The FUHSD schools do a GREAT job of preparing kids for the UC and CSU systems which are as good as any in the US with 90%+ going to college. The vast majority of kids however end up going to UCs. Getting a good enough GPA is VERY PAINFULLY HARD at Monta Vista, yet even if you do get a 4+ GPA, the school will not release student rank and tends to give negatively biased recommendations to chinese and Indian kids especially girls. On the other hand 3.6 GPA smiling boys are hugged on stage by the FUHSD head of the board. You can guess how the recommendations went!

So if your kid is top class smart but not good as smoozing the principal and counsellors, send to a #2 school like Cupertino high or Los Gatos. But you would be even better off with private schools. However you have to be careful as Harker in particular seems to hurt the chances of Indian and Chinese girls seem to me to be hurt as much as in Monta Vista. They ALSO end up going to UCs as the top IVY recommendations seem to be handed out to 'favorites'. This is not really biased but a calculated method (perhaps conspiracy - wink-wink :) between IVY & Private schools.

Basically if you don't know enough to play the game, get a private counsellor as early as 8th grade. It is very worth it, as both private and public counsellors either don't know anything or won't do anything for your smart kids. Liberal public schools seem to be bent to the lowest common denominator, etc. Don't expect the over-crowded public schools to serve your child in this regard.

If you are looking for a FRIENDLY school to send your kids to Ivy colleges, however Monta Vista hurts the best kids as the counsellors and principal are too busy or give recommendations based on their limited personal contacts. Even small catholic schools give far better recommendations and understand the IVY system better.

Bottom line, you may consider put the house money in a private high school and/or private college counsellors.

Mariano,

If you put alot of value in standardized testing, then according to the newest released (May 21 2008) base API scores, Faria elementary is the best with a base API score of 995. Most of Cupertino's schools are excellent. If I had to avoid any, it would be nimitz and de vargas elementary. Here is a link to the API scores for all of Santa Clara County schools: http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2008/2007Base_Co.aspx?cYear=&am… As a school district, Los Altos elementary school district has the higest scores district wide followed closely by Saratoga. Good luck.

Would you like to know about Elementary, Middle or High schools? Of course, the term Best can be defined for you in terms of what you are looking for, for your child. Is it only academics, or above and beyond that? Are after school and extra curricular activities also important and relevant in the all-round development of your child. There are so many criterias that can define Best for you and your family. I live, work as a full time Realtor, have children in Cupertino schools and am involved with the community in Cupertino. I can guide you well, as per your needs.
So,please call me 408-7773823, Nina Daruwalla, and we can talk. Have a great day.

Please visit my website at http://www.CherylBarcelona.com I have a school link that shows you all of the school API scores. There are many great schools in Cupertino, but sending your child to a particular one depends on what area of Cupertino you want to live in and how much house you can afford to buy. Of course, the better the school the more expensive the home price will be.

We are in cupertino for last 6 years and my daughters goto Collins since then. I am personally very happy with this school. I also know garden gate and dilworth parents who are very happy with their schools. But friend of ours who moved from NJ to Ca moved back to NJ as he felt very strongly that east coast school standard is much higher. One thing you want to watch out though is overcrowding in all thes schools. More people are moving in because of good school district but CUSD is running out of space in all these schools. We are getting more portable classrooms to accomodate all of them. I feel school district needs to plan for this growth better else standard won't remain high for too long.

Are you considering an elementry school? a middle school? a high school? a private christian school? Most home owners love Lynbrook high school and Monta Vista high school. Faria elementry school is very popular as well. Challenger private schools are many families favorites.

http://www.888siliconValley.com
http://www.siliconValleyPropertySearch.com
http://www.realtorAmir.com

You can also reference http://SchoolMatters.com

How old are your children and what is your budget? Generally, West San Jose with Cupertino Schools are less expensive than Cupertino with Monta Vista and both are more expensive than Cupertino with Cupertino High.

There are so many good schools in Cupertino. I and my team specialize in Lynbrook High & Cupertino Schools homes. I keep a link on my website http://(www.lynbrookhighhomes.com) that connects to Great Schools http://(www.greatschools.net). You'll see API & a lot more data, including parent comments. I have lots of past & present clients in these schools, if you'd like to connect with people with personal experience.

Hopes this helps.

http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2007/2007GrthAPIdst.aspx?cYear=…

Hello Mariano,
That's a great question - Monta Vista High School had the top API score in 2006 at 911. In the 2007 school year, Lynbrook High School has a target API of 911 and Monta Vista has a target of 900. So these two shools are neck-in-neck in terms of academic performance.
You can research schools and see the list of API scores for all the schools in Santa Clara County on my Website, the link is below, and then click on "School Information" in the navigation bar on the left.
Good luck!
-Bart