10 Tips for Choosing the Right School for Your Child

Whether we end up with a voucher system or not, there are always choices within the school system that need to be considered.  Most people have public schools, charters, and private schools in their area, and everyone has the option to homeschool… but which is right for your child?  Let's look at ten tips that could help you find the perfect school for your kid(s).

1. Evaluate the different schools in your area.  Are your public schools excellent? Does your district (or surrounding districts) allow transfers?  Many public schools do allow transfers, which could enable you to pick the best public school in your area.
2. What is the transportation situation and what can you provide?  Most private and charter schools do not provide transportation to their campus.  The same goes for public schools that you transfer to.  If you are not attending your home public campus, chances are that you will have to provide transportation to and from school for your child.  Are you able to do that?  Keep in mind that the best school in the world will not do your child any good if you can't get them there.
3. Do you have someone or somewhere to provide after-school childcare?  I don't know about your area, but in mine, Elementary school finishes at 3:00 pm.  My job does not finish by 3:00 pm.  There is no way that I (or my husband) could get to the school daily at 3:00 pm to pick up our daughter.  Luckily, my mom and my aunt can.  Many public schools offer after-school programs, but if you decide to look into Charter and Private options, be sure to look into what is offered for after-school care.
4. Can you afford a Private school?  Not everyone makes enough money to pay for private school.  A good friend, and one of the administrators at our school, also pointed out that we would be better off taking advantage of the excellent free public schools and putting that money in a college account.  If you're not as lucky as we are with your public school system and you can't afford private schools, charters are a great way to go.  As a free alternative to public schools, charters often offer some of the advantages of private schools, without the price tag.  If you want to add ancillary learning to any of your options, see tip #10 about using supplemental materials.
5. Do you have the ability to homeschool? Keep in mind that an adult would need to be available daily to oversee the child(ren) being homeschooled.  There are online curriculums that you can use, so you don't have to be a teacher or expert in all areas to homeschool, but it is best if you have access to a public library and homeschooling group to provide additional resources.
6. If you choose to stay in the public schools, look at any special programs that are offered.  Speak to your child's Principal and teacher right away and inquire about getting them tested for the talented/gifted classes, bilingual programs, or other programs that could increase your child's chances of success.  Often these classes, if your child tests into them, offer additional activities and accelerated learning programs.
7. Research every school that is an option for you.  Most schools provide information on their website about the school demographics, test scores, and state or national rankings.  You can find additional information on websites like GreatSchools, Glassdoor and even Zillow or Yelp.  Look for information on faculty turnover, parent involvement, and communication to parents; important information that is not usually listed on the school website.
8. Talk to parents of children in the schools you are considering.  Most parents are happy to tell you what they like it dislike about the schools their children attend.  They will give you an honest opinion.  But, keep in mind that what you are getting is an opinion... try to talk to several parents so you get some different opinions to compare.
9. Visit the schools you are considered.  Most schools have an “Open House” of sorts for parents of incoming Kindergarteners.  Also look for any public school events, like carnivals or field days that you could attend.  Get a feel for the school community.
10. Another thing to consider, no matter what type of school you choose, are the supplemental programs and resources available.  There are so many programs available that offer tutoring, ancillary practice and other skills.  For example, if you do a Google search for “free printable writing practice”, there are tons of free practice pages you can print.

I often wish that I could stay home and homeschool Beth, just because I think it would be fun.  But, luckily, we live in an area with excellent public schools.  People actually move to our area of the state just for the schools.  We realize that we are extremely lucky and we are excited about Beth starting school in the Fall.

At one point, I actually looked into a private international school, just because I lived in other countries growing up, and would love for Beth to have that experience.  As much as the idea appealed to me, I realized that spending over $1500 a month on an education that would be comparable to the one she could get for free in our public schools was a little silly.  Plus, we can't actually afford that type of expense.  

My husband pointed out that if we put a fraction of that money away in a travel fund, we could give her an international education ourselves, and get family vacations at the same time.  Maybe that will be one of our goals for supplementing her education.  Either way, I know that she will get a good education, mainly because we are willing to work to make sure it happens.