For parents, searching for a good school is a task that never seems to end - preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, college. Here are some tips for parents with incoming kindergarten and grade 1-8 kids.
Begin your search by first understanding your child and yourself. Every child is different. The same school works for your neighbor's kids might not work for yours. Write down the words that best describe your child. Then write down what you want for your child. It could be good grades, creativity, social skills, or other things you value. Lastly, write down what you look for in a school. Should kids learn by listening to teachers, or by playing and hands-on learning? Should everyone in the classroom receive the same instructions, or be taught based on the student's own level? Keep the three lists handy.
Next you will gather a list of potential schools for your child. The list should include available public schools based on where you live, and private schools within your budget and commute distance. Remember your home school (If you don't know which one is your home school, call the school district to find out) is not the only option you have. There are other options.
- Your district may have type of alternative schools that serves the entire district. For example, Cupertino School district has four alternative schools that serve the entire district and enroll students by lottery. Many districts have Charter or Magnet schools that offer open enrollment to the entire district.
- Find out if there is any county Charter Schools. For example, there are eight Charter schools under Santa Clara County of Education. Any students in California can apply to these schools. Bullis Charter School in Los Altos is a public K-7th Grade Charter school open to anyone in California with enrollment preferences given to Los Altos School District residents.
- California Education code allows parents to apply to any of schools in the district. It is usually called intradistrict transfer. However, the students in a school's zoned attendance area have higher priority. Learn about all the schools in the district (use http://www.ed-data.org, or http://www.GreatSchools.org) to see if there are any schools you prefer over your home school. Call the district to find out procedures on how to apply.
- Some parents have successfully placed their kids in a different district. The California Education code gave all parents the right to apply for a school outside their district of residence, but the district is not required to accept the student. Call the district to find out your chance of getting in.
- Of course, you can also choose to move into the attendance area for a school of your choice. However that requires way advanced planning and should be a different subject of discussion.
Once you have the list of schools, your real work then starts.
- Find out important dates of open house, school tour, parent information night, and enrollment procedure.
- For private schools, make sure you start the process as early as you can by attending the open house or school tour. The open house season usually starts in December and last about three months. Here is a schedule of private school open houses in South Bay. Some popular schools have application deadline in January. And many schools require student evaluation or some kind of aptitude test. If you start early, you also have the opportunity to see more schools. There are many different types of private school, such as Religious, Montessori and regular secular day schools. Also without attendance area limitation, there could a lot of private schools you could apply to.
- Ask if a shadow day can be arranged so your child can experience the school life directly.
- For public schools, it is also extremely important to go to the school tour and parent information night. Many alternative schools have made attendance of school tour a requirement for application. Since alternative school could be very different from traditional public school, you need to use every opportunity to find out what the school was about. Talking to teachers and observing the classrooms are good ways to see if it's right for your child.
- Many traditional public school do not offer school tours. If this means your home school, go to the school and request a tour. It is not enough that your home school happens to have a good reputation, you should see it with your own eyes.
What to look for in a school?
- Does the school stress learning through activities or very structured learning?
- Does the school emphasis on academic develop alone or the development of the child as whole?
- Does the kindergarten classroom look like a miniature first grade or a place that bridges early childhood with grade school?
- Do the students look engaged, confident and happy?
- Are the students busy doing things?
- How do students and teachers interact?
- Is the classroom very quiet with only the teacher talking, or is it buzzing with frequent hum of activity and ideas?
- Does the teacher pay individual attention to student?
- Is the teacher more like the commander of the classroom, or a helper?
- What is the classroom size? If it is a big class, do students participate in different activities in small groups?
- Does the school offer Art, Music, regular PE, theatre, field trips and other enrichment activities?
- What are the credentials of the teachers? What is the turn-over rate?
- Is there a strong parents participation?
With the three lists you made earlier and the observations you made in the classrooms, you should have a very good idea which school is a good fit for your child and your family. Nobody can make this decision for you. Keep in mind though, other than your home school, your child is not guaranteed to be admitted to the school of your choice. But you've done the best you can and your experience in finding a good school will come handy in the future.
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