Admissions FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Prospect Sierra accredited?
Accreditation by CAIS is an important element in maintaining overall school quality and involves adherence to comprehensive standards of good practice.
Prospect Sierra is an accredited member of the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS). Accreditation takes place every six years. After an extensive self-study, Prospect Sierra was re-accredited for the full six-year term in spring of 2005.
Prospect Sierra is also a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Educational Records Bureau (ERB).
Prospect Sierra maintains a strong affiliation with the East Bay Independent Schools Association (EBISA), the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute (BATTI), and People of Color in Independent Schools (POCIS).
Prospect Sierra has been designated as Green Certified by the Contra Costa Green Business Program.
What information do you have about your student
body?
For the 2009-2010 school year, Prospect Sierra has enrolled 452 students (361 families) in grades K-8: 243 girls and 209 boys; 219 elementary school students and 233 middle school students.
Diversity
Diversity is valued at Prospect Sierra. The school community includes traditional nuclear families as well as blended families, adoptive families, and families headed by gay/lesbian parents, single parents, and grandparents.
Geographic diversity
- Our families live in 30 different zip codes in 15 cities between San Leandro and American Canyon. Most families come from Berkeley, followed by El Cerrito, Kensington, Richmond, Oakland, and Albany.
- Applicants for kindergarten this past year came from 57 preschools and schools. We enrolled children from 35 of them.
- Applicants for the middle school this past year came from 56 elementary schools. We enrolled students from 14 of them.
Ethnic diversity
Children of color comprise just over 42% of our student body. 63% of the students of color are multiracial — 27% of the school population.
Socioeconomic diversity
The school embraces a broad range of families, due in part to our generous financial assistance budget, some $1,495,000 for the 2009-2010 school year. This is about 12% of the school's annual expenditures. Of our student population, 34% receive financial assistance of some kind. The grants vary in size depending on individual family needs. This program accommodates middle as well as low-income families.
What is your class size?
Enrollment is designed for up to 24 students per section in grades K-5, and 22-23 per section in grades 6-8.
What is the student-teacher ratio?
The student-teacher ratio at Prospect Sierra is 8 to 1. Grades K-2 classes have a teacher and a full-time assistant teacher or two co-teachers in each class. Third and fourth grades have decreasing amounts of assistant teacher time and increased specialist time. All grades have specialist teachers who enrich the program.
What specialist classes do students attend?
As Prospect Sierra students progress from kindergarten to higher grades, more specialist time is added to their weekly schedules. Specialists teach art, drama, music, physical education, library, science, technology, math, and world languages.
Seventh and eighth grades are advisory based. Each subject is taught by a specialist in that field while an advisor oversees the school life for each student. This approach reflects one of the many ways students are prepared for the challenges of high school.
What world languages are offered, and at what
grade level does instruction begin?
Prospect Sierra offers French and Spanish beginning in the fifth grade. Kindergarteners through fourth graders are exposed to different languages both in their classrooms as well as with their specialists.
Mandarin is offered as an AfterSchool enrichment class for elementary and middle school students.
Why do you have a grade 5-8 middle school configuration?
This configuration is developmentally appropriate for early adolescence. What makes it work so well is the partnering of the fifth and sixth grades, which are homeroom-based, and seventh and eighth grades, which are advisory-based. The fifth and sixth-graders maintain a primary bond with their homeroom teacher, while having access to the more age-appropriate resources of the middle school.
The focus in seventh and eighth grades is on the continued promotion of independence and self-reliance. These values are encouraged through the advisory-based structure. Students learn to navigate a specialist class schedule while developing a trusting bond with an advisory group.
Prospect Sierra is known for its exceptionally
strong faculty. What accounts for this reputation?
Our outstanding faculty is essential to the everyday success of Prospect Sierra students. The mixture of experience and energy makes for a dynamic learning environment for our students. Our recruiting efforts are nationwide. We attract top teaching candidates for a number of reasons.
- Ongoing collaboration with other dedicated and talented teachers
- A very attractive salary schedule and benefits package
- An enriched teaching environment
- Strong school support for professional development
How do Prospect Sierra students do on
standardized tests?
We administer the ERB (Educational Records Bureau) tests mandated by the National Association of Independent Schools. Students take this test in November of each year, beginning in the third grade. In the elementary school, testing gives students exposure to the format and experience of standardized tests. Over time, students learn skills and gain confidence that allow them to perform at their personal best. By the time they apply to high school in the eighth grade, test scores cluster around the 90th percentile when normed against scores from other independent schools across the nation.
Where do Prospect Sierra students go to
high school?
Prospect Sierra graduates are well-regarded by high school admissions officers. In different years, graduating classes have sought different high school experiences. In some years, more students wanted to attend public high schools. In other years more attended independent high schools, located throughout the Bay Area. Approximately half of the graduates in 2009 chose independent schools and virtually all were admitted to their first or second choice school.
What are the points of entry at Prospect
Sierra School? Is it possible to enter at the other grades?
Prospect Sierra has two sections of grades K-5 and three sections of grades 6-8. We admit up to 48 new kindergartners and up to 22 new sixth-graders each year. Kindergarten and sixth grade represent the two main points of entry to the school. However, in a school of this size, there is often movement from year to year, as families relocate, are transferred, or take sabbaticals. While we cannot predict the number of openings, we are sure to have some places available in the other grades each year.
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