Choosing the best school district for your children is priceless! Knowing what to look for in a school, and narrowing down which questions to ask, can seem a bit overwhelming, though.
Finding that perfect school doesn’t have to be overly trying or stressful with these simple steps and recommendations.
1. Know Your Options
Knowing what you’re choosing from is important — you don’t want to rule out any possibilities simply because you don’t know about them! This includes public vs. private, charter, magnet, virtual, advanced placement, and home school options.
Read more about different schooling options.
2. Consider Your Child
This is incredibly important because not all children learn the same in the same environment!
Consider your child’s specific learning style and needs. Do they need structure, more individualized attention, extra help? Do they learn at a slower or faster pace? Hands-on? Knowing what your child needs will help you determine what you need to look for.
3. Research Schools
Knowing what your child needs will give you a lot of criteria for a good school for your child, but you also want to know how the school performs on a larger scale.
In looking for a top-performing school, you’ll want to look for schools that have high expectations for their students and offer a rigorous curriculum. Teachers and the administrative staff should have great ratings. There should be an active and involved parent community, and the school should have a good school report card.
Some good researching resources are websites like GreatSchools and the U.S. Department of Education’s Choice. Individual school district websites are another great source of information.
4. Visit Schools
Probably the best ways to determine if a school is right is to visit. Talk to teachers, talk to students. Look around, get a feel, trust your gut.
Consider asking these six questions during your school visits:
- Safety: How are my kid(s) kept safe in your school?
- Class size: What is your class size ratio?
- Teachers: Do all your teachers have up to date licensures/ credentials?
- Services: What type of special services are offered such as: Special Education, Speech Therapy, Gifted program, etc.
- Discipline: What is their discipline policy? How do they tolerate and approach bullying?
- Health: How do they handle a child with a health condition or medication needs?
5. Other Considerations
Picking that perfect school is a crucial step to giving your child the best possible education, so every angle should really be considered. Crystal Ellsworth has a few additional recommendations for questions to ask:
- What is the average class size?
- What kind of courses are offered? Basic or varied?
- Do they offer advanced placement classes?
- Do they offer special needs programs?
- What kind of after school programs are available?
- What sports programs do they offer? Not all schools have the same sports or divisions.
- How many different language classes are offered?
Remember, don’t always go with the most popular school; go with the one that fits and feels right for you and your family!
Select Your Erie Home by School District
We’ve made it easy for you! Now, you can see available homes for sale in specific school districts, or read more about school districts in Erie.
Ready to find your dream home? Contact us today for more information or to schedule a showing.
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
Henry Adams
Written by Monica Pitzer, REALTOR®
Monica is a licensed REALTOR® and is honored to be part of the Marsha Marsh Real Estate Services team of agents. She is looking forward to new experiences and building fresh and strong relationships. As an Erie native, Monica is anxious to share her knowledge of the Erie area housing market with future clients. She is also excited to expand her offerings to include residential investment and new construction opportunities.