Regarding Moving

I would not move to a poor school district.

There may be a handful of decent schools in that district but still, you need to look at property values as well. IF you do move to the place with a poor school district, you need to factor in private school options along with transportation daily.

Choose a different district to move to.

We homeschool and like it. We did K12 for the first several months, but ended up going away from that because it was exactly like public school, at home. Lots of busywork, and no way for the parent to bypass the busywork if the child understands the concept already. No thanks. We ended up going to Oak Meadow, which we like a lot more. We don't go through a charter school, we just homeschool independently. A homeschool charter can be great for a few reasons, though. Generally they have a credentialed teacher supervising you (you'd meet with the teacher every few weeks and give samples of your child's work, and the teacher is the one who actually gives grades at the end of the semester), and they pay for the curriculum. They also keep records for you (attendance, grade records, etc). The downside is that you have to do school according to their calendar. You can't decide to go on vacation at a time when the school district is in session, for instance. The days when you're allowed to go on field trips are limited. So there's some red tape you have to work around with most homeschool charters, but a lot of families we know go through charters and like it.

We are independent homeschoolers, which in California means that we register with the state as our own little private school of 2 children. ;) It is entirely up to me to purchase curriculum, give grades, search out advice if I need it, and so on.

In terms of interacting with other kids... *sigh* As homeschoolers, we hear this ALL THE TIME. "But what do you do to socialize your kids?" As if they never leave the house. Ha! We are almost never home! We are part of a homeschool group that goes to the park once per week, and aside from that we have other planned activities. In the past week, my kids have made gingerbread houses with their friends, their group of friends came to watch my daughters perform in the Nutcracker ballet, and there was a teen hangout that my older daughter went to. I'd venture to guess that they hang out with other homeschooled kids more than most public school kids hang out with their friends! (As one of my daughters' friends likes to say, "Socializing? Oh, you mean what kids at public school get in trouble for doing?") Add to that that most kids also have outside activities where they hang out with all kinds of kids. My girls are avid ballerinas, and are at ballet 6 days per week, for several hours each day. They have tons of friends. They're able to carry on an intelligent conversation with just about anyone, child or adult. They're friendly and are not socially awkward. Really, this is not something you need to worry about if you decide to homeschool. I promise!

For more information about homeschooling, you might want to check out the HSLDA: http://www.hslda.org/default.aspx From there, you can find information about your state's requirements.

Personally, I would not move to a poorly rated school district. Property values tend to be related to school performance and I would be concerned my property value could drop over time. If you do move to a poorly rated district however you could send your children to private school.

I would not move into a district without good schools, even if I had to commute to make it work. If I did, it would only be if I had identified a private school I would be happy with.

Property values tend to be closely associated with the quality of the local school district so even if I didn't have kids in the schools, this would be a concern.

Homeschooling can be a wonderful opportunity if you are organzied adn think you can do it. I have many firends who've homeschooled here and there for different reasons and in difference time of their children's lives. Some home-schooled for jsut a year or two others for one kid and not another, other until high school and then went to publice high schoole - others the other way around.

All of the kids I know who've been homeschooled are involved in some kind of home-schooling group. some are at churhces, some are seculare. All of them have a few things in common - they meet once a week (usually Friday) and they do art, gym, field trips and have guest speakers on that day. The parents share resources, give advice, end up heloping each other teach topics that are tough for them, etc. Every home-schooled child & family I know, except one family, the kidsare thee sweetest, nicest, kindest, most creative kids I know. They're not stuck in that peer pressure thing. They know their teacher loves them. Most finish their work waaaay earlier than 3:00 and then there's no homework! There are also online school options as well that handle curriculum, testing and grading.

People think being in a classroom is mind-expanding, but where's the variety? A classroom is a homogenous group of 20 kids. They're generally from the same demographic, they're all within the same 1 year age wise, etc. Homeschooling exposes your kids to all different ages, to learning experiences that most imitate real life.

YOu 'll find the best option I'm sure.

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Homeschooling can be a wonderful opportunity if you are organzied adn think you can do it. I have many firends who've homeschooled here and there for different reasons and in difference time of their children's lives. Some home-schooled for jsut a year or two others for one kid and not another, other until high school and then went to publice high schoole - others the other way around.

All of the kids I know who've been homeschooled are involved in some kind of home-schooling group. some are at churhces, some are seculare. All of them have a few things in common - they meet once a week (usually Friday) and they do art, gym, field trips and have guest speakers on that day. The parents share resources, give advice, end up heloping each other teach topics that are tough for them, etc. Every home-schooled child & family I know, except one family, the kidsare thee sweetest, nicest, kindest, most creative kids I know. They're not stuck in that peer pressure thing. They know their teacher loves them. Most finish their work waaaay earlier than 3:00 and then there's no homework! There are also online school options as well that handle curriculum, testing and grading.

People think being in a classroom is mind-expanding, but where's the variety? A classroom is a homogenous group of 20 kids. They're generally from the same demographic, they're all within the same 1 year age wise, etc. Homeschooling exposes your kids to all different ages, to learning experiences that most imitate real life.

