How Do You Research School Districts?

HI J.,

You might already know this, but I have noticed that zillow.com and realtor.com do not necessarily list the correct public schools, rather they list the school closest to the house. I would not rely on a realtor either (I have gotten wrong info or no info from them). I would either look to see if the school district has a website that shows the section of town they include or call the district for this information.
This is an important to me too and I might end up using a private school (yet hoping to find a house in a school district i feel is a good fit). The charter schools in my area have a long wait and the list is a lottery rather than a wait list, but these schools are an option I am considering as well.
:) S.

Hi J.. Greatschools.net is a helpful sight that compiles all the data for schools and districts into one place. You can see test scores, teacher student ratios as well as the number or years teachers have been in the profession. They also show you the state averages so that you can compare.

That said, wealthier neighborhoods tend to have high performing schools, there's not escaping that (test scores tend to be a better indicator of the socioeconomic status of the students than the quality of instruction). It is unlikely that you are going to find something you would consider a "nice" neighborhood and then be disappointed by the school system.

Hope this helps.

T.

Check out Great Schools.com They have a great site for looking at all kind of schools and their various rankings. Very useful. If you are looking at public schools, I can highly recommend Rheem Elementary in Moraga. They get an A++. Very well run. Kids love all the interactive lessions (imagine learning California geography by baking and decorating a huge California-shaped cookie). Plus, I have a child with learning delays and have been thoroughly supported and he is making terrific strides with their learning center. Also, look at Berkeley Parent's Network for peer-peer reviews, etc. Excellent source for quality info direct from the parents. Kudos for you to be looking into this so early and good luck to you and your beautiful daughter.

Hi J.,

More importantly than the district is the individual school your child will attend. In most districts there are high performing schools. The district website will have neighborhood maps for school attendance and links to the schools' websites. Look for kindergarten enrollment information as it tends to explain enrollment procedures well.

What I would look for, instead of test scores, are the programs schools offer. Dual immersion, parent cooperatives, magnet schools for music, science etc. Where do you see your child? Mine is in Spanish immersion. When we discuss moving, I limit our search to areas with this program. Before kindergarten, we considered a move where there was a math/science magnet school.

The key indicator for your child's success is how important education is to you. If it is THE priority in your family, your child will succeed. My husband doesn't always understand why I am unwilling to take the children out of school for vacation...

Good luck!

If you know where you are going, try stopping by the school district office (a real estate agent should be able to tell you what district a home is in) or drive by the school. You could also try the chamber of commerce in the town. The BEST way is to ask people whose children go to that school and the children themselves. Greatschools.net (already mentioned) also has a "review this school" feature where parents and students sometimes post helpful information.

The best questions to ask are probably going to depend on what you value. Possibilities: what's the student to teacher ratio? Are there instructional aides in the classrooms? What kind of music/art/fine arts/science/math/reading education do the children receive (you can also ask to see their textbooks and ask about supplemental materials)? is there gifted/enrichment education and how are children placed to receive services? What help is offered/available if my child is struggling or has a learning/physical disability? What sorts of clubs/ sports/field trips are there at the grade level for your child? What is the discipline philosophy (though that may be more about the teacher)? What grade levels are served at each school site (and do younger children interact with older children, if that's an issue)?

The state education dept.'s site is useful. I recall using that in the past to access test scores. Test scores don't tell you everything, but they are a good indicator.

Also visit the websites for the school districts you're considering. Ours had a lot of valuable stats, such as teacher: child ratio (this is a big one ... with layoffs, expect to be shocked by how many kids teachers have to watch). Visit the school website and see how active the PTA is at the school. Parent involvement is another key indicator of a good school.

A good realtor should be able to point you to the right neighborhoods for the best schools.

Good luck!

Well... the way I thought about it was this. Whether or not you agree with standardized testing, it does show how well kids know grade-level material. Granted it doesn't measure creativity and other things, but I think it is a pretty good indication of how well children are being taught in general. So that's a good place to start. If a school has dismal test scores, you won't want to send your child there because it's probably indicative of greater issues at the school.

