2023 Best Public Middle Schools in Alameda County

• Oakland, CA•

• Public School•

• K-8

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  2 reviews

Middle School Student: Great school, I go there and I love it so much! There are a lot of different things you can do but I love how it also teaches me mandarin and it also is super strong on math and English even though its half Chinese!... Read 2 reviews

• grade A+

• Students 555

• Student-teacher ratio 19:1

• Pleasanton Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  2 reviews

Middle School Student: Amazing school. Teachers are kind and successfully prepare people for college/high school, and they're concerned about their students. Provides pathways in math so that people with different levels of mathematical knowledge could learn new things.... Read 2 reviews

• grade A+

• Students 1,171

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• Pleasanton Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 3.8 out of 5  10 reviews

Middle School Student: Just amazing. Teachers are nice. Library is beautiful dn new. School is great!!! There are plenty of extracurricular activities and lots of fun activities, zooms, get-togethers, and more! The academics is perfect, not too much and not to less. Everyone is really nice and encouraging.... Read 10 reviews

• grade A+

• Students 1,171

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• Sunol, CA•

• Public School•

• K-8

• •
  Rating 4 out of 5  3 reviews

Parent: Excellent school, teachers, and administration. Gorgeous campus and active community. A K-8 public school is fairly rare in the Bay Area and allows for some personalized and unique learning opportunities for children and lots of interaction with teachers and staff- and a super-involved parent community. Diversity and inclusion are a part of the curriculum and culture both in and out of the classroom. Innovation and new ideas are embraced by teachers and administration at this award winning school.... Read 3 reviews

• grade A

• Students 273

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• Pleasanton Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 2.4 out of 5  5 reviews

Parent: This is an excellent middle school. Teachers are very supportive, building and outside area are clean.... Read 5 reviews

• grade A

• Students 1,070

• Student-teacher ratio 21:1

• Piedmont City Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• grade A

• Students 586

• Student-teacher ratio 18:1

• Albany City Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 3 out of 5  4 reviews

Middle School Student: Its very diverse there but the education could be better. And the living cost is way too high. Good luck.... Read 4 reviews

• grade A

• Students 840

• Student-teacher ratio 20:1

• Alameda, CA•

• Public School•

• 6-12

• •
  Rating 3.79 out of 5  28 reviews

Parent: ACLC has all the benefits of a small private school without the price tag! With just 50-60 students per grade, teachers and administrators really know each child and are committed to their success. Students have the opportunity to lead and shape their community in meaningful ways. A "learner-lead" school looks a little chaotic sometimes, but results in confident young people with the skills to succeed.... Read 28 reviews

• grade A

• Students 402

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Dublin Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 4.5 out of 5  4 reviews

High School Freshman: Fallon Middle school is very unique for its rigorous PE program, which helps to build a strong foundation for students' well-being. The curriculum includes a diverse variety of sports, including less commonly offered sports such as Archery, Cricket, Pickle Ball, and Dance. A key feature of Fallon's PE program is the weekly run day. Depending on the week of the month, students will run a 2-mile run, PACER, Fallon Fitness Run, Off-Campus Run, or a mile run. These runs push students to their limits, enabling them to grow stronger physically and mentally.... Read 4 reviews

• grade A

• Students 1,573

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• Dublin Unified School District, CA•

• K-8

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  1 review

Parent: My daughter loves going to school every morning because of the wonderful teachers and feeling of belonging. The school has great infrastructure and teachers. They really help the kids making classwork fun and homeworks motivating and ensuring healthy competition.... Read 1 review

• grade A

• Students 1,017

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• Oakland, CA•

• Public School•

• K-8

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  4 reviews

Parent: We've been here for a few years now. I have been extremely impressed with the teaching. We attended a private French immersion school before this, and I think that academically speaking, this is very similar in terms of the teaching and curriculum, only it's free! I'd also say the student/family community is very warm and diverse in every sense of the word. So we're very glad we made the switch. It is still a growing school and sometimes the systems and processes are a bit messy and disorganized, that I would say is the main downside.... Read 4 reviews

• grade A

• Students 311

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Berkeley Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• grade A

• Students 634

• Student-teacher ratio 18:1

• Dublin Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• grade A

• Students 977

• Student-teacher ratio 20:1

• Alameda Unified School District, CA•

• 6-12

• •
  Rating 3.74 out of 5  195 reviews

Junior: Hi My name is Crystal Le. I’ve been going to Encinal for around 6 years now, coming onto 7 for my senior year. I’m currently an 11th grader. Over the years, attending this school has been one of the most interesting experiences. One thing I love about this school is all the support for students for colleges, future planning, mental health especially, and one on one teaching. Encinal provides so many resources for mental and physical heath to the students, with our own student based health center which is super friendly. Another aspect I like is community. Our school is very diverse, people from all kinds of background can be seen here. We have spirit days and events like homecoming assembly, where students from each grade volunteer to create a skit and dance for the assembly. It’s a great way to bond with your class and create a friendly competition. Overall a good experience and one of my favorite parts about Encinal.... Read 195 reviews

