Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 (edited) What would you look out for and what questions would you ask? If you've done this, what questions do you wish you had asked? We plan on the boys going to school in a few years, and some of the schools have waiting lists, so I need to put their names down now. Calvin would be going into high school, Hobbes probably into middle school. If possible, I'd rather avoid this turning into a 'school bad, homeschool good' kind of thread, so constructive comments only, please. Many thanks Laura Edited February 25, 2009 by Laura Corin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Knowing almost nothing about the British education system, I don't know which of these, if any, would apply, but for a U.S. school I'd look for: * Curriculum--lots of advanced classes, interesting topics. Overall strength but also depth in particular areas that were important to my kids. * Test scores * Extracurriculars--are there some that seem a good match for my kids, am I happy with the relationship between extracurriculars and academics * Overall tone of the school--does it seem friendly? Are the kids engaged? Do I like the interactions between staff and students? * Attitude towards parents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MBM Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Which schools are you interested in? I know someone who went to Winchester and absolutely loved it. I would want to know what they are teaching, what they are using to teach, and how they are teaching. Also, if you are looking at boarding schools, I would want to know the school's policies about bullying, underage drinking, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Well, after having done private school for 2 years - granted only at the K & 1st, but one thing that pops into my head is do they allow parents to have their children in class. This was a HUGE issue and i'd never allow it again. I'll keep pondering what i'd do now.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 Which schools are you interested in? I know someone who went to Winchester and absolutely loved it. I would want to know what they are teaching, what they are using to teach, and how they are teaching. Also, if you are looking at boarding schools, I would want to know the school's policies about bullying, underage drinking, etc. Winchester's meant to be a very good school, but it's an awfully long way away and we definitely don't want the boys to go to boarding school. I don't want to go into detail about the schools we are interested in, because I tend to limit the publicly available detail about our location and the children. Thanks Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Knowing almost nothing about the British education system, I don't know which of these, if any, would apply, but for a U.S. school I'd look for:* Curriculum--lots of advanced classes, interesting topics. Overall strength but also depth in particular areas that were important to my kids. * Test scores * Extracurriculars--are there some that seem a good match for my kids, am I happy with the relationship between extracurriculars and academics * Overall tone of the school--does it seem friendly? Are the kids engaged? Do I like the interactions between staff and students? * Attitude towards parents These and I'd want to know where the graduates are. I'd also want to know about flexibility for my children. You've been rigorously homeschooling from what I've seen, and I'd want them to be flexible enough to challenge your children without regard to grade level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Location, availability of classes/extracurriculars that my kids would like, how active the parents are/if they're welcome, how long the teachers have been at that school, and generally how it "feels." If I personally was looking at a parochial school of any kind, I would probe the statement of faith, the religious beliefs of the teachers, what churches are represented, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 These and I'd want to know where the graduates are. I'd also want to know about flexibility for my children. You've been rigorously homeschooling from what I've seen, and I'd want them to be flexible enough to challenge your children without regard to grade level. One of the schools we are looking at does the IB, which I suspect has challenge levels for the boys. It's a good thought though - I'll keep it in mind. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I'm currently on my second round of looking at schools (for younger ds now - grade 7). We took multiple tours (for oldest 2 tours in gr. 7 and 8 for a total of 4 x's). Looked carefully at the curriculum of ALL the years my dc would attend that school Get references from other parents Shadow day for dc to attend classes with another student How many tracks they have for each class - schools I only look at have 3-4 tracks - honors, level 1, level 2 and upper classes have AP classes available too- I don't like all abilities in one class Attitude of students and teachers - respect is expected, required and enforced Appearance of physical buildings Sports/activities - my oldest is a sports kid; younger dc not but needs activities Average SAT scores Typical list of colleges/universities students are accepted Something that surprised me was the honor roll system. Each honor roll student receives a certificate of having made the honor roll with his name called during student assemblies (4 quarters) and it's published in the local newspaper. This has REALLY given my ds an incentive to make honor roll. Good Luck! It can be a fun, eye opening experience to help you NOW to prepare for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 How many tracks they have for each class - schools I only look at have 3-4 tracks - honors, level 1, level 2 and upper classes have AP classes available too- I don't like all abilities in one class The schools I am looking at are smaller, so I need to work out how they deal with different abilities within classes. