Choosing schools and the local public school

[eepster]

DS is going to be eligible for kindergarten next year, and we have to decide where we will be sending him. I've been thinking about it and looking into various options. The charter school and various private schools all have their open houses and tours coming up. Obviously though, the simplest option is our local public school.

Today I called today, b/c they didn't have any open houses or tour dates listed on their website. Turns out they don't normally do tours till some time in March, when they do orientation tours. Of course by March, the lottery for the charter school will be over and done with, and any private schools will want a deposit to hold a place.

In general, the PS's website is out of date and tells one very little about the schools. They really just don't seem to care much about getting parents to actually choose to send their children there, versus just sending them b/c they were assigned to it.

I suppose in some places, most families don't have many alternatives to the public schools anyway, so pretending they do is a bit silly. It's different here though. Many families are choosing to not send their kids to the public schools and it is having an impact. The board of education is constantly fighting with town council over budget, and our last couple of BoE elections have been very fierce.

It just seems, that the schools should want to work harder to keep involved and interested families in the system.

[whatsnextmom]

I would consider that the best school for your child is not neccessarily the one selling themselves. We looked at tons of schools all with the "best" reputations. However, we found our local little rural district most able to offer a personal, flexible and enriching education for our children. Yes, their website is often outdated and there are no scheduled tours. It's in a very middle, lower middle class nieghborhood with a high ESL population. However, this district is the only one in the county with a trilingual immersion school. While the other districts and private schools were cutting their gifted programs, this district was constantly trying new methods to accomodate these kids. It houses the finest elementary orchestra program in the county and every campus offers instrumental, choral, art dance and theatre education. Most campuses offer Mandarin and Spanish enrichment. It has strong community support with local businesses always involved in school events. This and it was recently published to be the most financially sound district in our very large county. It's true, they don't sell themselves but then, they really don't need to.

I'm not saying your local district is the best choice but really, I wouldn't put too much stock in websites and tour schedules.

[Geofizz]

Remember that a web page that's up to date and has a significant amount of content requires a staff person who can devote a significant amount of time to the task.

I don't think you get much useful from open houses and tours. Our (gasp) local public school is (gasp) our best option for schooling for my kids. The local charter has an educational style not well matched to my kids' personalities, and the local private schools do not offer better educational opportunities until much later. The local school's web page stinks, though, and can mostly be used to figure out when state testing was in 2008. However, the principal will set up times to spent 20-30 minutes in classes at a variety of levels given a few days lead time. Watching the classrooms was very instructive. I watched transitions (a part of the day that DD finds difficult), tried to pick out any evidence for ability-based differentiation (a significant need for us), browsed the book selection in the room, viewed evidence of past art and science projects, as well as getting a solid sense of the relationships that the teachers form with their students.

A lot of people on MDC seem to vilify "local public schools." Sometimes the simplest option is the best.

[Linda on the move]

My kids go to a wonderful private school that I dearly love (I try not to talk about it too much because it feels like bragging) but currently the website is out of date.

As you go on the tours and open houses for the other schools, I'm sure questions about the public school will come to you. Call and ask, or make an appointment. We lived in a different city last year and my kids best option was our public school. It was a really good public school, and I when I first enrolled my kids there after homeschooling, they were very open to all my questions.

[zinemama]

I wouldn't rely on the website.

Your local PS may not be the best fit for your child. But it may be a hidden gem. Call to make an appointment to look around and talk to the principal. Ask about the teaching philosophy, the curriculum, etc. Get a feel for who works there.

[CarrieMF]

Here there is a technology teacher who updates the website. This teacher has to do this in addition to having a homeroom & other classes to teach all day, in other words - it's on their own time.

the only way to find out what a school is like is to go in it.

[karne]

Our websites are pretty constantly out of date, although the older grades do post daily homework, so that's a help. I would echo the sentiment about being wary of the schools that "sell" themselves as a favorable point. The priv school we attended sold themselves silly, and it was all beauty, etc. until you got to the curriculum, differentiation, etc., the actual educational piece, and that wasn't up to par. But the sales pitch was great.

Our PS doesn't sell itself-it doesn't have to, and the teachers are really busy. But, pride is all over the place, as is respect, and a messy, sometimes chaotic, but very engaging learning environment. It does take some getting used to though when you come from priv school where your tuition is needed, and selling the school is crucial to having a student body, to then get used to a place where people simply come to school because it's their neighborhood school.

I'd take substance over style any day.

[GuildJenn]

I don't think public schools are generally an environment where people develop a lot of marketing skills, or put much time into it.

I'd call and explain that I was touring other schools and really wanted a look inside to compare and see if they'd be willing to have me in. I bet they would.

