How to Choose the Best Elementary School

Public, private or parochial? Montessori or Waldorf? Parents have more
educational choices than ever, which is both wonderful and overwhelming.
How do you pick a school that helps your child thrive--and
that meshes with your educational values? Once you've found the
ideal school for your child, all you have to do is get him or her in. As
many parents will tell you, this is no easy task.

Difficulty:

Moderately challenging

Instructions

Selecting the best school

1. Take a good look at your child's temperament, personality and learning style. You want to find a school, public or private, that builds on his or her strengths. When considering the issue of class size, take into account whether your child is more naturally comfortable in large or small groups.

2. Explore various educational philosophies. Montessori schools, for instance, encourage students to pursue their own interests, while Waldorf schools integrate arts into the curriculum but frown on using computers and television.

3. Visit schools and talk to teachers, administrators and other parents about that school's academic emphasis. If the curriculum is strong in science but not in art, you may wish to look elsewhere for a school that suits your budding Picasso.

4. Get a written description of the academic goals for each grade. If they're not written out, they may not be sufficiently well developed. Evaluate whether the curriculum will challenge your child. Dig a little deeper into the curriculum and teaching style. Some teachers use broad themes on one topic (dinosaurs, the solar system) to teach lessons in math, science, art and so on. Are students actively engaged in what they're learning? What kind of student work is displayed in halls and classrooms?

5. Look for challenging enrichment programs that encourage creativity and stimulate development such as art, dance, science, music and bilingual language programs.

6. Investigate how well students are doing academically. How does the school measure their progress, and how do they perform on standardized tests? Your school system should publicize each school's test results.

7. Ask what the student-teacher ratio is. Also find out about what kind of help the teachers get in the classroom in terms of the number of aides and parent volunteers.

8. Learn what services are available if your child has a learning disability or other special needs. Investigate the special-education staff, opportunities for individualized attention and the policy on mainstreaming in the regular classroom.

9. Ask about family involvement in the school. Schools, often beset by draconian budget cuts, welcome and encourage parent involvement. Find out how much volunteer time is expected and decide if you have that time to give. If you're working full-time, explore other ways besides classroom time that you can volunteer such as write the newsletter and serve on the PTA.

10. Take a look at the condition of the playground, library, classrooms and bathrooms. Is this a place you'd like your child to go to school? Is it a stimulating and creative environment?

11. Step back from the political debate if you're having a difficult time choosing between private and public schools. There's no questioning the value of public education. It is also clear, however, that safety concerns, spiraling class sizes and diminishing resources all detract from a child's education even when the level of teaching and quality of curriculum is very good. The situation is highly variable from district to district and will remain so as long as school funding is tied to property taxes.

Getting your child enrolled

1. Buy or rent a house near your favorite school. In most publicschool systems, children must go to the school nearest their home, although others use lotteries for school selection. Children are often allowed to attend a school where their parents work, even if they live in a different district.

2. Enter a lottery to get into a magnet school. These are public schools that specialize in one subject or philosophy or cater to students with special needs. They often attract interested students from all over a school district.

3. Survey the private schools in your area to find the one that's best for your families needs. See 233 Save for Private Schooling.

4. Prepare a speech to deliver at the admissions interview. Make it clear that you've researched the school and explain why you think it's the best fit for your child. Remember: if your child was not accepted at your chosen school, then it wasn't a good fit.

5. Find out what kinds of help the school needs and offer it. Build a reputation as a cooperative parent who will be a great asset.

6. Check up on your application to show your interest. Make it plain that this school is your first choice, but don't be a pest.

7. No matter how good a school is (or isn't), whether it's public or private and how much you're paying to send your child there, every parent needs to fill in the blanks at home. Schools simply cannot do everything, and learning doesn't stop when the bell rings at 3 p.m. Find teaching opportunities at home: Go beyond homework help and make up word games on the fridge or with the dictionary, work puzzles, play chess and visit museums to round out your child's education.

Tips & Warnings

• See 375 Improve Your Child's School.

• Ask to see a class in action. A school can look great on paper, but a visit shows you how things actually work.

• If your ideal school is an hour away, ask yourself whether it's worth it for your child to spend that much time on the road each day.

• Find out what kind of support the school provides for students who fall below grade-level performance standards.

• Money talks at private schools. You can't just offer it outright, but if you have the resources, you can imply that you would love to help support your child's school.

• Find out how the school handles discipline. Get a copy of district or school policies.

• If there's a child with special needs in the class, find out if extra aides are required, and if so, how many attend that child. It's a sticky issue, but if the teacher's scarce time and resources are being heavily depleted by one student, all the other kids suffer.

• Some parents hold their children back a year so they'll test better at the kindergarten level.

• Tell the admissions officer you want to be on the waiting list if your child doesn't make the first cut. Be willing to snap up an opening in the middle of the school year.

• Don't immediately blame the teacher if your child isn't performing well. Schedule a conference and find out what's going on.

• Beware of pressure put on often very young children to perform. Keep your expectations in line with your child's age and abilities.