score of over 800 should be more than fine.

Oxford Academy     982
Troy High School     917
University High School     897
Northwood High School     874
Orange County High School of the Arts     871
Corona Del Mar High School     863
Early College High School     861
Sunny Hills High School     855
Fountain Valley High School     854
Middle College High School     851
Los Alamitos High School     851
La Quinta High School     849
Irvine High School     848
Laguna Hills High School     848
Mission Viejo High School     845
Woodbridge High School     844
Cypress High School     843
Tesoro High School     836
Edison High School     835
Laguna Beach High School     834
Orange Coast Middle College High School     833
Esperanza High School     832
Arnold O. Beckman High School     826
Dana Hills High School     825
Aliso Niguel High School     825
Trabuco Hills High School     823
Huntington Beach High School     823
San Clemente High School     817
El Toro High School     815
Alternative Education-San Joaquin High School     814
Marina High School     812
Canyon High School     812
Capistrano Valley High School     812
El Dorado High School     811
Brea-Olinda High School     804
Villa Park High School     802

Thanks for all the helpful info guys. The NPC neighborhood we are looking at is served by Newport Coast ES and Corona Del Mar HS, and both seems to be doing fine in terms of API. The OC Register’s ranking for Newport Coast ES (our focus for the next few years) is also quite high. However, Jenyfurg account of the later years at high school makes me a bit hesitant… I think our strategy will be to give Irvine precedence over NPC, but we will keep an eye on NPC market as well, in case a really, really nice house with good price came our way.

I wouldn’t worry so much about the high school level.  I think that you family attitude will shape your kid, and their personalities are pretty well established by the time HS rolls around.  So long as they are at a HS that provides the opportunities (ap courses, etc) a good kid can do well almost anywhere.

In fact, a good, above average kid might have a harder time at Uni than at CDM.

I agree that family attitude will go very far, but environment definitely plays a HUGE role as they are beginning to declare independence!  Like I said, if it was my younger son, it would be a slightly different story, but my oldest definitely cares a lot more about what people think, so that made Irvine the “safer” choice.  The point about CDM High vs. Uni is a very good point, though!  My son will attend Woodbridge for that very reason - we had the choice as we are right at the border.  I have to say that the quality of parents in Irvine has seemed a lot better/more consistent.  Most people who move here look at the quality of education, so it is important, and that clearly has an impact on the students/schools that the general population holds education as a higher priority than many other OC locations.