Hi Lowell,

I would agree with checking out the list below. As more of a, "off-the-top-of-my-head" kind of answer, Point Loma has some great schools, Carmel Valley/Del Mar, La Jolla, and La Mesa are all some great options. I realize you are looking to get closer to downtown, so Point Loma may be worth considering. They have a great high-tech high school over there.

Lowell,
You got a great answer from Jeffrey and here are some other links to research neighborhoods and schools.
http://neighborhoods.realtor.com/San-diego/2306/Metro and
http://fredeckertgroup.com/template20/nextpage.asp?mnu=49318 and
http://www.chicagotitlesd.com/october08/APIGrowthBaseRank2008.pdf and
http://www.chicagotitlesd.com/may05/SDCountySchoolDistricts.pdf
You will love the San Diego Area.

Hi Lowell,

I have posted a link below to the top API school scores for San Diego including the full report.