How do you tour public schools?

[Anonymous]

We want to get a sense for how a few of the local public elementary schools are before we decide on a new home to purchase, but I've called several up (in Bethesda) and none of them do tours for prospective parents! Am I mistaken, or do many people on this board recommend that you go tour these schools? How do you do that?

[Anonymous]

We've toured both Wood Acres and Whitman. At Wood Acres they actually had a whole group tour. At Whitman they arranged a shadow visit for my daughter and a tour for us. Whitman was 2 years ago, Wood Acres much longer ago. Don't know if it makes a difference that we already live in the boundaries for those schools.

[Anonymous]

I made an appointment with the principal and he was happy to give me a tour.

[Anonymous]

I had good luck getting tours while I was house-hunting (so not in the district yet).

I toured Somerset in Chevy Chase by calling the school's office--a parent volunteer did the tours on a regular basis. I also was able to schedule an appointment (with the vice-principal, I think) to hear more about the school.

I toured Kensington Parkwood by calling the school's office. The principal ended up taking me on the tour, so I got the chance to ask lots of questions.

[Anonymous]

We also took a tour of Woodacres. It was a group tour led by the Principal.

Kensington Parkwood refused us a tour until the summer? Confused why we were denied????

Coldspring (Potomac) has self guided tours.

[Anonymous]

15:36: Call Kensington Parkwood back and ask to speak with the principal. Sometimes you have to find the right person to ask.

[Anonymous]

15:36 poster again. Thanks for the tip about KP. Will give it a try.

[Anonymous]

We had trouble getting tours as well. Some will only let non-parents into the building during school open houses. Others will provide a tour given by the principal. At one school we had our own, personal tour. But it really seems to vary.

[Anonymous]

I tried getting a tour of Ritchie Park ES, and the principal refused.

[Anonymous]

Wow - I'd say if principal is not willing to give a tour (or assign a staff member to do so), then cross the school off your list. To me, such a closed culture says a lot about the atmosphere/attitude at the school.

[Anonymous]

8:38 No, no, no! This doesn't happen at private, the head of school meeting with prospective parents, why should it at public? OP, please do not write off a school if you can't meet with the principal or get a tour. Many schools do not give tours, period. Call an education consultant. There's one in Bethesda, I'm blanking on her name, her office on Bethesda Avenue, she knows the public school scene. Also, look at back issues of Bethesda Magazine. Finally, realtors will not only know school reps, they'll know school families. Talk to them. Obviously you'll want to sniff around the school, when you're deeper into your decision, maybe you can persuade the school to let you in for a peak. (My child went to one of the most in-demand schools in DC., with hundreds on the waitlist. If the principal met with every prospective parent, that would be her fulltime job. Think about it.)

[Anonymous]

The principal should arrange for someone to give prospective parents a tour. Refusal to do so does reflect badly on the school. Parent volunteers, other staff members can give tours. The best schools have the most involved parents, and schools must bend over backwards to invite parents into their communities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We want to get a sense for how a few of the local public elementary schools are before we decide on a new home to purchase, but I've called several up (in Bethesda) and none of them do tours for prospective parents! Am I mistaken, or do many people on this board recommend that you go tour these schools? How do you do that?

MoCo public schools usually have monthly (at a minimum) open houses from January to March. This was true this year for Chevy Chase, Bethesda, Rosemary Hills, Somerset, North Chevy Chase and Westbrook. Call the school directly and ask the person who answers the phone. Sometimes the front office will know the schedule, sometimes they will refer you to a designated parent volunteer who either has regular times for tours or does them on an as-needed basis.

If you are trying to get a tour now (in April) it may be that they are basically finished w/ the regular open house schedule for the year, and that's why they're saying they aren't doing tours. Call back and explain that you're house hunting and trying to decide on neighborhoods and is it possible to get a brief private tour (i.e. you're not asking about an "open house") either from school staff or a parent volunteer.

In April and May, public elementaries tend to have orientation days for the incoming kindergarteners, so if the school says they don't have a way to give you a tour, maybe you can ask if you can tag along with the orientation to get some sense of the school.

Bottom line though, a school who is still not welcoming, even after trying to clarify your needs as above, well, that says a lot about the kind of school it is.....

[Anonymous]

Principal's wife here. You wouldn't believe the time principals spend working beyond the school day, week-ends, long nights w/ paper work.... As a parent, I truly want to see what is going on inside a school before I put my child in it. As a spouse who sees the kind of work involved, I understand why a monthly group tour is the best he can personally promise to prospective parents....many of whom do not even live in the attendance area. (Yes, they do orientations and all of that, the group tours are for the "just looking" folks.)