• grade A

• Students 1,199

• Student-teacher ratio 21:1

• Oakland, CA•

• Public School•

• 6-12

• •
  Rating 3.8 out of 5  153 reviews

Alum: Oakland School for the Arts is an amazing community for young artists, and one I'm super grateful to have been a part of. It's definitely made for artsy kids though, rather than those looking for a lot of academic rigor. There is a lot of academic teacher turnover, but the arts teachers for the most part stay consistent and are truly the glue holding the whole operation together! Despite sort of average stats, I give OSA a high rating because of everything I gained from such an arts-friendly and supportive learning environment. The shift to online arts classes seems to be doing alright.... Read 153 reviews

• grade A

• Students 801

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• Fremont Unified School District, CA•

• 7-8

• •
  Rating 3.25 out of 5  8 reviews

Middle School Student: Hopkins is amazing! There are so many electives and the online transition was amazing. I came from private school and this is so much better because they have live sessions for each period. I have made so many friends and the year went by so quickly. All the teachers help you personally if you need it and you can email them through schoolloop. You can also keep track of everything through there. You can even see your final grades and improve them if you need to. I love this school, and they also have many clubs and the electives are very nice. In leadership we get to do so many things. We also get to participate in competitions. I am currently doing their online school. We also organize the socials and events. I have not had good experiences with public school and school overall but this school made me feel so happy and it is honestly amazing. Honestly, I think it is the best school I have ever been to. If you are thinking about going here, you definitely should. I love it!... Read 8 reviews

• grade A

• Students 978

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1

• Berkeley Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 4 out of 5  3 reviews

Middle School Student: I am a current 8th grader, and I love King. I would say 85% of the teachers are really great. It’s a really good mix of average/poor and advanced students. All teachers care about the students. The principal is okay I guess, however current 8th grade VP is terrible. He does not do anything and has befriended the constant trouble makers and therefore doesn’t give them consequences, making the school unsafe for teachers and students. I think that compared to all other public middle schools in Berkeley, Kind is the very best option. I’ve gotta say though, the school lunch is disgusting. Thanks Alice Waters! Just kidding, she really has done a lot for my school! Kitchen/garden program has taught me and my peers a lot. The school lunch truly is disgusting though. I think it’s getting better though! Well, that’s optimistic... :)... Read 3 reviews

• grade A

• Students 958

• Student-teacher ratio 20:1

• Alameda Unified School District, CA•

• K-8

• grade A

• Students 583

• Student-teacher ratio 22:1

• Alameda Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 3.4 out of 5  5 reviews

Alum: Great school with students and teachers who truly care about academics. Students have a weekly running day in PE. There's a lot of club and activities.... Read 5 reviews

• grade A

• Students 848

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Fremont Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 5 out of 5  1 review

• grade A

• Students 1,652

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Fremont Unified School District, CA•

• K-12

• •
  Rating 4.13 out of 5  31 reviews

Parent: The pandemic year was a perfect time for us to try COIL. My son had begged me to homeschool him for over a year, and being in the tradition public school classroom was not working for him. I wish I had listened to him earlier. Within one semester at COIL, my son was able to rehabilitate his relationship with learning while building the confidence and the skills to do independent learning. It is amazing thing to see your child thrive again after years of a downward trend. He is actually getting A’s B’s and have favorite subjects that are not recess again. COIL has been a wonderful resource for kids who don’t fit well in a traditional public school setting for various reasons, from being able to advance at one’s own pace at math, extracurricular pursuits, athletics, to medical health reasons. It has helped me to understand my learners and work with them and try different things that would not be possible in a traditional public school setting.... Read 31 reviews

• grade A

• Students 405

• Student-teacher ratio 24:1

• Union City, CA•

• Public School•

• K-12

• •
  Rating 4.67 out of 5  3 reviews

Junior: Hey! I'm currently enrolled at Connecting Waters and it's my last year here, and what can I say, it's been a ride. I got to meet so many new people here, try so many new things, and most of all, learn to be independent. I felt like I was finally able to do what I liked instead of just the general classes, such as English and math. I was able to dive into new subjects and learn so many new things. I've grown to love learning to through trials and errors and every new experience was a joy to behold.... Read 3 reviews

• grade A

• Students 534

• Student-teacher ratio 13:1

• Fremont Unified School District, CA•

• 7-8

• •
  Rating 3 out of 5  1 review

• grade A

• Students 1,278

• Student-teacher ratio 25:1

• Oakland, CA•

• Public School•

• K-8

• •
  Rating 3.4 out of 5  5 reviews

Senior: American Indian Public High School prepared me for college readiness. The school has high test scores and has a lot of AP courses that students are required to take. The school needs to improve resources for students because I needed a lot of help in the college process. I was confused and didn't have anyone to guide me. I had to find out things by myself. My school is very small and we only have one counselor. Our senior class is big and for just one counselor to handle us was hard. We need more teachers and counselors to be hired so we could have more resources from them. We are a low-income school and we need a lot of help financially. Although we don't have a lot of money in my school, they still managed to keep the sports team in good shape. We constantly win championships every year with at least one sport. Overall, American Indian is a good school but needs to improve in resources for students.... Read 5 reviews

• grade A

• Students 659

• Student-teacher ratio 18:1

• Castro Valley Unified School District, CA•

• 6-8

• •
  Rating 3.27 out of 5  15 reviews

High School Senior: Overall, I enjoyed going to this school. In my opinion the teachers are what make this school unique, they are helpful and nice, and enjoy teaching.... Read 15 reviews

• grade A

• Students 777

• Student-teacher ratio 23:1