| Frank C. Havens Elementary School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 1800 Oakland Ave. Piedmont, CA 94611 |
|
| Information | |
| Type | public elementary |
| Established | 1908 |
| School district | Piedmont Unified School District |
| Principal | Tery Susman |
| Grades | K-5 |
| Enrollment | 493 |
| Information | (510) 594-2680 |
| Website | Official school site |
Frank C. Havens Elementary, commonly referred to as Havens, is one the three elementary schools in Piedmont, California. It is part of the Piedmont Unified School District.
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The school was first built in 1908, a year after the establishment of Piedmont as a city. The city's first elementary school, it originally went by the name the Piedmont (Bonita Avenue) School. The name was changed when the building was entirely rebuilt in the 1950s.[1]
The plot of land on which the school was built was donated by Frank C. Havens.[2] The school was named after Havens, an important figure in the history of Piedmont. Havens was in charge of the Realty Syndicate, which subdivided 13,000 acres (53 km2) of East Bay property. He acquired a five-year lease on the Piedmont Springs Park and began a major restoration. Havens built an art gallery one block from the school, which was later converted into tennis courts. Along with Francis Marion Smith, Havens encouraged the development of the area that would become the city of Piedmont.
Piedmont children attend the elementary closest to their home. A block away from Highland Avenue and the center of the city, Havens is the closest to "upper Piedmont," and Havens families are perceived to be the most affluent,[3] as homes in upper Piedmont, as a whole, are constructed on larger lots than homes in lower Piedmont. Zero percent of the student body participates in free or reduced-price lunch programs, compared to the state average of 51 percent.
Racially, the student population is primarily white (72 percent) and Asian (14 percent).[4]
Five percent of students are English learners. Languages spoken at home include the following.[4]
| non-English language | home language of English learners |
|---|---|
| Cantonese | 46 percent |
| Mandarin | 19 percent |
| German | 8 percent |
| French | 8 percent |
| Gujarati | 8 percent |
| Ukrainian | 4 percent |
| Dutch | 4 percent |
| Persian | 4 percent |
In 2006, voters authorized the Piedmont City Unified School District to issue up to $56 million in bonds to improve Piedmont public school buildings to meet state and federal seismic safety standards.[5] Havens was determined to be unsafe and underwent retrofitting. During the 2008-2009 school year, some classes were held in portable classrooms, which took up the concrete playground, limiting the space for recess and physical education. Fourth- and fifth-grade students used the city's nearby tennis courts for physical education classes.[6] The portables were expected to be in use for at least two years.[7] During the 2009-2010 academic year, a temporary location for the school was set up in the nearby city of Emeryville.
Construction of the school was completed August 2, 2010, and the newly retrofitted school opened at the start of the 2010-2011 school year. The newly designed Havens features mosaic murals, expanded playground space, and a synthetic turf padded with cork and coconut husks.[8]
The documentary film Havens School: Building the Dream, detailing the design and process of the construction of the school, was aired on KCOM, the Piedmont community cable, a Public-access television channel.[9]
Ninety-seven percent of teachers are fully credentialed. The average number of years teaching is 15. The ratio of number of students to number of paraprofessional staff is 16:1.[4]
The website greatschools.net, which reviews schools for their quality and collects statistics and feedback, gave Havens a 10 out of 10 for test scores.[10]
In 2005, the school's API score rose 20 points, from 916 to 936. The state average API score in 2005 was a 709.[11]
Havens Schoolmates is a before- and after-school program run by the Piedmont Recreation Department. Located on the school's campus, children of working parents remain at Schoolmates until their parents pick them up. The Recreation Department is run by the city of Piedmont, and not by the Piedmont Unified School District.
Other after-school activities include chess, Mad Science, flute, violin, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Camp Fire Girls.[12]