Got my private at West Valley and although they have shrunk in size I don't recommend them. Try Oakland Flyers at OAK north field. Decent selection of aircraft and good instructors. The benefit of flying out of there is that you learn class C airspace from the beginning, not to mention SFO Bravo which overlies OAK airspace. Multiple runways and heavy iron add to the learning experience. If you want to get all your ratings to fly professionally then go ATP in Hayward. Their fleet is small from what I see out there but if they are like other bigger ATPs then that's what you want- get it done and out of the way. The reality is that the real experience comes after all the ratings.