How to arrange tour of private school?

[jess_g]

Its looking likely that one of my kids will be headed to a private school. I know its summer but we want to put the app in before the fall open houses start. Can we tour the school in the summer? Or should we wait untill the fall? Should we bring our child with us for the tour? And what are some good questions to ask? This is for older elementary
tudent grade 4 when/if he starts.

Thanks, Jenn

[SnuggleBuggles]

Just call the office and ask. If they have space, they'd likely be happy to get you in for a visit. I know our school is staffed over the summer, though not every week. First visit, no kids, IMO. That way you can ask questions about money and discuss dc without little ears. If its good, bring them with you for a visit. At a private school, I think they will want to make dc as part of the admissions process.

[KpbS]

I agree with what PP said. Many schools have very specific preferences for tours--only certain days, when students are present but not at the beginning or end of the school year, etc. Also it is helpful to ask friends and neighbors that attend their impressions of the school. Sometimes schools want to know if you know any of their students or are familiar with their school profile.

[Karenn]

It depends on the school as to whether or not you can tour in the summer. I know there are many that would welcome you with open arms no matter what time of year, especially in this economy. However, I've found that I get more information about a school when it's in session and kids are there. You can see if they're all sitting in desks and working independently, or are there kids on the floor or working in groups? Are the computers just sitting in the hall or are they being used? Do the kids look bored or engaged? Do the teachers seem happy and excited when they teach or like they've taught this lesson 50 times and they're done with it? Are teachers spending the majority of the time in front of the whole class, or are they working with kids individually and in small groups? Do the classrooms look crowded or do kids have plenty of space to move around?

I didn't bring my kids when I was touring, but that was mostly because private school was a big "maybe" when I first started looking around and I didn't want to unsettle them. My kids only ended up touring the one school that we applied to, and that was when we were pretty sure it was all going to work out. I imagine you'd have to do things differently if you lived in an urban, competitive private school area.

My favorite question to ask is how long many of the teachers have been there. IME as a teacher, healthy schools have teachers that have been there for years, often decades. Less healthy schools see a lot of turnover and have a bunch of teachers that have only been there 2-3 years. Really though, I get most of my information from watching the kids and the teachers.