How to choose a School (elementary)?

[PMJ]

When your child was getting ready to go to K, what did you look for in choosing the right school? there are so many options out there... it's over-whelming. If we need to do Private, we'll have to ck finances, but are prepared to do it.

Private vs. Charter vs. Public etc...

Do schools have to share their test scores w/prospects? I'm guessing some private schools don't have to adhere to Govt. regulations etc.

thanks!

[Melbel]

If you plan to be in an area for a long time, you may want to start by checking for the best middle and high schools. IME, there are far more quality elementary schools as compared to middle/upper schools. You should be able to check test scores and possibly school "grades" for public schools online. You should also be able to tour schools. I would definitely talk to friends (especially those with older DC) to get input regarding different programs. No school is "perfect" so it is a matter of finding the best fit for your family.

Our private school participates in standardized tests (CTP), so you may be able to compare schools that way. Our biggest concern is middle school, so we selected a private elementary school that feeds in to the top tier middle and high schools.

In addition to test scores, I would look at the course offerings, including art, science labs, foreign languages, PE and extracurricular activities. Here, in public schools, there have been significant cuts for the arts and PE. We love that DS and DD1 can take dance, chorus, band, soccer, piano, swimming, dance, etc. right at the school campus after school.

The magnet programs here tend to be in not so great neighborhoods, where safety could be an issue. They are also lottery based, which presents a problem with multiple children if you want them in the same school (siblings are given some priority, but not guaranteed acceptance). Our county no longer buses to many of the magnet schools, so you have to be prepared to transport your DC if necessary.

With neighborhood public schools, you should also ask if there is busing from other neighborhoods, what percentage of capacity the school is at (here schools are often way above 100%) and student/teacher ratios.

Good luck in your search! We are still figuring things out as we go!

[JBaxter]

we actually bought our house because of the elementary & middle school it was districted for. We knew we would do the public school.

[kedss]

There are websites, like Great Schools that give stats for schools. We have a seven year old, so we tried to find a highly regarded elementary school, then find a good neighborhood where he would attend that school, knowing we couldnt afford to do private.

[wimama]

We only had two main options we looked at. Both were neighborhood schools with good reputations, so we really didn't need to look further. Both have good test scores, but the standardized test used are different, so a little hard to compare.

One was our neighborhood public school. It is a very good school. We toured it at the kindergarten open house. It has kind of a open format floor plan. With classrooms oriented around a central inner core of a circle and 3/4 walls between classrooms. My DS has some mild ADD tendencies and I think that set up would be distracting. I can't see how the noise from one classroom wouldn't transfer over the partiton walls and through the central open center. This school started at K5 grade level (5 year old kindergarten). I liked some of the curriculum they had in place for the K5 grade.

The other was our Catholic church's school. My DH went there and thought highly of it. He really wanted to send our DS there, but I wanted to consider all our options. This school starts at the K4 grade (4 year old kindergarten). So, we started DS there last year for K4, with the assumption that we could always switch him to the other school, if we wanted to for K5.

I was a product of public schools. My DH a product of the Catholic school system. I had some concerns and questions about sending him to a private parochial school and those concerns have dissipated over the course of the last year. I was concerned about my DS possibly being gifted and the smaller private school accommodating him if he is in fact gifted. Right now he is reading above grade level, and I am not sure where he is otherwise compared to the rest of his class academically. But, over the last year the school has changed reading programs to a new program with multiple levels of readers and they have hired a special resources teacher, who I have been told will able to be pull outs for gifted children, if needed. I am not sure if DS will need that, but it is comforting to know that those resources are there. By and large most of our Catholic schools curriculum is pretty traditional and not probably as innovative as some of the public schools. But, the kids seem to thrive there and get into the best high schools and colleges.

I like that the school and most of the families at DS's school seem to share our same spiritual and family values. I like the school community that is present at his school. After one year I know almost all of the K5 students families at DS school, since there were many opportunities to socialize and become part of the school community. I was amazed to see that there is a number of families at the school with parents that are actually alumni of the school. We live in a large metro area. Those parents (DH included) valued their education enough, to send their children to the very same school they went to. Looking at many of the graduates of the school, most have been very successful in their academics, careers and lives. That is what matters most to me, my son's success in life.

