Ruby Bridges Elementary School

351 Jack London Avenue

School District

Alameda Unified
Grade

K-5
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:20
Type

public

School Map for Alameda Unified School District

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on November 12, 2024

We live in the Bayport Neighborhood and have 2 kids, 1 in Kinder and 1 in 3rd grade. So far so good. The teachers have all been very good. The school has a great new Principal and Vice Principal that actively listen and participate. Lots of good choices in the area but you cant go wrong sending your child here.
Submitted by parent on February 17, 2024

Hidden gem in the community. The TK and K teachers are awesome and care about the students. The PTA is also a hard working group that helps elevate the school and community.
Submitted by parent on October 19, 2022

We live in the Bayport neighborhood which surrounds the school. Our daughter did Kinder and is now in 1st grade. So far we'd say the experience has been very good.- Teachers and staff are all excellent, good listeners and take action on any feedback- Student population is very diverse in race and socio economic background. Its a true melting pot, reflecting the bay area.- Facilities still feel like new.- After care programs are plenty. We send our kid to Alameda Parks and Rec which is right next door to the school. Our kid got hurt during recess a few times, The on site nurse is awesome and took care of her really well.PTA is good, pushing all parents to get involved like any PTA should.I dont feel their is a deficiency of any kind by not going to a bayfarm school or other schools with better ratings.Basically it comes down to whether you want your kid to be in more of a melting pot environment and if you think that is good for their development and up bringing long term vs going to a predominantly high income, less diverse school.
Submitted by parent on June 14, 2022

We've had a great experience at this school so far. Great teachers and staff!
Submitted by parent on June 29, 2020

We absolutely loved this school. It's unfortunate that the rating doesn't reflect the level of talent at this school. The teachers are very engaged and truly love what they do and love the kids they teach. We had put our child's name into the lottery at AoA and she was accepted so we did transfer her to AoA. But, I will tell you this, AoA was honestly no better than RB. They are on equal levels in terms of teachers and culture. Don't be scared off by the rating. I know when people buy homes, they look at these ratings (we do too) as a strong determining factor when purchasing a home, but we were 100% satisfied with Ruby Bridges.
Submitted by parent on December 22, 2019

I love Ruby Bridges, and feel very fortunate that my daughters are able to go to this school. Ruby Bridges is an extraordinarily kind place, the teachers are all good, and most of them are excellent. The school is extremely diverse -- which I think is a benefit that is hard to put into words, but you can feel how powerful that diversity is when you're on campus. There are over 30 different first languages spoken by the students, and I think that should be taken into consideration when evaluating the school. The teachers, staff, and students, all work towards inclusion and education -- and that hard work and dedication isn't always accurately reflected by a test score that only rewards predominately English speaking schools. In my honest opinion, Ruby Bridges is the best kept secret in Alameda.
Submitted by parent on November 04, 2017

Hands down one of the nicest and newest campus' in Alameda. The only elementary school in Alameda that has its own STEAM lab and 'makers space' and provides STEAM instruction at every grade, including Kindergarten. Soon to have a 'Garden curriculum' along with an outdoor classroom. They're also one of the only elementary schools that send every 5th grader to a multi-night over-night Science Camp, guaranteed to be one of the most memorable experiences in grade school.The BEST teachers and administration you will find on the island. The care and compassion and gentleness shown to each child is unparalleled. This school is truly a melting pot of cultures and races and religions, which I feel make it that much more special and a real representation of the Bay Area.
Submitted by parent on August 18, 2017

Don't be fooled by the lower overall rating. A very large portion of students at this school do not come from families that are native English speakers and the teachers are fantastic at bringing kids up to speed over the course of several years. My sons have attended Ruby Bridges for 3 years and I have seen there skills (and scores) flourish and have watched them develop into compassionate members of the community.
Submitted by parent on August 10, 2015

We were at Ruby Bridges with our sons for several years before moving and were extremely satisfied. We really miss the school now that we have moved. My oldest was at two other highly rated schools before Ruby Bridges, yet we were much more impressed with Ruby Bridges. A large percentage of my family are educators, and most in my family have Masters and Doctorate degrees. A couple of family members have advanced degrees in early childhood education. Thus, we take education very seriously in our family. Our family was consistent in our appraisals of Ruby Bridges as an excellent school.We heard from people in the neighborhood by Ruby Bridges that the were concerned about the test scores; however, it is very important to take these in context. Test scores are very deceiving when interpreted out of context. Ruby Bridges has a high percentage of students who are English-as-Second-Language and many transfer students. This greatly impacts scores. Students who have been at Ruby Bridges long-term have done very well on test scores, and students who are English-as-Second-Language and transfers tend to show consistent improvement over time. When you interpret the statistics in context it is evident that Ruby Bridges is an excellent school. Our experience really supports this as well.One of the things I really appreciated at Ruby Bridges was that the teachers were great at adjusting to our sons strengths and styles. We also really saw them work with children in accordance with their challenges. The teachers were also very good at staying in consistent communication with us and always being open to our questions. The biggest challenge at Ruby Bridges is that the PTA has struggled. This is partially from a lack of parental involvement, but also partially due to leadership.
Submitted by parent on June 11, 2015

My daughter love going to school at Ruby Bridges. She's in a special day class. She is on a wheelchair, she have the best paras and teacher... She's been here since 1st grade and will stay here until she finish 5th grade... My son is in kindergarten and love his teacher and will stay here until he finish 5th grade too...
Submitted by parent on March 09, 2015

My kids have been attending Ruby Bridges for four years. My son was in the special education program and has since aged out which is disappointing because their teacher and paras are top notch. They're so friendly and caring towards the kids, and relatable to adults. My daughter has been involved with their "peace makers" program, loves the "green team", and is involved with the school's playworks program. The school is in an outstanding neighborhood. I dislike are the school's "line up" process where all the students line up on the playground and then haphazardly make their way to class all at the same time. I would recommend they line up outside their classrooms. They do a "three point touch" thing where a bell rings and all the students have to kneel down. This reminds me of a prison yard when all the inmates must lie down. I dislike that but again, not a big deal. The school grounds are dirty. I don't know how these kids manage to stay dressed with all the clothes left all over the playground but to the school's credit, they gather up all the clothes and lay them out for the students to collect after school. All in all, I love this school for my kids and will be sad to leave.
Submitted by teacher on August 16, 2013

I have worked at Ruby Bridges since it 's inception. In my 10 years of teaching experience I have never had the pleasure to work with such a committed faculty, who truly love what they do! We are not only committed to the academic success of our children, but their health and social development as well. Every year I am excited because I know I will learn about a culture that I knew little about before due to the incredible diversity at our school (over 30 different languages are spoken!) But what keeps me coming back every year is the collaboration and support from all my intelligent colleagues, administrators, support staff and families, who I depend on to help me overcome any obstacle in the way of my student's learning. I could not be prouder to be a part of this wonderful, diverse community, where over 90% of teacher's with elementary age student's choose to send their own children to school each day. Ruby Bridges Elementary School is a shining star in AUSD!