Looking For The Right School

Moving will always be stressful and moving when you have kids just makes the stress worse.  Whether you are moving because of your job or because of a personal situation, there are many things you have to plan for.  Relocation not only involves you but your family as well.  You want what’s best for your kids and one of the most important things is education.

As a parent, looking for the right school district in your local area might be at the top of your list. If your child can get a better education, isn’t that worth the extra ten minutes you might have to drive to work?

It is important to research the neighborhood and schools you might be moving into.  You might be lost as to where to begin, but like everything nowadays, the internet can provide you with a stepping stone.  There are a lot of great websites to help you.  Some address the general area while others delve into each individual school.  Greatschool.org is a fantastic site to start your search.  It has a comprehensive collection of every school in the U.S.  Select the state you want to move to, type in a zip code, and the site will show you all the schools in the vicinity, from pre-school all the way to high school.  They include private institutions as well.  Click on a school and the page will tell you the general rating, demographics, teacher-student ratio, and test scores.  You can even read reviews submitted by people in the district.  The federal database has all of these statistics as well.

Then, if you want more information, you can go to schooldigger.com.  Not only do they provide school statistics, but they also provide information on the neighborhood. Everything is displayed clearly in charts spanning back over 5 years for comparison.

After doing all this research, consider the environment you want your child in.  Do you want something with more diversity or less?  Do you want a low student-teacher ratio?  Would a private school be more appropriate or would a public school?  Are the test scores important?

Once you’ve figured out which school best fits, think about visiting if possible.  That way you can observe the setting your child will be learning in.  You will also have the opportunity to ask questions about extra-curricular activities and other after-school programs. Some key things to do are to notice:

• Whether the teachers seem to be well-versed in their topic or not.
• How do they treat the children?
• How are the facilities?
• Ask about what classes are offered.
• How are they treating you as a parent?
• What is their disciplinary code?

Finding the right school on top of moving can be taxing.  No matter the situation you only want what is best for your child.  The internet is a valuable research tool you should implement. Securing the fact that your child will be able to get the best education means one less thing to worry about.  With that out of the way, you can concentrate on moving itself.