How to choose the best school for your child

Parents: Think back to your schooling. What made the biggest difference in your life and education? For most students, there were certain teachers that significantly shaped their life.

Some teachers were average if not mediocre, and a few outright horrible. But more than half were decent enough that you learned and progressed. And, thankfully, a few teachers transformed lives.

Trying to select a school that has amazing teachers is tough. There’s little data available to help one choose. Most people don’t have a network of friends who have children a little older than theirs who can share anecdotes about their experiences and inform you about which are the best teachers at each grade level.

So you pick a school, and learn as you go. Your kids develop friendships and it becomes less likely that you will transfer your kids to another school if you find out that there may be greener pastures nearby.

The best strategy becomes trying to influence the process of how your child gets placed with which teacher, so they have the best experience possible at the school where they are at.

Parents soon learn that they can have an impact on improving their child’s school. The PTA (PFC, or similar parent group) in many schools raise supplemental money to pay for teachers not funded by the school / district budget, like music teachers in elementary school. They can also influence which after school and summer school programs are offered.

After school programs and summer school can bring more opportunities for less traditional learning , such as robotics clubs, maker spaces or STEM/STEAM programs.

Parents who are dissatisfied with their child’s school are now heavily recruited by neighboring school districts who fight declining enrollment by offering more exciting educational options to try to keep their programs alive.

These schools have moved beyond last decades’ focus on improving Reading and Math test scores, to offering specialized programs and approaches like a Montessori or Waldorf philosophy, project based learning, a science & technology magnet school, etc.

Some parents are finding options to do homeschooling or even unschooling, sometimes supported by their local district’s independent study program.

So if I were a parent today, trying to select the best school for my child, I would be looking for a school based on what philosophy or educational approach my child would be most likely to succeed in, plus a rich assortment of educational opportunities such as having an arts program, makers space or robotics program.
I would recognize that beyond school, significant learning occurs from going places and doing things, exposing children to the world. Traveling to different places , going to science and art museums and makers fairs, attending festivals, involving them in music or dance lessons or team sports , watching documentaries, taking online courses, etc.

And above all, I would be monitoring their enthusiasm for learning, their curiosity, their relationships...the things that have a major impact on a child’s motivation to learn and engage with the world. If you end up with a less than ideal teacher one year, it’s a great time to amp up the outside the classroom learning activities. If your child is struggling, have them assessed for learning disabilities so that they can tap into specialized programs made available by federal law.

Be engaged with parent teacher groups, or foundations that are setup to raise money to enhance the learning experience. For example, If your school or a neighboring school or after school program like a Boys & Girls Club doesn’t offer a coding, engineering or robotics program, help make that happen.

Give your child a head start by taking advantage of School Choice Week and learning about the options. And then commit to be engaged to help your local school and teachers improve their game for this and the next incoming class.

“Leave the world a better place than you found it.” After all , you are benefiting from the hard fought battles parents and outlier teachers fought in the past to help schools get to where they are today.