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in CA Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Our kids are in private school this year. We looked at everything meticulously... curriculum, philosophy, ratio of teacher/students, extracurricular activities, but what we realize impacts the students most is who their teacher(s) is/are. A good teacher who knows how to relate to students, likes the material, presents in an engaging manner and knows how to evaluate/challenge a student is far more important than we thought! This was not an area that was really on our radar before but now it is. On a day to day basis, the teacher plays probably the most important role in what kind of education your boys will be receiving. If you'd like more details please feel free to PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 A good place to get info is from the older students if you can catch them on the train. The year 11 and 12 kids are past writing off all school and all the teachers as crap, even if they aren't. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 A good place to get info is from the older students if you can catch them on the train. The year 11 and 12 kids are past writing off all school and all the teachers as crap, even if they aren't. Rosie I'll see what contacts I can make. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 1. I'd look at the variety of advanced level courses. My ds started at an IB high school this year and I really like the curriculum, because the full IB diploma requires advanced coursework across subject areas and it emphasizes written communication. 2. I'd look at class size. 3. I'd look at the "type" of student the school seems to cater to. My ds is odd, he's at a larger school, as a result he's found a few like minded souls. If he were in a smaller setting, he might not meet people like himself. 4. I'd look at how students who might fall outside of the curriculum are handled. It would be unusual for a school to never have seen a student who became incredibly advanced in one subject.--How is that accomodated, do they have independent study. Likewise, sometimes a student falls behind in a subject. How is that handled. Is extra help completed handled by the parents? 5. extracurricular opportunities. Obviously, sports and clubs, but also research, internships, and travel (if that's in your budget). That's all I've got for now. I know I could list more, but I'm sure you are getting ideas. Here's another, find out where the graduates are going after they graduate. I think this is more telling than test scores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 What would you look out for and what questions would you ask? If you've done this, what questions do you wish you had asked? We plan on the boys going to school in a few years, and some of the schools have waiting lists, so I need to put their names down now. Calvin would be going into high school, Hobbes probably into middle school. If possible, I'd rather avoid this turning into a 'school bad, homeschool good' kind of thread, so constructive comments only, please. Many thanks Laura I read an article (or maybe it was a blog post) somewhere about this. The mother approached it like she was interviewing the school to hire them -- much like one would interview a prospective employee. What are their credentials? Qualifications? Special talents & abilities? What is their philosophy on education? Discipline? Parental involvement? What are their standards on hiring teachers? Selecting curriculum? Implementing curriculum? How do they deal with special needs? Gifted? Bullying? Other abuse? What are their statistics on standardized testing? Comparisons nationwide and locally to other schools? Statistics on incidents? And so on. That was the gist of it, at least. I tried to google and search my browser history for it, but I can't find the original. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 3. I'd look at the "type" of student the school seems to cater to. My ds is odd, he's at a larger school, as a result he's found a few like minded souls. If he were in a smaller setting, he might not meet people like himself. . Calvin is also 'odd' (bookish, klutzy....) and the schools we are considering are smallish. I'll think on't. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Our kids are in private school this year. We looked at everything meticulously... curriculum, philosophy, ratio of teacher/students, extracurricular activities, but what we realize impacts the students most is who their teacher(s) is/are. A good teacher who knows how to relate to students, likes the material, presents in an engaging manner and knows how to evaluate/challenge a student is far more important than we thought! This was not an area that was really on our radar before but now it is. On a day to day basis, the teacher plays probably the most important role in what kind of education your boys will be receiving. If you'd like more details please feel free to PM me. I have to totally agree with this. We had a great teacher in K and the so-so one with her son in the class the next year. SInce you are looking before you will be ready, i'd want historic staff turnover numbers. Do they cycle them every few years or are they there for the long haul. My favorite/best teachers are still at my private highschool - one as principal now. I'm not sure i'd do well picking so far out - will you be able to pick 2 of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 I'm not sure i'd do well picking so far out - will you be able to pick 2 of them? We can put the boys' names down for more than one school each, then make a final decision later - we only lose the registration fees for one school if we do that. We can also send each boy to a different school if we want to (we know someone locally who does that) if the schools suit different kinds of learners. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 I read an article (or maybe it was a blog post) somewhere about this. The mother approached it like she was interviewing the school to hire them -- much like one would interview a prospective employee. I'll start working up my own list of questions. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 2 schools works too - but no, i meant will School A not let you get on their list if you also are on School B's list. Provided the deposit isn't too big, then i'd for sure pick 2 that are great now. Gosh, this has go to be hard! Best of luck truly as you go thru this process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 2 schools works too - but no, i meant will School A not let you get on their list if you also are on School B's list. Provided the deposit isn't too big, then i'd for sure pick 2 that are great now. Gosh, this has go to be hard! Best of luck truly as you go thru this process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 24, 2009 Author Share Posted February 24, 2009 2 schools works too - but no, i meant will School A not let you get on their list if you also are on School B's list. Provided the deposit isn't too big, then i'd for sure pick 2 that are great now. Gosh, this has go to be hard! Best of luck truly as you go thru this process. You can be on several schools' lists - I haven't read about any cooperative agreements to manage lists. Yes, I'm torn between looking forward to handing some responsibility over to someone else, and not wanting to think about letting go. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 You can find a small setting where a student like this fits, but you have to look at the school for that. You can get clues from looking at the extra curriculars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I think others have covered most of the questions I'd ask. But I've got one to add: How does the school feel about parental involvement? Are parents partners in their childs education or just the person who houses the child at night? If there is a problem when will they call you? Will they be honest? Are you allowed to access your childs records? I've had my kids at a school where we were partners. If there were problems they called us and we worked together to find a solution. I've also had them at a school where we were nuisances. Calling me was too much bother. I might be mean. I kid you not! that's the reason one teacher told me she had waited so long.... 6 months after the problem began... to call me. By the time the teachers started to contact me we were at crisis point with J and he never went back. With C I was more proactive as I knew there was a problem but I still got the general feeling that I was a nuisance and I should just let them get on with it. I think that those things can only be known by talking with other parents at the school. Schools are very good at spinning a line when you go to see them but it's how things work when there is an issue that really counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Schools are very good at spinning a line when you go to see them but it's how things work when there is an issue that really counts. Calvin went to school for a year in a big school that had a good academic reputation. I asked specifically in advance about academic differentiation - how they would deal with a child who excelled in a particular area - and was reassured that everything was in place. When the day came that Calvin was reading many years ahead of any book that was in the classroom, and I asked if he could have reading books at his level (the teacher had finally, begrudgingly, tested his reading), the teacher said, with a look almost of disgust, "You expect me to get him reading books from another classroom?" Later, the gifted/SN coordinator (who was actually swamped with SN issues and had no time for any gifted provision) privately said that no, the teachers only taught to the middle, and children who excelled were ignored. All that to say: I need to beware of the marketing spiel. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 You can find a small setting where a student like this fits, but you have to look at the school for that. You can get clues from looking at the extra curriculars. From my preliminary researches, any school that teaches rugby rather than football (soccer) - many schools do one or the other, but not both - is unlikely to a good fit for Calvin. The game seems to go along with a certain mindset that would not suit him at all. I'm sure there are some sensitive, bookish rugby players, but.... Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 (edited) When we lived in Berlin, there were several popular international schools. Which one to choose and why was a common topic of conversation. Here are some of the things that people considered. I would want to know how they handle children who fall outside the window of average. There are areas that I know my kids are well above average (like reading and math). And there are some areas that we've spent less time on, where they probably need work (like writing). So I would want to know how they handle kids who need extra work, either to catch up or in order to keep them learning while the bulk of the class moves at its speed. I would ask questions about hidden costs. Do you have to pay for bus transportation, uniforms, books, various fees. How much parent/student fundraising is there (bake sales, card sales etc). Are there