Schools
There are several things that go into whether a school is considered a good school or a bad school and all things are not the same among everyone. Some things that are important to look for are whether the class sizes are small or large, whether or not the students and the faculty are culturally diverse, and what the student/teacher ratio is. You may also want to look to see what extracurricular activities are available including what kinds of sports are available. You might want to check to see if there are any second language opportunities. You can also ask what types of teaching approaches are used in the classroom. You can also ask to see how high the particular school’s standardized test scores are compared to other schools that are in the particular area and state. One thing you might not think of is to look to see if your child will be attending school year-round or if it’s a more traditional school year setting. You may want to find out if the school has block scheduling or if there are still six to eight classes back to back.
One way to compare the school districts among each other is to contact the district offices and have their individual school report cards sent to you to evaluate. You will even be able to see how each individual class level has done on their standardized tests. If you were to decide to do this though, you have to remember that schools and individual classrooms vary widely, so all the statistics may not be completely accurate for comparative purposes.
If you have a realtor helping you find a home you can ask them questions about the reputation of the local schools in the area. Even though you read information about the local schools and have people tell you about the schools you may still not get an accurate picture of what the school is actually like. You can ask the school administration if it would be possible to take a tour of the school and meet with your children’s prospective teachers. This is mainly so that you could make your own personal opinion on whether or not you would want your children to attend that particular school.
Many school administrators even have a list of criteria you should look for when you are trying to choose a new school for your children to attend. You can sometimes judge the quality of the school by looking at the expenditure per student. Look to see what kinds of services are offered at the school. For instance are there guidance counselors, librarians, secretaries, and on-site nurses, and make sure they all only work at one particular school, otherwise be cautious. If you children are in high school check to see exactly what percentage of students actually go to college after graduating from school.
One last thing you should look into when deciding what school to allow your children to attend is how far away from your new home is the school located. If you live close to the school you might want to see if your children are allowed to walk to school and back home after school. If you live farther away how long of a bus ride will your children have? If you live farther away from the school and do not want your children to ride the bus are there any rules about where and when you have to drop your children off and pick them back up from school?
