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How did you choose a school?
Our boys won't be in school for a few years but we're getting ready to move and would like to choose a location in a good school district or with good private school nearby. What resources did you use to learn about schools/school district reviews etc?
Thanks
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Re: How did you choose a school?
I'm going to answer from my knowledge both as a mom and as a teacher.
--Check standardized test scores online. With a little reading, you can probably get a sense for school districts within the state, and schools within the district, and whether they're doing well vs. poorly. My sense, however, is that higher scoring schools tend to be a better indicator of the socio-economic status of the families attending the school than of the quality of the school itself. This is, of course, not a hard and fast rule, just a generalization. In some states, school funding is allocated to schools on a pro-rata basis: the more property tax revenue from the school's boundaries, the more money the school gets. So, one kind of cynical way to look at this is to buy a home in an area that's as affluent as possible. The website "schooldigger.com" can help you look at info like this for different schools all over the country.
--But don't put too much weight on test scores. Remember that the single biggest factor in a child's educational experience is the quality of the classroom teacher. A fantastic teacher can work magic no matter where he/she teaches and now matter how crappy the facilities or the budget. On the other hand, a crappy teacher will still be crappy, even with a beautiful classroom and 35 student laptops. The quality of the individual teachers is a VERY difficult factor for a parent whose children don't attend the school to suss out. The second biggest factor is probably average class size. Even a brilliant teacher will be less effective if the classes are too big. Careful when you look on websites like schooldigger for this info. According to that site, my DD's elementary school has an average class size of 16.5 students -- a pretty low number! But the school has a pre-k program as well as a special needs magnet program. The typical classes are probably closer to 25 kids at her school.
--Ask around. Other parents are probably the best resources for the information you're seeking. Don't rely on a realtor; they'll probably always indicate that the schools in the area where you're looking are "great schools."
--Visit school websites, but expect to be underwhelmed by what you find. School websites are often maintained by a single tech-savvy teacher in his/her spare time, and don't often reflect the quality of the school. Still, you can get a sense of the school's priorities and traditions from looking at the way the website is organized and from pictures of school events.
HTH!
as you are looking at homes, set up meetings at the school. you could ask to meet the principal, potential teachers at the school your child would likely attend. if schools are closed for the summer, you could stop by the ed. center for the district. they would likely have info on test scores, graduation rates, etc.
if i remember correctly, when we were looking at homes some left paperwork about the school district for us to look at. however, if it was an underachieving district, i doubt they would do that.
Responding late to this post, but I hope you'll see this anyway - check out www.greatschools.org
It's a great place to start the search. They have test scores (tho I agree to not put too much weight - you prob don't want a school that just teac hes to the test), % of teachers with BA vs Masters, extra curriculars, and my fav - community reviews. Remember to take the negative with a grain of salt though. GL!
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