Olinda Elementary School

Olinda Elementary is a gem in the school district. Thanks to the City of Richmond who had the foresight and commitment to keep such a great institution open, Olinda is around to be recognized as a Ca. Distinguished school this year (and I bet for many years to come). My daughter has had many amazing teachers - not all the time, but enough to make a difference. The new principal seems very experienced and focused, and I'm excited to see how well the school would do under her leadership.
--Submitted by a parent

Olinda is a 2012 California Distinguished. The community involvement, parent participation, great leadership, and outstanding teachers ensure an outstanding education for our children. Congratulations to all!
--Submitted by a parent

Great school my son goes there and he is happy, teacher are great and parents envolment in school is also grat
--Submitted by a parent

I am responding to the post on 11-19 about dysfunctionality. We've had principals leave because the state budget cut threatened their job, retired, took a lesser commute job with another district. We probably missed out on principals wanting to keep a career join us because of the closure threat a few years ago. This turnover does allow potential handpicking by teachers to fall through the cracks due to transition, but I doubt this is exclusive to Olinda. The district could do a better job managing principal transitions to make sure this doesn't happen. Despite constant changing of principals, and the parent's claim of ethnic profiling, Olinda stayed within the top 5 schools in our district, never dropped below 827 in API and are 1 of 2 final candidates for CA distinguished school award in our district this year. To qualify, a school has to meet overall API, and also sub-group growth. And ethnic is a sub-group. So not only should you think twice but maybe ask three times before you dismiss a potentially good education for your child by not choosing Olinda.
--Submitted by a parent

This is a great school. When I brought my 5 year old daughter to kinder class last August 2009, she knows nothing, one reason is because she didn't attend a pre-school. As of this time (Jan, 2010), she could read, write sentences, count up to 120, count backwards, count by 10's and she could do her Math (addition) without any help. Congrats to Mrs. Lau. Thank you. What you have done to my daughter is amazing. Thank you very muc.
--Submitted by a parent

We have been at Olinda for 4 years. Overall we are very pleased with the school - especially given the district it is in. The student population is very diverse - both in ethnicity and social economic status. The parents are involved, bringing many programs (in and after class) to campus over the last 3 years. There were science, art, music, & international languages; arranged by parent volunteers and partially subsidized by donations. We had 3 principals in 3 years, but now there's finally stability. If we could just get the District to recognize and value how Olinda helps to provide quality education to all, we would be doing better as a district.
--Submitted by a parent

Terrific parental involvement and excellent teachers make it an excellent place for kids to learn and the test scores reflect that. Unfortunately, the decision making at the district level has not always been the best. However, as long as the West Contra Costa School Districts keeps in mind the fact the their primary job is to provide an outstanding education to children, Olinda will continue to be an outstanding school.
--Submitted by a parent

Excellent school. Teachers who care about their students. Parents who care about their childrens education. Students who love coming to class everyday. The discipline at the school is above average and the kids really enjoy learning and just being where they are. Scores reflect all of the above positive things about this school. We had checked out at least 4 private schools in the area and found Olinda to exceed in every part of our childs education. We are hoping that it will continue to be the exceptional school that it is and always will be. We are proud to have our child attend Olinda.
--Submitted by a parent

Had problems last year when my son was in the fourth grade and pulled him out, sent him to another school for a few months. Now, we are back, have the greatest teacher ever (Mr. Kresch) and are totally satisfied! Olinda remains a great school!! And, I had my doubts... Jona Boothe-Aguirre
--Submitted by Jona, a parent

This is our first year at Olinda. I have been very pleasantly pleased. The parent involvement is great. The PTA is strong and very involved with the school. They provide binders for the children to keep them organized, after school activities funded by the PTA such as art and many other things. The teachers and other staff are very friendly and our experience so far has been wonderful. My son transfered from Murphy Elem where he had attended since kindergarden and we were afraid the change would be hard. It has been quite differant, my fifth grader is happy to get up in the morning and go to school, He enjoys his teacher and children attending. Everything has been totally positive. I would have transfered him many years ago if I would have know how much better he would like it. Thank-you to Olinda school.
--Submitted by a parent