[One_Girl]

Even in areas where well off people, or people who scrape by to pay for school, choose private schools there are still a lot of people who use the public schools because that is the choice. I think it is better for the money to be put into the education of the children who go to school rather than marketing for those who are on the fence. I think you should just call and ask the kindergarten teacher if you can look early so you can make a decision. Kindergarten teachers are often fine with having a parent come and look around early. The teacher I worked with in kindergarten said it was better to let them come early and hope they really make a decision they are good with based on having the facts than to turn them away and have to deal with them until they find a private or a charter school once school has started. If you are looking for a place with a community where you are involved then you should look into charter or private schools, and even then it is the teachers choice and the teacher may say no.

[eepster]

It's not that the updated website and lack of tours makes me think the school will be a poor fit for DS, it's just that it makes it really really hard to find out if it is going to be a good fit for DS.

The local PS is really a hard place to find out much about. I have called to ask about visiting, and the secretary acted like it was the oddest idea she'd ever heard. Even when I try to talk to other mommies about the place I find out very little. All the mom's with kids in the charter school talk on and on about the curriculum and community in detail, but I hear so so little about anything but a few details about busing and scheduling from the PS moms. Of course the private school moms will explain why they think the school they chose is worth paying for.

It's not even sleekness I'm talking about when I mention the up to date websites. The PS website actually has all sorts of fancy graphics and stuff, but no useful info beyond phone numbers. It's just lots flashing pretty photos and lots of platitudes about youth being important (yes, I do think youth are important, but it isn't why I was looking at your website ) but no info about even basic things like how many K class there are.

The charter schools website is full of info. There are calenders with list of upcoming events and book lists and handy things like how to apply there. It is very plain and basic though. There isn't a single photo on the home page, just reminders of up coming events and links to information. They do have pages with photos of events, but those aren't advertising the school, they are all off in a gallery page (which I haven't actually bothered to look at b/c I was reading information.)


I didn't start this thread b/c I thought that PS were a worse choice b/c they don't advertise themselves. It really is about the PS attitude of not really seeing choosing a school as a well thought out decision that should be an informed one.

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

Call and ask, or make an appointment.

Absolutely this. From the PS website, you should be able to find contact info. for the principal. Contact him/her directly and briefly explain your situation and ask for an observation time. If your request is met with resistance, then that will tell you something. FWIW, I made requests at our PS (which doesn't even have an open house) and the principal was more than gracious with coordinating two observation dates for me with two different teachers. While I was making one observation, the principal found me and made herself available to answer any additional questions.

GL!

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by eepster

The local PS is really a hard place to find out much about. I have called to ask about visiting, and the secretary acted like it was the oddest idea she'd ever heard. Even when I try to talk to other mommies about the place I find out very little.

That would be concerning for me. Our public school has an outdated website (my dh is supposed to be updating it but it's been on the back burner while he tries to get paying work done), it's high poverty and high ESL. BUT, the staff are very welcoming. When we wanted to find out about it, the principal dropped everything she was doing and gave us a tour. (We'd just stopped by to get info.) She called in one of the 1st grade teachers, and had us talk to her about the curriculum.

In your shoes, I would call and ask to make an appointment with the principal. When you meet with the principal, ask for a tour, information about the curriculum and the school. And then I'd tell him/her that you found it difficult to get information from and that you didn't feel very welcomed by the front office. Their reaction to that feedback will be very telling.

ETA: You may find it easier to actually GO to the school and talk to them. Our front office is quite understaffed and so they have a hard time giving a lot of info over the phone.

[Alohamomma]

You should check to see if Kindergarten is required in your state, you wouldn't have to send him if it isn't. That may allow you more time to decide. There are also Charter schools (2 of my children are enrolled in one) where they provide you with money to purchase curriculum and homeschool as well as offer support and classes. Our works like this::
We receive $1500 per child for curriculum. Half of that has to be spent on curriculum the other half can be used for museum passes, or other (non competitive instruction like music, dance,etc). We are also given an unlimited amount to spend on consumable items like glue, paper paint. Every week grade level teachers offer webclasses and face to face classes for your child to attend or take part in. There are also field trips you can attend with or allow your child to go on.
We love it, it has been the perfect way for us to homeschool as well as give the kids some classroom experience! Check it out in your state! I believe 48 of the states have an online instruction option for schooling!

[spottiew]

I"m in the process of touring too... some places have very little online info, some don't email back, some act like phone calls/visits/questions are a bother or weird. They may be GREAT schools, but how would I know that? I am not going to just 'show up' if they aren't acting welcoming. It just comes across like they don't care- maybe they already have quite enough interest. I find that I gravitate away from these places... I worry that if they can't write back a one line email, then how will we ever communicate if my child went to school there? Just a bad sign to me...

