How To Select a School For Your Child

Choosing the best school to fit your child’s needs and strengths—whether it’s traditional, parochial, private or homeschooling—can often be decided only after internally answering dozens of questions in both qualitative and quantitative areas. To help narrow your decision-making process to select a school for your child, here are some options to explore.

Your Child’s Needs and Strengths

Most importantly, find a school that works for your child! Capitalizing on your child’s learning style, strengths and needs are paramount. Their style may best manifest itself within STEM (science, tech, engineering and math) or STEAM (arts-oriented) based curricula. 

School Location

Choose a school close to where you live or work. Distant commutes will eat up to five hours each week from your work and home life—that’s 200 hours a year!

Approach To Learning 

Finding the right school means doing your homework. Parents need to use every available resource from Google to the neighbors down the street to ensure that curricula, learning approach, philosophy, academic performance and behavioral & disciplinary considerations meet with your approval. 

Check out what particular approach to teaching and learning, like group projects, individual performance, and frequent testing each school uses; then, make sure it works with your family, and specifically, your child.

Support, Standards, Expectations, Discipline

Whatever your choice, look for ‘the ties that bind’ in academic, social and emotional areas.
Do you see broad parental and administrative coordination and support? What do all parties share in terms of student, teacher and school expectations? Finally, do you know the school’s behavior and discipline policies?

Visit Each School Personally

Would you buy a house sight unseen or a car you’ve never driven? Please! Take the time to tour each school! Complete your investigation with a look at each facility at an Open House. Meet the principal, headmaster, headmistress or director. Talk with teachers. Listen to the children. Get a feel for things on your own.

Summary

Choosing the best school for your child is a multi-faceted project and could be the most important decision you’ll make. Do your research and select a school where your child will thrive.