That said, once you have your search narrowed down to a couple of schools, go visit. You know your child best, so you know what kind of environment she needs - one with fairly strict rules, or one that has a "kids will be kids" approach.

You should also consider curriculum. Although all public schools have basically the same curriculum, you might want to look into private schools too, depending upon what your goals for your child are. Private schools also tend to offer courses public schools don't, such as music, art, foreign language, etc.

Lastly, and I do realize I'll get flak for saying this, public schools do tend to teach toward the 50-75% of kids. I'm not saying this is a bad thing - they are mandated to get all kids to 50% (which is idiotic since not every kid is above average unless you live in Lake Woebegone). Anyhow, if your child tends to be more academic than most, she may be better served in a charter or private school where the teachers have a little more leeway to teach to the students' particular needs (and may have much smaller class sizes).

In short, there's no easy way, and no perfect answer for everyone. After many school visits to both private and public schools, we ended up sending our kids to Carden School - and because it's private, we were then free to buy a house in any neighborhood of our choosing.

Good luck in your school search!

I have found greatschools.net to be an excellent resource about schools. It has a combination of test scores and postings from the public and people who work at the school

A good Real Estate agent can provide you with the neighborhood's statistics like crime rate and schools. I'd also check out the Megan's Law website once you find a house you like to be sure Jack the Ripper isn't living with his mom next door. We found our dream house in Mountain House near Tracy - the grade schools here are new and have great scores and most of my neighbors are very happy with the schools (that's another trick - go to the local park and chat up parents with kids close to your kid's age)
The only bummer about where we live is there is no high school yet. Supposed to build one in 4 years - our son is just starting kindergarten so we're o.k. IF they really build the high school. The school my son will attend let us walk around and tour the facility when we were looking at houses.

Hi J. -

YOu can go to the California Department of Education, look under testing and accountability. You want to look at both school and district level. Here is the link
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/
The best way to check about a school is to talk to other parents. There are a lot of charter schools out there that are very good, but finding out stuff from parents is invaluable. A school in a better neighborhood will most likely have better test scores, more parent involvement, and better teachers. Teachers and administrators tend to stay at schools where there are less problems, but that doesn't mean that a teacher with less experience at a low performing school is no good. Look at the before and afterschool programs, the percentage of kids on free/reduced lunch, and the strength of the PTO. If you are looking at Marin, I believe they have good schools and a very involved PTO - I think they actually have like catered lunches as opposed to the old cafeteria issued food. When you get to the jr. high, high school level, it is important to see what clubs they have, do they have AP classes, how are their athletic teams, what is the rate of graduates going to four year schools, etc...

But for a 3 year old, just stick to the basics.

Anyways, good luck. It is an important choice.

I don't know about the whole state, but here in Petaluma there is a lot of intradistrict transferring. Perhaps you can find out from individual districts, what their transfer policies are. Because then you don't have to feel so pressured to find the perfect school already. It may be too son to know what environment is right for your daughter anyway (traditional, montessori, etc...) Then you can relax knowing that if the school in your district isn't right for you and you daughter you can transfer.

http://www.greatschools.net/

Hi J.-do a google search for "greatschools". I'm not sure if it is greatschools.org or .net or .com. Alot of good info there.
K.

You've already gotten the advice I would give on how to do the research. Once you've settled on where to purchase your home and are settled into the neighborhood, I suggest that if possible you find out how you can volunteer in the school your daughter will attend. That way you'll get an "insider's" feel for what the school is really like. You can continue to volunteer when your daughter starts school and always be on top of what is going on. Most schools use a parent volunteer for a morning a week... two or three hours of your time... and it's an enjoyable, enlightening experience. I read somewhere that children whose parents volunteer tend to get more attention from the teachers. I don't know if that's true, but it makes sense that a teacher might tend to pay more attention to a child whose parent is helping in the classroom. And, by the way, if being in the same room with your child is not comfortable for you, the school would welcome the help in any classroom and you'd still get a feel for the atmosphere of the school in general, because you would get to know the teachers and office staff on a personal level.
Most, if not all, schools today have to require a background check and probably have you be fingerprinted in order for you to volunteer, but even if you have to pay for those things out of your own pocket, it's worth doing.

