Touring schools before buying a house? Help!

[Anonymous]

Tell me about how you tour schools when you are preparing to buy a house. I know how to research schools on the interwebs and have a better than average understanding of educational statistics, but I need help understanding how things are typically done in Montgomery County. We're moving to the area from Philadelphia. We have time to do the research right--my daughter won't be eligible for kindergarten for four more years, and we're renting for at least our first year in the area.

Do you just call up a school and say, "I'm considering moving to your attendance zone, will you take time out of your day to show me around?" I'm a former public school teacher and that would not have flown where I taught. Worse, I think the administration would have seen you as a potential problem parent if you did that. (That was a middle school in California and not one I would choose to send my child to.)

How many schools did you tour?

Is there a time of year where tours typically take place or are more easily accommodated?

Do schools have open houses that prospective parents attend?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Well I am in Alexandria and did just that - called up and said I wanted to come visit the school. The scheduled a visit with the principal and I went. I didn't do a full tour - I didn't want to - I saw some classrooms and the basic areas - asked the principal a list of questions. No one seemed put out or anything.

Public schools don't have Open Houses except for kindergarten I think.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks!

I'd love to hear from Mont. Co parents!

[Anonymous]

I'm a Montgomery county parent and teacher - at the high school where I teach there are regularly scheduled tours, generally once or twice a month. If that doesn't fit your time frame, call the main office and see if someone can give you a tour. Generally the office staff will make an arrangement with a PTSA member if they don't have time to do it themselves.

Best of luck -

[Anonymous]

All MCPS school have open houses on Columbus Day..but that might not be the best day for a non-parent to visit. When we were making K choices for my daughter I asked to come in a visit. I observed a kindergarten class. No time with the principal or any other school official though..

[Anonymous]

If you have a 4 year headstart on school and plan on renting for a year, I would say wait for the Open Houses.

[Anonymous]

I did this in Bethesda last Fall. Each school had a scheduled tour date once per month throughout the school year and I just called the office to find out when it was and signed up. I went to three schools and then we decided not to move to MoCo. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

@23:14 - smart move to avoid MoCo. Thinking of going private or to a different county ( in VA) to escape. Would you mind please sharing where you landed and if you've been satisfied? TIA!

[Anonymous]

23:14 here-I couldn't justify paying the housing prices in the parts of Bethesda we were looking for a Kindergarten class size of 25-26 (one class even had 27 - I know this is usually when a new class is added but what happens when student number 27 moves in Nov?) without an aide (cut due to budget reasons) and parent volunteers as the "extra hands". Not to mention overcrowding of schools and trailers as classrooms. I love public schools and worked in several before becoming a SAHM, however I did not feel MoCo was the best choice for us. So, we decided to move out of the immediate DC area and into Annapolis (here come the flames...) which has terrible public schools. However we felt it offers our family a more laid back lifestyle and more value for our money (property wise and private school wise - 1/2 price tuition when compared to some DC privates!). DH is ok with the commute (hope this continues!).

Sorry OP for hijacking here, but definitely take the time to check out as many MoCo (and maybe VA) schools as you can. Don't worry, the staff won't think of you as a "potential problem parent" for touring the schools. This is the DC area and taking tours is nothing compared to what else goes on around here (just a bit of reading on DCUM will show you that!).

[Anonymous]

I am a former MCPS counselor (retired). I will apologize in advance if I sound harsh. I commend you for trying to be a diligent parent and researching to see what is best for your family. I am not quite sure what you expect your tour to entail. Most folks will gladly give you a brief tour and give you info about the school but please sign up for the scheduled tour date if you can. Otherwise, depending on the timing, extent of your "special" tour, and the workload of the staff, expect some blank stares and awkward silence when you reveal that your DC would not be attending the school for 4 years. These folks are overworked and trying to manage of lot of things with current students and parents and giving special tours regarding a 1-2YO is not always the best use of their time. Good luck!!!

[Anonymous]

OP, you've gotten some good advice so far. I also would just warn you that it's really hard to get a good sense of what type of kindergarten classroom will be best for your child when your child is still a baby. I couldn't have imagined that my active, difficult toddler would have matured into a kid interested in learning and capable of thriving in a setting of 25 other children - which is the norm for all MoCo schools except for those in economically disadvantaged areas.

At this stage, a school tour is a nice diversion but it's not necessarily a useful metric since you don't have any experience to compare it against. For that reason your best gauge of schools would be talking to other parents in neighborhoods that you like, those with school-aged kids and those who are looking at where to send their kids. So instead of or at least in addition to reaching out to schools, I'd suggest contacting the PTAs in each area that you're seriously considering. See if you can find a way to reach out to parents (and walk the neighborhoods where you're looking at buying a house and see if you can meet other parents.) I actually signed up for our PTA listserv a good 18 months before my oldest started K. It was a useful window on the parent community, school culture, etc while I weighed the decision of whether we needed to go private (an uncertainty that mainly concerned class size.) Not all areas here have an active neighborhood listserv (I'm in CC MD and we don't really have one) so the PTA listservs can be a great resource!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you are doing this right OP! Rent for a year, tour the schools, talk to parents you meet out and about and sign up for the PTA listserve. I toured schools way before my child was Kindergarten age and the staff was very welcoming and warm on the tours. You have public school experience so you know schools can change in just a few years and you also know what you are seeing when you tour a school. I would say you are doing all you can before you make a big purchase-good for you!

[Anonymous]

OP here.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

To the counselor who responded. Yes, that was exactly my thought when I read about all these people going on school tours. I am more than happy to comply with the scheduled tour dates. I understand that administrators are incredibly busy people and do not want to waste their time.

Thank you for telling me about the scheduled tours and that parents are sometimes allowed to observe kindergarten classes!

As I mentioned, I'm a former teacher. I also did my PhD dissertation research in education. I think I could get a lot out of observing a classroom, even though my daughter is only 22 months old.

[Anonymous]

Attend school activities at the school you're considering. Art nights, fall fairs, sports events, school concerts, that sort if thing. Go with wide open eyes. sign up for school listservs. Go to a PTA meeting.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP. I'm all for the touring of the schools. We live in MoCo, and a few years ago, we were moving within the county, right before our child was going into K, so I called the principals at the neighborhood schools that we were very seriously considering, and it was very informative. They did not tell me there were regularly scheduled tours, but instead the principals met with me and gave me a tour of the school. I liked hearing the principal explain their approach and what goes on at the school, and also just getting to observe in a classroom for a bit, gives you a good feel for instructional approaches (small group work, independent work, whole class working, etc), class size, diversity of students, a lot of useful things to know. Good luck to you!