[Girlprof]

Everything Lynn66 said.

Also, it's usually a total mental turnaround for a PS to think about the decision to pick that school vs a different one because so often, the PS is the only choice or the easy/obvious choice. I went to an alternative public school and one of the teachers used to always say that the existence of our school meant that even the kids at the "normal" high school had made a choice to be there - because there was another option. However, even though that was true on paper, in reality the vast majority of the families at the "normal" school never seriously considered any other choice and the administrators at that school had no need to try to "recruit" students. I suspect they might have also felt uncomfortable doing so - which doesn't mean they weren't welcoming of the students who ended up going there.

[cycle]

Have you looked online at goodschools or any of the other school rating sites that also have parent comments to see what it says about your local PS? Our ps had a Kindergarten information night last year, I think it was in November, for incoming K students for this school year. It was very informative and reassuring to me. My child was at a very good private school for preschool and I was on the fence about keeping him there for K and beyond. I chose to move to the town we live in though, in large part, because of the amazing public schools. The quality of education is pretty equal between where he was in private and the public school. However, the one thing that would have been missing in the private school was the community aspect. The school happened to be in the same town that we live in but he would have been the only child continuing to K from our town. Everyone sends their kids the the public school because its so good. The community aspect he (and I) are now experiencing is wonderful, we live just blocks from school, he has a bunch of new friends within walking distance and our sense of community has really expanded. It is something to consider when you are looking at schools, its not the most important aspect but it shouldn't be forgotten.

[GuildJenn]

Originally Posted by Girlprof

Everything Lynn66 said.

Also, it's usually a total mental turnaround for a PS to think about the decision to pick that school vs a different one because so often, the PS is the only choice or the easy/obvious choice. I went to an alternative public school and one of the teachers used to always say that the existence of our school meant that even the kids at the "normal" high school had made a choice to be there - because there was another option. However, even though that was true on paper, in reality the vast majority of the families at the "normal" school never seriously considered any other choice and the administrators at that school had no need to try to "recruit" students. I suspect they might have also felt uncomfortable doing so - which doesn't mean they weren't welcoming of the students who ended up going there.

I think so too, although that they weren't open to a visit (or at least one secretary wasn't) is a bit more concerning.

I was chatting with a school admin yesterday and we talked a bit about websites so I tossed this question in. She said unlike a private school where they choose their approach, public school mandates come from the province. So although lots of our schools do have information on their sites it's true they don't really outline their particular philosophies, because that's managed at a different level. That made sense to me.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by cycle

Have you looked online at goodschools or any of the other school rating sites that also have parent comments to see what it says about your local PS? Our ps had a Kindergarten information night last year, I think it was in November, for incoming K students for this school year. It was very informative and reassuring to me. My child was at a very good private school for preschool and I was on the fence about keeping him there for K and beyond. I chose to move to the town we live in though, in large part, because of the amazing public schools. The quality of education is pretty equal between where he was in private and the public school. However, the one thing that would have been missing in the private school was the community aspect. The school happened to be in the same town that we live in but he would have been the only child continuing to K from our town. Everyone sends their kids the the public school because its so good. The community aspect he (and I) are now experiencing is wonderful, we live just blocks from school, he has a bunch of new friends within walking distance and our sense of community has really expanded. It is something to consider when you are looking at schools, its not the most important aspect but it shouldn't be forgotten.

When we first bought our house, a couple of years before DS was born, we looked at the public schools as a large factor in buying our house. I had actually grown up in this town, so knew something of the schools from that.

Since we have lived here, there have been dramatic changes.

The first change I came across was when I tried to sign, then 2 1/2 yo, DS up for the public preschool. Universal public preschool had been a huge draw for us when we bought our house. The board of ed's website had a wonderful page about the program, so I called up and asked how to sign up for it. I was promptly informed that the program had been cancelled 2 years ago. The website was out of date.

Since then the state has cut back education funding dramatically and there have been very contentious BoE and town counsel elections. A group of people who live on the wealthier side of town, and either send their kids to strict private religious schools or who don't have children at all, tried to take over the BoE. They didn't manage to take over the BoE, but they did get the budget voted down. There was a very confusing and contentious town counsel election after that. The new town counsel dramatically cut the schools budget, and all the aids in the K classrooms had to be laid off as well as other support staff. Interestingly, the town counsel managed to increase the parks and recreation dept's budget .

So, I thought I knew what kind of schools we were getting when we moved here and fully planned to use them,but now I'm not so sure.