YOu 'll find the best option I'm sure.

We don't have all the information here. Why must you move only to this particular area with the poor schools? Is there a specific job awaiting you or your husband there? If that's the case, unless the school district boundaries are huge, can you buy your home in a better, neighboring district and you or your husband commutes to this job? Yes, your home will be more expensive because as others all note below, good district equals higher home values.

If you are not moving to this area for a specific job -- why are you going there? If it's to be near family, again, same idea: Move to the next nearest district unless it's some really vast district.

You do know that there's a good chance your child will not get into the charter school if it's by lottery or even by application, so you should try for that but not depend on it either.

Private is an option but may not be one for YOU if your husband is just finishing schooling-- it's easy for others to say "go private" but it can be so costly that it is out of reach. Look into private schools and ask about scholarships etc. But I'd put my emphasis and energy first on finding a district that had better public schools.

Someone also mentioned that within any district there can be much better schools among a bad district. Absolutely true, and worth investigating, though it takes legwork and effort to do in advance if you're not already in the area. But it might be important if you just have to house-hunt in the poor district. One thing, though -- you might find the one really good elementary school and discover that it unfortunately feeds into a so-so or lousy middle school and/or high school, and then the work is undone, frankly.

I'd make a big effort to move to a better district even if it means a commute for a parent's job.

As for homeschooling, it can work and does work, but it is a huge commitment of your time and will mean that once you move, your life as the adult is going to be totally about homeschooling your child, and if you want to be involved in other things, that may not happen as much as you'd like. Also be sure, if you homeschool in the new area, that there are homeschooler co-ops with shared classes, activities etc. I knew a homeschooler whose kids went to other parents for group lessons in art, chemistry, etc., and who were in a homeschooler-only drama group, etc. But that was in an area with a TON of homeschoolers and a lot of museums, libraries and other institutions that put on programs just for homeschoolers, plus a lot of homeschool co-op groups. If the area to which you move has things like that - great. If not, it will all fall to you.

If you are moving to an area where there are mostly low income situations then you're going to have to accept that all schools have minimal standards they must teach and show the kids have that basic knowledge or they get closed down.

I don't stress over schools so much. Of course there are schools in this town that I would not like to send my grand kids to but it wouldn't be because of the education they would or would not get.

If all the schools in this new area do not have at least a C grade overall from the government then I'd look in the suburbs or surrounding towns of this area.

For instance, if I didn't want to put my kiddo in an OKC school then I'd look in Moore, Midwest City, Del City, The Village, Bethany, Edmond, and if non of the schools in that area fit my requirements then I'd look at Norman, Guthrie, Yukon, Mustang, Tuttle, Newcastle, Blanchard, Choctaw, and the next level out from the city center.

I wouldn't accept that I only had one choice.

If you are willing to have your kiddo home each and every day and not have an empty house where you can do deep cleaning and go to doc appts, and other stuff and you feel confident that home schooling would be for you then by all means, try homeschooling for the rest of the semester.

BUT I would take this all into consideration and I might rent for the rest of the semester/til May or June so you can get a good feel for the community and what schools you really feel good about.

I think it all depends on the individuals, both your child and the teachers. When we moved to the USA my dad chose a good school district. The town was rich but for most both parents worked to afford the big houses. Some of these rich kids took drugs and bought wine with all their money. We did breed fruit flies, dissected fetal pigs, made aspirin, had conversational French and Science Fiction as electives, etc. So the available courses and funding was great, but parental involvement was low except for money. A more recent example is that our daughter goes to our town's great public schools but we had to fight them for 4 years to get her on an IEP for her LDs whereas a friend in a supposedly lesser district asked once and immediately received help for his child. Of course the LDs may have been more obvious so the comparison may not be appropriate. But if your child is eager to learn and fits the bell curve of students who CAN learn in a standard setting, she may be OK in any school. I also have a friend in a big city and the diversity of students is overwhelming the school budget with required courses for non English speakers and gangs etc that she did pull her daughter out for safety reasons plus most of the class time was spent trying to get everyone to pay attention. Lots of yelling and being sent to the principal. Not a good setting for learning at all. So some more research may be needed to find out what is really going on in the schools, visit them, talk to teachers and then decide.

My answer below is based on CA. Things are probably different in GA so do your research. My answer is based on going to a K12 school.

Rather than looking at the school district as a whole, look at the individual schools and see if there is one you like. If you find one but cannot find a home within it's boundaries, request an Intra-District transfer through the school district. Basically ask to attend a different school outside your neighborhood.

If you cannot find a home in your preferred school district, you can request an Inter-District transfer. That requires you going to your neighborhood school district and asking them to release your child to attend school within a different school district. You then take the release paperwork to your desired school district and request to attend a specific school there.

In CA, you need to provide a birth certificate, immunization records and proof of residency (utility bill, lease contract, etc.) Call the school district to see what they require.

Expect that you will have to transport your child yourself. Busing isn't provided on transfers.

Good luck with your move.