[quote=sdduuuude][quote=fredo4]I’m a former teacher and IMO the biggest thing to look for in a school is parental involvement.
Personally, I’m a lot more concerned about the moral climate of a school than the academic climate[/quote]
Well said. How do you gauge this ?
Visits to the school or crashing the PTA meetings ?
[/quote]
All of the above. If possible, visit the school and skulk around the classrooms without them walking you around as an official visitor. Then you can see what’s really going on in the rooms. This, I’m sure is easier for a woman to get away with then a man so you’d have to send your wife.
I wouldn’t go by what parents who send their kids to the school say either. They wouldn’t be sending their kid there if they had any major complaints. And most people are not nearly as picky as I am about schools not having worked at one and seen what goes on (e.g. Bad teachers who are mean to the kids and don’t get fired, improper supervision on fieldtrips, lazy teachers who don’t teach,etc.).
You have to remember that school aged kids are much more influenced by their peers than by their parents, so choosing a school with nice kids and a healthy environment really is critical. It’s much more important than just looking at test scores.
It doesn’t matter how good the school is academically if your kids get mixed up with a bunch of stoners who don’t even graduate high school.
