I have to ask you Mamajustice and Sparklemom (or other educators) - Page 4

[EFmom]

The realtor absolutely should know about the school districts. It is the deciding factor for many people when it comes to buying homes. Maybe she's steering you to houses that aren't in a great district and isn't willing to admit it. OK, I tend to think the worst of sales people sometimes and maybe it's nothing like that at all. I'd lean on her to at least put you in touch with one of her colleagues who does know about the schools in the area.

In general, the higher-priced neighborhoods have better school districts.

Sad, but quite true.

[charmarty]

where has this thread been all my life???????? nothing to add except my kids will never go to school.

[Linda KS]

The realtor should know. We move often because of DH's job and realtors usually have stack of info. on schools. Are you moving with a company? My Dh's company tries to help families by providing info on schools and helping set up appointments with principals. Most families relocating with children buy a home based on the schools. It is normal for his co-workers to pick a school and then look at houses only within those boundaries.

[Lula's Mom]

WOW, thanks, y'all! Those were really good suggestions and starting points. I totally agree, the realtor should know, but he doesn't, except to say that one school has a "better reputation" than another. He can offer no details. I thought he was a good choice when I met him, but he's just gotten on my nerves since we hired him. Stupid contract...

Phathui5, do they let you do this?!?

Couldn't you get an insider's view by spending a couple days in the classrooms there?

Knowing how tight security is at the public school my niece attends in FL, it never even occurred to me that a non-parent would be allowed to go to classes. I don't know what I'd do with my children while I was observing, but it's a fascinating idea.

[luv my 2 sweeties]

Kristi, it could be that your realtor is just not with it and doesn't know much, or it could be that he's hesitant to say more than he already has. My dh was in real estate for a while and had to be *very* careful about what he said about neighborhoods, schools, etc. for fear of being accused of steering certain clients to certain areas. He could only say things that were obvious, such as the relative affluence of the neighborhood or the fact that the local schools had a "good reputation". He felt he couldn't say anything that would be *his opinion* or hearsay about an area or a school. Maybe it was just the state we were living in at the time (MA), or the broker he worked for -- I don't know. It always seemed kind of silly to me that he couldn't say much about those things, since that's what people care about, but he said that was the law. I think many realtors gave their opinions anyway in order to make sales, but my dh is a pretty straight arrow when it comes to stuff like that. (Maybe that's why he never made much money in that line of work! :LOL ) Even so, I don't know why the realtor couldn't hand you printed material from the various schools or from the state departement of education. As long as he gave you a variety, I don't see how it could be discriminatory.

Another idea for you: check with the local library -- our library maintains an online data base of all the educational institutions in the county with links to each school's web site if they have one. I also think arranging a visit is a good idea once you get your choices narrowed down to 2 or 3. Good luck! I look at *not* having to go through this process as a major advantage to homeschooling! We have *so* many choices in our smallish city -- public schools of choice where you can cross district lines, quite a few religious schools, a couple of Montessori schools, and many charter schools. Plus homeschooling is very easy (legally speaking) in Michigan, so it's becoming a more popular choice as well.

[A&A]

I've taught high school for 10 years now and I have mixed feelings about schools. My dd is often BORED in school, even though we put her up a grade. We do a lot of "schooling" at home, after school, such as working on additional math, learning the piano, etc. Homeschooling would work for us in a lot of ways but not work for us in other ways.