Touring Public Schools in New State/Town

[Anonymous]

We are planning a move this coming summer to another state, and our kid would be a 9th grader. I reached out to one public school and was told visits/tours are not allowed until a student is enrolled.

Is this common? We would obviously like to see/tour a school before we make a real estate commitment. I can understand safety and security issues, but to not have any access or way to see the school at all prior to enrollment seems a little crazy.

[Anonymous]

Publics are not like privates. They don't do tours.

But, they are subject to public disclosures like test scores, graduation rates, and the like, where as private schools don't have tell the public any of that and many don't even participate in state testing. So at least you can gather data and make a decision based on numbers.

My advice is to look at the test scores of the surrounding public elementary and middle schools to get an idea of what kind of kids feed into the high schools.

[Anonymous]

Look at scores.
Go look at the school exteriors, students coming and going. They can't prevent that.
See if there are any public events held in a school or on the grounds.

[Anonymous]

The only public schools I know that offer tours are Title 1 schools, they are normally trying to show parents that the school is safe and welcoming. Most public schools will not give you a tour. There are safety and privacy concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only public schools I know that offer tours are Title 1 schools, they are normally trying to show parents that the school is safe and welcoming. Most public schools will not give you a tour. There are safety and privacy concerns.

We are in a top public district both state-wide and nationally. The school district advertises that tours are available and encourages them for people looking to move into the district or transfer from private. So it's possible in some places!

[Anonymous]

We moved to a new state and I toured a bunch of public schools - they were elementary and middle only, though. I do wonder if HS would be different?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We moved to a new state and I toured a bunch of public schools - they were elementary and middle only, though. I do wonder if HS would be different?

I know of some parents who met with the principal the summer before school started, but that was when there were no kids in the building and it was a Title 1 school. I know others have asked and were told it was not possible.

[Anonymous]

This varies from place to place. It could not hurt to ask politely.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the thoughtful responses. I have reached out to 3 schools: one offered a tour (there were four dates this school year), one said they could offer something in the Spring as they are mid-testing and midterms during our visit dates and the third flat out declined.

I appreciate the idea of looking at test scores. I had not thought of that and will do so.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think there is any generalization to make. Some will give tours, some won’t.

I’ve never been told no, and have done a lot of tours public school tours over the years- but clearly according to others, some schools don’t allow it