The Value of Small Schools
I was born and raised in Oakland, California in an area now known as the Laurel District in a small, one bedroom house. My mother was concerned about both my size (ironic now, probably) and my social ability to navigate Oakland’s public school system. She felt I would be more successful in a smaller environment, so she enrolled me in one of the top private schools in the area (at great monetary sacrifice) called Bentley School, at the time a K - 8 school located on the border of Oakland and Berkeley, partially up the tree covered hills that kept the cool marine air in and the heat out year round. I started Kindergarten having just turned five and quickly grew to love school under the incredible care of Mr. Meadows, my teacher.