As a current teacher at a charter school, we are asked by our administration to do many things when enrollment season comes around. It's all about putting up a facade that we enjoy teaching there, that administration is helpful, and that kids and parents love the school. Don't be convinced by fake smiles or ridiculous promises made by the administration. Most likely they are lying to you.

One of the most salient factors I use to evaluate the effectiveness of a school is teacher retention rate. If teachers stay at a school, then they most likely enjoy their jobs, have an effective and supportive administration, and enjoy the students. If the school is a revolving door for teachers, I would not recommend that any child attend such a school. These numbers should be able to be located on the DCPS or Charter Board website (probably on CAS or AYP documents), but a school will be able to provide you this information. If they hesitate, I would be skeptical.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Good School. By Peg Tyre. A quick read and highlights what's truly important about any school, whether public, private, charter, parochial.

From memory, she stressed small classes only for grades k- 3 as having any beneficial impact on learning.

well-trained and seasoned teachers. If you have a new teacher, the school should be supporting that teacher closely.

Singapore Math has the best outcomes, but only slightly. Kids need to learn some aspects of math by rote.

Recess and/or physical activity thought the day is also critical.

Totally disagree that small class sizes only matter K-3 but that is left to each parent to decide. For us we visited and looked at how teaching was done. Worksheets or more interactive? What kind of testing? In some schools it's all the same. Every test is objective. Other schools use different methods: essays, presentations, interactive learning models, etc. that mattered to us. In a large class teachers can't mix it up as much, focus on different skills as much, writing, discussion, further understanding of difficult math concepts, more time on experiments in science classes. Decide what matters to you and investigate those specific things each school has to offer.

Her book is based on data, and there are no studies that show better outcomes for older students. YMMV.

“School quality depends on many characteristics, not all easily measurable, and not all equally important for each individual child or family.” – Project Appleseed

Visit the school.

Are there things on the walls? From the fall? or more current?

Are the teachers smiling? In April? Do they look harried?

Is it too quiet? Too noisy? At a pleasant hum?

Are they receptive to people observing the classroom?

Are the desks lined up in rows facing the teacher? Are they grouped in groups of 3-5?

Is the PTA well organized and funded?

Is the library full of books and technology?

Are the kids smiling and happy?

Are there a significant number of male teachers?

How many children are in each class? What does the school do to mitigate large classrooms?

When do they start differentiating math?

Is it a Lake Wobegon School (where all the kids are above average)?

Is there inclusion?

Do all the same grade teachers work independently or do they work as a team? Do they integrate the art and music and PE into the curriculum?

Anonymous wrote:The Good School. By Peg Tyre. A quick read and highlights what's truly important about any school, whether public, private, charter, parochial.

From memory, she stressed small classes only for grades k- 3 as having any beneficial impact on learning.

well-trained and seasoned teachers. If you have a new teacher, the school should be supporting that teacher closely.

Singapore Math has the best outcomes, but only slightly. Kids need to learn some aspects of math by rote.

Recess and/or physical activity thought the day is also critical.

Totally disagree that small class sizes only matter K-3 but that is left to each parent to decide. For us we visited and looked at how teaching was done. Worksheets or more interactive? What kind of testing? In some schools it's all the same. Every test is objective. Other schools use different methods: essays, presentations, interactive learning models, etc. that mattered to us. In a large class teachers can't mix it up as much, focus on different skills as much, writing, discussion, further understanding of difficult math concepts, more time on experiments in science classes. Decide what matters to you and investigate those specific things each school has to offer.

The Good School. By Peg Tyre. A quick read and highlights what's truly important about any school, whether public, private, charter, parochial.

From memory, she stressed small classes only for grades k- 3 as having any beneficial impact on learning.

well-trained and seasoned teachers. If you have a new teacher, the school should be supporting that teacher closely.

Singapore Math has the best outcomes, but only slightly. Kids need to learn some aspects of math by rote.

Recess and/or physical activity thought the day is also critical.

For some it's the newer facility with the cafetorium that overlooks a beautiful wooded area. For some it's class size. For some it's farms and ESOL rates. For most of us it's simply the neighborhood school.

I suggest you start with what is important to you. For some it's immersion, math classes, gifted education.

Also how does your child learn? Some kids will do well in just about any school because they have intrinsic motivation and good work habits. Some need more like hands on learning.

Honestly, you have to visit and go with your instincts and what your child tells you.

Other than API scores, parent opinions, school tour, how do you evaluate the quality of a school? Private schools don't even have APIs, so it seems even harder to evaluate a private school's academics.

New to this and totally lost.