requirements outside the academic that I should know about (for example, a volunteer service requirement) How do they see the role of the parents? I might ask questions about sports teams, foreign language options and clubs (especially those of an academic nature, like debate or robotics). I might also consider asking if my child could spend a day at that school. I did this once when we moved in high school. Didn't actually end up at that school, but it made moving easier to think that all was not lost and that in fact there were some things to look forward to. I would also take a look at how kids on campus behaved during my visits. Did things seem under control or chaotic? Did kids dress provocatively (meaning many things from sleezy to punk/goth to hip hop with pants hanging down). In some schools, I would be interested in how many students spoke the language of instruction as a first language. If the school promotes a bilingual environment, then how is that ideal supported. I also remember that various schools used different models (American curriculum, British standards, more German standards building toward completing the German university entrance exams). This might be something to consider. You might also want to ask about how long the administrative heads have been there. There was one school that had had a couple new principals in a few years. That was contributing to an unstable feeling in the building. I forgot to mention the most basic one. Who calls you back. When we were leaving our replacements made a special trip to Germany just to look at schools a couple months before actually arriving. They sent emails and called each of the main international schools in the area. One school simply failed to respond to any of their inquiries, including calls during the week that they were in town. This was taken as a bad sign and the family quickly wrote that school off as a bad choice. Edited February 25, 2009 by Sebastian (a lady) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 I wonder if you could ask for specific examples of how they've dealt with kids who needed extra work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Thank you - some great ideas to incorporate. All the schools have strict uniforms, so at least I don't have to worry about the dress issues. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maplinmum Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 Don't write off the rugby playing schools, my godson who is a quirky non sporty child with a mixed bag of disabilities/high IQ goes to a typical english private school and he has blossomed and the school has appreciated him for who he is and has worked hard to accomadate his needs. The best clue to a school especially a small one is the Head teacher, when we put our kids into a small english prep school that specialized in dyslexia/dyspraxia I knew it would work as soon as we met with the head mistress and she said that they aimed for all pupils to reach their potential. This was a key word for me as son's teacher at that time couldn't understand why I was concerned about my high IQ dyslexic son who was achieving at a low average grade! The biggest thing I have come to learn is that there is one perfect school but it is a case of finding the right school for YOUR child, so take on board what other people like/dislike about a particular school but put into the context of their child's needs/personality. Good luck in your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Don't write off the rugby playing schools Golf seems bigger around here actually. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keptwoman Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 That's funny. I was going to say that our boys good school was a rugby playing one. But it also catered well for children with more artistic or musical bents. Then I figured the antipodes is perhaps different and rugby playing schools in Scotland are different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjones Posted February 25, 2009 Share Posted February 25, 2009 No one has mentioned this yet: find out about staff turnover. If teachers come and stay for a while, it may mean that good things are going on at that school. Beware of a school where teachers are hired but then frequently leave after just a few years. That may indicate a crummy principal, lack of support for discipline problems, and/or any number of other problems. Also, I agree with a previous comment that the main thing impacting your child's education will be the individual teachers he gets. So, I'd ask how/if parents can go about getting the teacher/s they want. At some schools you can request teachers. Other schools do not take requests. Also, will they let you switch out of a class mid-term if you aren't satisfied with a class/teacher? And, I'd come right out and ask about crummy teachers. i.e. "Would you say there are teachers on staff who most parents regularly try to avoid?" "How many?" You may be rebuffed for your question. Or it may be answered. You have nothing to lose by asking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 25, 2009 Author Share Posted February 25, 2009 Teaching staff are key, but I think the schools I am looking at have only one class per year, maybe two, so there will be limited choice. All the more reason to look into things like turnover, and ask around among parents. I've been told already by several people that the Latin teacher at my (current) favourite school is excellent, but who knows if he will still be there in four years time. This is a part of the country where people tend to come and want to stay, and as there aren't that many schools, I would expect turnover to be low. I'll ask though. Thanks Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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