FYI for all the people who say "go visit a school to see what it's really like"
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Anonymous
| I just called the schools in the two areas where we are considering living. They said 1) no tours unless you're already registered to attend the school, and 2) no tours during school hours. I set up a tour at the one that allows tours after school hours, but I'm not sure how much good that will do. |
Anonymous
| Over-crowded schools do this, unfortunately. They know you'll come if you move there, and they'd kind of rather you didn't. |
Anonymous
| I don't have a huge problem with this. You touring is disruptive to the students and their day. Privates do it because they are selling themselves to parents but publics aren't in that position. |
Anonymous
And who on staff is supposed to take time off to give tours? There is no admissions staff. Should tax dollars go to paying someone's salary so they can give tours to parents? I doubt anyone is thrilled with that. |
Anonymous
This is OP, and I agree that they don't really have the staff available to give me a tour. I have always been surprised when people suggest that. What I object to are the DCUM posters who insist that "instead of relying on Great Schools ratings, you really need to go take a tour of the schools and see for yourself" when that isn't an option! |
Anonymous
Which is why Great Schoools Scores matter. They matter people. We all know it And your house values depend on it. |
Anonymous
I agree with this. I really wonder how those people expect people to do this. A tour, as you said, isn't really feasible. Their other argument is to talk to people in the neighborhood. How are you supposed to do that if you don't already live there (aka you haven't already made the commitment of signing a lease or purchasing a home)? Do they expect people to stop randos on the street and say, "Hey, what do you think of the local ES?" There's no good way to get information about public schools before you live in the neighborhood and get to know current parents, so that's why people depend on Niche, Great Schools, and other websites. |
Anonymous
Try to talk around to people if you can. Are you looking FCPS? FWIW the reviews of my kids’ school on this site are pretty true. |
Anonymous
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Attend a PTA meeting; you should be able to see the meeting schedule on the school or the PTA's own website. PTA meetings aren't closed; no one will toss you out for not having a kid at the school yet. What are the PTA priorities? Are they scrambling to stay afloat and scraping up money, or are they full of projects that directly benefit students? Is the principal at the meeting if there is reason for him or her to be?
Locate a neighborhood listserv (or whatever they're called now )for the area of the school and see what people in the neighborhood talk about. If your kids are young enough to be playground age, take them to playgrounds in that area on weekends and strike up conversations--be open about the fact you're considering moving there and you'd love to hear about the schools. Some school playgrounds are open for public use outside school hours; you might be able to take your kids to play at the school they'd attend if you moved. And you're likely to meet parents with kids who attend that school. Approach that after hours school tour you booked with a more open attitude--you won't see kids in classes but the up side is you may be able to ask a teacher questions. Look at the facilities, see if the school seems well kept or worn out (ask: any building work planned? When? Would parts of the building close for renovation if one is on the calendar?....). See if the library is well supplied or skimpy on books (and ask: are there reading groups, book clubs etc.? Our ES had them). Ask to see the music classroom or band/strings room(s) if they have them for older students; etc. etc. You can get a lot out of an after school tour if you really look and ask a lot of questions. |
Anonymous
Recent DCUM thread said GS scores were somehow reworked and some schools dropped in ways that posters thought made little sense. GS really gets overrated here as some vastly important metric. It's one potential piece of information, that's all. So many posts where parents talk about their kids' school and say they like it and ignore the GS rating. You can factor in GS but I'd never base a choice on one source of information alone, OP. |
Anonymous
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Fortunately our public school was happy to give us a tour. They do a tour every January for people who want to consider the school. the main secretary does it - we were there probably half an hour and found it tremendously helpful. I'm sorry to hear more schools aren't that welcoming.
But as others have said, there are other ways to get in the building to get a sense of the place - PTA meetings, but also other school events. Band concerts, performances, book fairs, etc are all usually open to the public. |
Anonymous
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I agree with the PP who said to go to a PTA meeting. Actually, I would suggest going to an event that isn't necessarily a PTA MEETING -- but rather a school event, like an ice cream social or the fall festival or the spring open house event (our school used to have "authors and artists" day). Go to anything that puts you in the vicinity of other parents... and then ask questions of parents/teachers/principal. Even go to the playgrounds after school hours and chat up the parents there. Public schools aren't looking to get your business. They don't have marketing teams like private schools do.
They don't care if you take them or leave them. (well, maybe the lower tiered schools are more receptive to middle and upper middle income parents and they have some minimal incentive to encourage those families to send their kids there). Another PP is right -- GS and the school profile tell you about the demographics of a school. That basically (in a crude sort of way) tells you what your child's experience is going to be like. Every school has good teachers and mediocre teachers. I've never seen a completely terrible teacher. So, your child will learn something wherever you go. Stats that are standardized across the county/state/nation are useful in understanding the overall achievement in a particular school. But, the high end kids do well anywhere. It's the ones who aren't super high achievers who benefit from being around high achieving peers. In a nutshell, there isn't much you will get out of going on a tour or sitting in a particular class for 10 min. Look at the SES, look at the standardized tests (be that SOL or SATs), and talk to parents who have kids at that school. If you have formed a particular vision of what a class should look like, then you are likely to be disappointed in public school, b/c it won't look like your ideal. Public schools (especially in elementary level) just won't "impress" you. In HS -- they might -- if you kid is taking honors and AP classes. And even in regular classes, kids are learning a lot in HS these days. But, in elementary school, the bells and whistles (and the personal attention) are at the private schools, not the public schools. |
Anonymous
| What are you looking for in a tour? You definitely won't be able to sit in on classes so really the only thing you can see is the building itself. You also won't be able to talk to the teachers or students. Public schools don't care one way or the other if you come there. Private schools care so that is why they hold open houses. My son went to a magnet elementary school and they did have an open house in November prior to the application deadline. The assistant principal gave a short talk in the cafeteria and they have 5th grade students giving brief tours. That was one day and they had a limit on the number of people attending (you had to RSVP by a certain date and they only had space for a certain number of people). |
Anonymous
Our local publics were happy to do it. We flew here for a few days before our military move to try to narrow down school districts for our housing search. They consider it part of their mission of making the schools central to the community. These schools are not overcrowded, however. |
Anonymous
Because my subjective feelings about the school will overcome the objective data I want to ignore. |