Since none of the real estate professionals actually answered the question, I will. Most schools list their district boundaries on their web sites. It's not always easy to find. Here are a few:

Menlo Park City District
http://www.mpcsd.org/pdf/09KRegisInformation.pdf

Menlo Park Las Lomitas (bad map)
http://www.llesd.k12.ca.us/map_of_district.htm

San Carlos
http://sancarlos.k12.ca.us/all_pdf/Registration/StreetListin…

Belmont
http://www.belmont.k12.ca.us/main/district/att-area.html

Burlingame
http://tinyurl.com/y9glqkn or
http://bsd.k12.ca.us/

Link to all the San Mateo county district home pages:
http://www.smcoe.k12.ca.us/apps/page.asp?Q=Districts

Trulia is a professional real estate forum your expert resource contacting school ISD direct any information is considered hear say

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The best way to determine which school your child will be able to attend is to contact the school district directly. The areas you mention are excellent, but I wanted to drop in another choice for you to consider. Pleasanton, CA. Pleasanton has top rated, award winning schools, a charming downtown and tends to be more affordable than many areas on the Peninsula. Pleasanton has been named the richest mid-sized city in the country, and its East Bay location, near BART, at the 580/680 interchange, makes it a great location whether you're commuting to Silicon Valley or San Francisco, or travelling to Tahoe or Santa Cruz. Great location, great weather, beautiful downtown, etc. It's a great place to live. Homes are priced from about $550k up to $2m+++. Mid range is in the $800k to $1.2m range or so.

You can see some of the listings we have at http://www.FabulousProperties.net. I'd be happy to tour you around town anytime.

Kindergarden enrollment is actually in the beginning of February for most schools, for which you have to provide proof of residence in the form of a utility bill. Waiting until the spring/summer lessens your chances for a particular school.

Hello Newhomebuyer and thanks for your post.

Let me speak to Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Cupertino and Los Altos, as my colleagues have already covered other areas. As with other areas along the Peninsula, enrollment in some of the best schools in each district is quite impacted, and there is no guarantee whatsoever that the school noted on the district's website will be able to accommodate your child. This is why, for parents here in Northern California, many begin the house search in earnest in the early part of Spring, and try to be in the new home by May to enroll their child in the local school before the end of the school year. Often waiting until the start of the new school year is too late to secure a place in a highly coveted school.

Here in California, schools receive a rating called an API or Academic Performance Index, which ranks school on a point scale of 100-1000 with the higher numbers indicating a greater proficiency by students in academic performance. Some of the better schools have APIs in excess of 800-900 points, and are some of the most sought-after schools in California. To see a school's API for 2008, check out the California Department of Education website at http://api.cde.ca.gov

The Cupertino School District, which serves parts of Los Altos, Santa Clara, San Jose, and Sunnyvale, and all of the City of Cupertino is an award winning school district. The areas of Sunnyvale that have Cupertino schools tends to be the more highly prized section of Sunnyvale. For more information about schools in the Cupertino Union School District see http://cupertino.ca.campusgrid.net/home.

The areas of Sunnyvale that do not fall within the Cupertino School District are served by the Sunnyvale School or the Santa Clara School District. Some of the schools with the highest APIs in Sunnyvale include Cherry Chase Elementary and Cumberland Elementary. Sunnyvale's website can be found at http://www.sesd.org. For areas near Fremont Avenue and Wolfe Road, the district changes to Santa Clara Unified School District and you can find information about the schools here at http://www.santaclarausd.org.

Los Altos, another highly prized area, is known both for their luxury homes and for their excellent schools and academic programs. Los Altos School district serves all of Los Altos and portions of Mountain View near El Camino Real. The areas within Mountain View that qualify for the Los Altos School District are highly desirable by those hoping to attend Los Altos Schools while paying Mountain View home prices. Mountain View and Los Altos also share a high school and a large majority of Los Altos residents will attend the Mountain View Los Altos High School. To learn more about Los Altos, see their website at http://www.losaltos.k12.ca.us

I hope this provides you with some additional information about schools and locations in the southern end of the peninsula. Good luck and welcome to California!

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Area Pro Realty
Sunnyvale, CA

Dear Peninsual Home Buyer

Although you purchase a home in a certain neighborhood it does not always guarantee that there will be space for your children.. Meno Park has some of the best public schools available along with Burlingame and Hillsborough. I am not that familar with Sunnyvale so I can speak for their school system. What I know about Burlingame, Hillsborough and Menlo Park, the school district will do their best to get you into your neighborood school. If you are not able to get in at the time of your move, they will make sure it happens shortly and they will place your family in another great school close by, Sometimes the families end up staying in the alternate school as their children have made friends and the program and quality of the education is equal.. Check into http://www.greatschools.com and learn more about the schools, it may help you determine where you want to live. I would love to work with you in the event you are not currently working with a real estate agent. Good Luck to you!

Regards
denise laugesen
#1 Producing Agent
Cashin Company
Direct Line: 650-403-6225
Web: http://www.deniselaugesenteam.com
Email: deniselaugesen@comcast.net
DRE: 01011089

The absolute best resource for for school districe information is the school district itself. Contact the district office for reliable information.

Good luck

Excellent question. You are right about certain schools being impacted. In fact, most brokerages even have a disclosure document spelling this out in more detail for buyers.

To answer your question, each school district usually has a link on their website which will tell you the particular home in which you are interested.

For example, information about the school district boundaries for Menlo Park can be found at tinyurl.com/yczel68. Burlingame's school boundaries can be found at tinyurl.com/ycm4r86, San Mateo's at tinyurl.com/yd7r72n, etc.

A Realtor who is heavily involved in the local school community through relationships with the school board, PTO, and the superintendent in the area in which you are interested will be able to provide you invaluable real time advice on the schools in the neighborhoods that appeal to you. I think you would also find contacting the new member chair at the Parent's Club of Palo Alto & Menlo Park would be an excellent resource for you as well (bigtent.com/groups/pamp/).

Welcome to the peninsula!

Cheers,
Raziel

Hi New Homebuyer,

You should be looking for a home with a licensed Realtor. We all have maps that we can tell you if a specific home lies within the boundaries.

I don't think there is an online checker or resource that currently has an accurate representation of this information.

A good Realtor should take in your children's age, learning style, strengths and weaknesses to give you an idea what neighborhoods might be best for your family as a whole. They will eliminate neighborhoods that are too expensive for your budget and/or schools that are just mediocre. You will learn that we don't have many "bad" schools on the Peninsula.

If you would like to find a home with a home that fits your children's academic needs, contact me any way you desire.

Brendan Aiello – Cashin Company Realtors
DRE # 01860602
AielloB@gmail.com
(650) 403-6262
Twitter: @BrendanAiello
http://www.BrendanAiello.com
http://www.TeamTapper.com

Your realtor can search and show you homes in a certain school district. You need to check in with the school districts too when you have your search narrowed down to confirm. http://www.Greatschools.net is a good location for more info, test scores etc. Let me know if you need any more help.

Glen Mitchell
Real Estate Broker