Besides that the size of my DS school is perfect for him. There are one to two classrooms for every grade level. My DS is a kid that is very outgoing but can be overwhelmed a bit in new environments. He does well in a structured environment where consistent expectations are set for him. He will be going to school at his school for the next 9 years and I think it will be comforting to him to be a the same school with the same classmates, staff, environment and familiar families. And added benefit is that many of his classmates are from the neighborhood, so he is still going to a neighborhood school and therefore he knows lots of the neighborhood kids. Many of the public schools around us are cutting specials classes. DS still has gym, music, Spanish twice a week, a visiting art program several times a quarter (teachers supplement in the classroom), library and lots of recess time.

So, sorry for the book. I wasn't sure when DS started at his school, that it was the best choice for him. But, over the course of the year I am quite certain we made the right choice. Good luck exploring your options. I think this is a helpful website.

http://www.greatschools.org

[justlearning]

Observing classrooms IMO is one of the best ways to determine which school feels best for your child.

[AnnieW625]

We bought our house prior to DD1 so while we looked at school district with interest we didn't specifically buy for schools, but honestly in our area the homes in the best schools in our district were all at least $75,000 to $100,000 more than we could spend and we didn't want to rent for 5 yrs. just so we could get her into one of those schools, we figured we'd take our chance with the lottery and still buy a house in that district. Unfortunately with all of the budget cuts in the state and local education budget they district isn't nearly as liberal with open enrollment as they were 6 yrs. ago when we moved here. We applied to 9 other schools and only got into one other school besides our home school. Only one school was a charter school, which we didn't get into but would've considered it highly because DD1 knew a lot of the girls going there from pre school, and the after school care program was free. The cost of after school care at our public school was also a big factor for us. For the kindergarten year it would've been $175 per week. Plus at our home school a large portion of the population is bussed in from other areas where their home schools are overcrowded and I was worried about parent participation and test scores.

We ended up choosing a Catholic school as we are Catholic and we want the girls to get their sacraments and because the CCD classes at our church are in the afternoon it was easier for us to have the CCD stuff covered in the classroom. Total Catholic school tuition and after school care is $540 per month vs. $700 for the public school kindergarten after school care ($5/hr. x7 hrs. per day x 5 days a week x 4 a month). The size of the school, 375 kids was also a big reason we chose it, and it is also a K-8.

I was educated in public school from kindergarten through college and I really value my public school education, DH went to Catholic school from 1st-5th, and then public from 6th through college. Deep down even though I have always thought of myself as a big proponent of public education we both knew that we'd like to send our kids to Catholic school.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I toured every type of school. One thing to keep in mind are dates! I missed the window for a charter school and I also didn't anticipate how popular/ hard to get into they were. So, when I strolled in the May before school started I was bummed to find a huge waiting list; the lottery had happened in February. So, know your dates and time lines for schools.

I don't put much stock into test scores unless they are atrocious.

I had some priorities- smaller classes, k-8 ideal, nice ratios, recess, and others that I looked at at every school. I learned not to get sucked into bells and whistles. There was a great school with amazing space and amenities. I was ready to fork over every penny we had till i sat back and realized that those things weren't necessary for the education as much as other things were.

It does help to network with other parents. I talked with parents of older siblings at ds1's preschool a lot. Problem is that there was never a 100% consensus. At the end of the day I went with my gut. Actually, I rolled the dice on a new charter school! So, all of my diligent research totally didn't matter as there was nothing to tour, no history. We knew if it sucked though we could leave and go to one of the schools we had selected before. Darned good thing we gambled b/c it is ridiculously popular and we'd never have gotten in if we didn't do it then.

Beth

[sste]

PMJ - - what is your child like in personality or interests? Or your children if you have multiple DC?

We are renting right now and researching different schools and districts. We are lucky to have the option of moving into one of the most "elite" school districts in the country - - I actually recall studying this school system in an education class I took in college and its high school is the peer of most colleges. I don't think we are going to go that route. As far as I can tell my DS is plenty clever and pretty hard on himself and I think he and we would do better at a neighborhood school in the area we are renting in which seems nurturing, close-knit, fine academically, socio-economically diverse (which IMO is particularly important for inculcating a sense of perspective, etc.), and a walking distances from any house we would buy. Also a big plus of this school is that everyone lives right near a beach (you could substitute park or any other public gathering place) so even though my kid is pre-k I already know tons of parents from this school because everyone hangs out on the beach and watches each other's kids. The middle school that it feeds into is just OK and the high school is excellent.

I did all of this research on schools and as far as I could tell if you take high SES parents + high levels of parent education + a bright or very bright child then a reasonably good, nurturing school is going to be just fine. If either of my kids had special needs or were profoundly gifted I would probably be high-tailing it to the other uber-affluent school district I mentioned as they have the resources to deal with those situations.