Kensington Elementary School

90 Highland Boulevard

School District

West Contra Costa Unified
Grade

K-6
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:24
Type

public

School Map for West Contra Costa 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 September 03, 2024

My child attended all 7 years and she left 6th grade with a heavy heart — full of deep affection for her 6th grade teacher, her friends, and the physical campus (located in a dream, in a cloud, on top of a hill!) Every teacher was wonderful but in different ways, of course, but all of them are dedicated to their students. The parent community is very engaged especially with fundraising to support curriculum augmentation (KEF) with art, computer lab, science, and several other classes that are not funded by the WCCUSD. As a parent, you can be as involved as you like and your taking initiative on anything is warmly welcomed. I strongly recommend this school to any parent of a child who is ready for a elementary school where *some amount of independence is required.* I can't say for sure, but for some kids who need more emotional support or attention in the classroom, keep in mind that there are about 25 kids per class.
Submitted by parent on April 22, 2024

Great test scores are not everything. It isn’t surprising to have a mostly white school in an affluent area pop high test scores. What this school lacks is warmth and diversity. The school is essentially top down driven but the KEF and PTA. There is an illusion of a parent community, but that is actually very disjointed. The heads of the parent orgs dictate out the weekly communication to a class parent to send out. I haven’t found there to be a super connected parent community- just your normal handful. What is more concerning is the incidents of racism that took place over the last school year. It is truly disappointing to hear that students are making verbal racism comments to other students and staff members. Further concerning is that we learned about these issues not in the moment but after a string of issues. Some teachers are great, but like teachers in any school, they are tired and over worked. We have benefited from the additional educational resources that the KEF funds, which support higher test scores I’m sure. My child loves those additional programs. Overall you’d be hard pressed to get a poor education here. But you won’t find diversity or warmth. Don’t be fooled by all of the “ally” claims, there are obvious issues. Everything seems to be communicated last minute. The new principal has yet to get her bearings.
Submitted by other on June 02, 2023

My daughter just finished her first year at the school and had a wonderful time. Her teacher was very caring and extremely good at communicating. The PTA is quite involved, with many opportunities for parents to participate.
Submitted by parent on May 10, 2023

My child went here for K-6 grade. The first 4 years the Principal, Mrs. Sanders, was little more than a figurehead. She did very little to support students of color unless the PTA requested it. We experienced unconscious bias from 2 long-term subs and 1 permanent yard duty. In the last 2 years, Mrs. Burnham, has been very intentional about ensuring the academic and social emotional success of all students there. She has hired staff of color and actively works with all parent organizations on campus. With that said, she is leaving. This school is run by a group of wealthy parents who are only interested in the concept of Black Lives Matter only if those lives never cross their path.
Submitted by parent on June 08, 2022

Racial profiling and singling out students, no special needs program, lacks diversity and sense of community, teacher have no emotional intelligence or ability to help students that may be struggling.
Submitted by parent on August 05, 2021

The school is great and most teachers are excellent, with a few really bad cases. The school has a few teachers that should have probaby retired a few years ago and their methods of discipline and teaching are stuck in a 1960s time warp. Our son had the misfortune to go through one of these classes, but in my experience every kid should have to experince a really bad teacher at least once, it helps build character and sets you up for the real world, where bad bosses are plentiful. Luckily the worst of these teachers have retired over the past couple years. The school serves the 60% white population well, but as a parent of color, I don't think the principal or staff pay attention of educational needs of kids of color, especially latino kids. Sure, the school pays lip service to diversity, but many of the teachers don't really have any cultural competency in teaching children about diverse experiences in our country. There is a new principal in process of being hired this summer, so I hope the school is on the right path and that a new principal will bring in more changes re cultural competency and other equity issues at the school.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2018

it is a great school. we were very happy and lucky to get in. i wish though the size of the school would have been bigger so more people could have gotten in and not just from the small surrounding area.
Submitted by other on April 11, 2018

this is a great school. however, it is impossible to get in because it’s small and only for local residents. We needed to move from SF to go to this school. It was worth it though but I wish it would have been twice or four times the size so more people could have gotten in and not just from Kensington
Submitted by other on April 11, 2018

Wow, I couldn't ask for more. We are so lucky to live in Kensington so kids can go to this school. We have worked hours on researching schools in CA and even across the nation. This is one of the nation's finest school.
Submitted by parent on April 11, 2018

This is a top-tier school. I would say best in the nation and the dream for any child and parent.
Submitted by parent on August 16, 2015

Very happy with the school Principal and environment. We are so fortunate to be a part of this center.
Submitted by parent on June 09, 2014

Our son just completed kindergarten, and loved his first year at Kensington. There were 21 in his class, and lots of parent volunteers in the class daily working with a very dedicated teacher. The enrichment programs were solid, lots of school activities promoting community, serious fundraising and extremely active PTA. Looking forward to our son delving into 1st grade with much anticipation and high expectations.
Submitted by parent on July 05, 2012

Since there have been so few reviews on here for the last three years,I'd like to reiterate the last one. It should be highlighted that class sizes have just been changed as noted, and this is an unfortunate situation for our school. However, I would like to encourage any Kensington resident who is reading this and considering sending their kids to KHS to do so. The benefits to your child of attending their local school with their neighborhood friends, the benefits to you and your family for this same asset, are invaluable. Get involved with the PTA to whatever extent you can, join forces with groups who support your educational philosophy, and help our school district climb out of the hole it's dug for itself.