Greetings J.: I have 5 children and we moved several times over the years so I understand your need to know about schools. Please have in your contract that you sign with a realator that they have to give you the true information about the school districts( we got out of a deal because of untrue information and the owners got to hold the agent accountable) We bought a house in on the Castro Valley/ San Leandro boarder and were told that our children would go to Castro Valley only to find out we were ONE house out of the district AND they were being sent to San Lorenzo!!
We lerned to contact the church we might be attending and asked people there about the area. We always ask if there is a teacher in the congreation that we can talk with. We always found that a success and because of it learned what parts of town not to buy in. You can go to the district office of any district or have your agent do it and get a current map of the school boundries. Contact the district and be sure that they don't have children that live right next to a school going across town because of over crowding, or they are planning to close the school at the end of the year!! Also ask if they have any special programs your interested in - for us it was Music and Sign Language & do they have any charter schools.
What ever leval your student is PLEASE find time to help out at the school. I had a child in High School, Jr. High, and 2 in elementry all at once and worked in the HS library, the office at the Jr. high, and in the classrooms at the ele. There is always a need for parents & your student will know how much you care. It is also the best way to see teachers in action. More than once we made it clear we would not allow children with a certain teacher because of what I saw for myself.
Just because a school has an " Special Titled Award" does not mean a darn thing. I have seen ours get it and been amazed at how they pulled it off. Good Luck in your search and know that if you buy in a area that is brand new or has a brand new school it is always good. But that with cut backs every school may suffer.
Should you have a special needs child either very smart or disabled, check with the Special Services dept. at the district office and see what programs they have and is your SELPHA going to cover your needs. Then by all means attend the /cac meetings to get a idea of how they work.
Good Luck with your search, Nana G

Hi J.,

You should check out greatschools.net. You can look at test scores, demographics, and how they compare to other schools in that area etc.

Test scores are important, especially in CA, and many schools place children in classes based on them. You will find their API (academic performance index) on greatschools.net and that tells you how that school is doing based on state standards.

I would also do a school visit and talk to a teacher and or principal and observe a class. Don't be afraid or intimidated to do this, you will find them happy to share info about their school. This also gives you a chance to check out the neighborhood, safeness of the campus, and overall feel of the school

I would ask about these things:

Curriculum, do they follow state standards and are all teachers teaching the same things. You don't want a school where the teachers can do whatever they want and not teach key concepts. This happens more than most people realize.

Class size, smaller the better. Most K-3 are 20 to 1.

Facilities, are things clean, safe, do all kids have textbooks, supplies etc.

Classes, do they offer art, music, PE etc in addition to the basic subjects. Many schools are eliminating them because of budget problems.

Support, do they offer tutoring, resource programs etc to help struggling students

Parent involvement, this can make a huge impact on the success of a school

I hope this isn't too overwhelming! I am a teacher turned stay at home mom and I know how important finding a good school is. Good luck!!

S.

There is a website called GreatSchools.net that has information on schools. It has class sizes, test scores, reviews from parents, etc. You may want to check that out.

The absolute best way to check out a school district is to visit a school in person. Ask to meet with the principal or better yet observe in a few classrooms. Walk around the campus and watch students interact during lunch, recess, etc. I know this is not very practical, but when you get really serious about an area, I suggest you do that. Many areas now offer charter schools as well as another option. You can do initial research by checking out school websites. That will give you basic info. Most school should have their SARC Report with test scores, teacher student ration, graduation rate, suspension rates, etc. Best of luck.
No. Cal. Teacher