It's back-to-school time in the SFV. What does that have to do with real estate? Plenty.

Public neighborhood schools have a huge impact on community desirability and housing values. Many home buyers face the dilemma of paying higher home purchase prices to get their child into a good public school, or else paying a premium to send their child to a private schools. Although public elementary schools in Burbank, Toluca Lake and Studio City all have pretty high ratings, other areas have superior schools too.  Remember that schools with the highest rankings tend to have more extra study programs and enrichment programs, which are often paid for by the children's parents. And parental involvement in children's education is also key.  A home's local school can be found on the LAUSD website. For SFV school ratings, including the Burbank and Glendale areas, please visit this website: http://school-ratings.com/cities/San_Fernando_Valley.html.

Thinking about moving to get your kid in a great LAUSD school? Read this first.

This appeared on the editorial page of today's L.A. Times, and describes -- sort of -- the point system that's used to select children for the "better" LAUSD schools.  Yikes! I'm glad that I have cats instead of children.

Elementary Schools in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Valley Village

I just did a little research on GreatSchools.net regarding public elementary schools in Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Valley Village.  We all know that Carpenter is a fantastic elementary school, but my client and I are looking for other schools in areas outside the Carpenter boundaries.  GreatSchools.net isn't the be-all and end-all of school research, and some of the schools below have very high APIs even though they didn't rate as high as Carpenter.  But anyway, here's what I learned.
Carpenter has a "9" rating.
Rio Vista has a "7."
Dixie Canyon is "8."
Riverside Elementary is "7."
The biggest surprise: Colfax Charter is a "9."

LAUSD and Charter Schools, from friend Sheila

What's a charter school?  What's a magnet?  How do they compare with LAUSD schools in the San Fernando Valley?  I get these questions all the time.  I've asked friend Sheila, mother of a 7 year old in a Northridge Charter, for websites and info.  Here's her (as always hilarious) response:

The charter thing...hmmm. It's like this: if you want to go to a charter school, you go to the California Charter Schools Association and scroll through the thousands of them in CA. That's about the only way to find out about all of them, since LAUSD would rather they didn't exist at all. If you want to know the process, you usually have to contact each school you might be interested in. They are almost all, as far as I know, done by lottery, and the due dates vary but are usually in Feb. or March. Since they are technically 'public', that is, they get funds from the local school district, they cannot act like a private school and pick and choose who they want (wink). Yeah, right. Where can you find out more info on charter schools? That's about the only place I know, that Ca Charter Schools website. LAUSD.net would have very little info, I think. Magnet schools are popular with the school districts because they still maintain control over budgets and curriculum. What makes them a "magnet" is that locally, they were performing so crappy or the parents were unhappy with the school's direction, so they petitioned the school district to make the school some have some kind of bullshit designation (i.e., technology/math, science, high ability). I say bullshit because at the elementary level, there is really no difference in instruction, funding, or facilities, except for the teachers they might attract to the school. That's about it.

Thanks, S!  I'm learning a lot from you.

Cosmetic fixer in excellent Burbank public school system

I've been blogging about listing this 3 bedroom, 1 bath cosmetic fixer for some time now and here it finally is. It will actually list Tuesday for $489,000, and the address is 2845 N. Lincoln, Burbank, 91504. Here's the description: This original 3 bedroom, 1 bath Burbank home just needs some updating to make it shine. Built in 1950, it features 1112 sq. ft, spacious sunny kitchen, separate laundry area, dining area, fp, hardwood floors waiting for finishing, covered patio, big green backyard (6050 sf) with fruit trees, and detached two-car garage. Plus, look no farther for excellent public schools* – Jefferson Elementary and Muir Middle are two of the best in the county! This great neighborhood is also close to entertainment, transportation and the studios. Bring your decorating talent and create a showplace or add square footage to make this your dream home. The first public open house will be Sunday, August 2, from 2:00 to 5:00.

*Seriously, folks, if you have kids that you don't want to send to private school, and if you've been reading the news about how California state is going to take even more money away from LAUSD, consider the Burbank public school system and especially this elementary and middle school. Because it is its own district and not part of LAUSD, BUSD will be providing excellent public education into the foreseeable future. Check out the Burbank school ratings on GreatSchools.net.

L.A. schools, real estate, and Sandra Tsing Loh

If you've read this blog before, you know that I have harped and harped on how much value good public schools can add to a neighborhood's real estate. It's one of the reasons that Burbank real estate continues to be desireable -- the schools are great. Along these lines, my favorite L.A. humorist, Sandra Tsing Loh, has just released a book entitled "Mother on Fire" about her experiences with L.A.'s public schools. While I haven't yet read the book (can't wait!), I know that Loh has been a long-time advocate and source of info about the LAUSD magnet, charter, and plain old public school programs, and Loh's own daughters go to a magnet school in Van Nuys. Loh's website also contains several local school links that you might want to check out, as well.