Ah, it’s February, and love is in the air. All over Phoenix, Moms aren’t wondering what kind of flowers they’d better be receiving from their dear husbands this year. No, instead a great number of Mommies are wondering, “Where in the heck is my kid going to school next year?” Long gone are the days when you could wait, say, a few days before school started and then trek over to your local school and sign your kid up. Nope, some of the best schools in the Phoenix Metro area already have waiting lists going. At one local charter school, people actually sign their kids up for the kindergarten program when they are still toddlers! (I kid you not.) And it’s not just the little kids vying for coveted spaces. You’ve never seen a scramble like a Mom with an opinionated sixth grader trying to figure out where to go to junior high. So whether it’s time for one of your chicks to leave the nest for kindergarten or to move up to junior high or to just change to a new school in general, here’s what you need to know to help you find your perfect match, educationally-speaking.
1. What are you looking for in your perfect match?
Make a list of things that are important to you. Be sure to get your hubby’s two cents and your child’s, if they are older. Ask yourself:
- How far are you willing to travel for school?
- Will you rely on bussing for transportation?
- Are you looking for a private, charter, and/or public school?
- How much can you afford to pay for tuition, if anything?
- Will you have to move siblings, too?
- Will there be a conflict in pick-up & drop-off schedules if siblings are at other schools?
- Is afterschool care available for younger children?
- What kind of extracurricular activities are available, especially for older children?
- How important are a school’s AIMS test and Terranova scores to you?
- How many kids are in each classroom?
2. Go online and do some general research.
The Great Schools website[ www.greatschools.org] can help you narrow down your choices. It allows you to search by type of school, distance, AIMS test scores, parent ratings, and more. Once you’ve narrowed down your choices to a half-dozen or so, visit each school’s website and try to get the flavor of the school. Look at their calendar to see what’s important. Do they have special fun days like “Crazy Hair Day”? Do they have music and theatre events? Or, are all the announcements about this fundraiser and that fundraiser?
3. Talk to everybody and anybody with kids the same age as yours.
Like choosing a mate, choosing a school is very subjective. Ask other Mommies what they like and don’t like about their child’s school. Ask about the homework load and other issues important to you. Take everything with a grain of salt, but use it as part of your bigger picture.
4. Schedule a tour.
You wouldn’t buy a house without seeing it. Don’t ship your kid off into The Great Unknown either just because the school looked good on paper. Most schools have open house events once a semester or so, and/or offer tours. Take your child with you, especially if they are older, and get a gut reaction from them, too. Again, take with a grain of salt and use as part of the bigger picture.
5. Ask questions!
If you think you’re going to be the only Mom there with a list of questions, guess again. Even on the odd chance that you are in a group where nobody really cares about their child’s education (C’mon, would they even be on the tour if they didn’t care?!?!), ask your questions anyway.
6. Do a little reconnaissance.
Of course everybody is going to put their best foot forward at an Open House or during a private tour. Be sure to do a little reconnaissance, too. Attend a band concert. See the school’s musical. Go to a home game. Tag along with a friend to their kid’s event. What kind of atmosphere does the school have when they aren’t in the spotlight?
7. Pay attention to deadlines.
If you are just now thinking about next year’s school, you may already be too late. One super-popular charter junior high/high school in Gilbert already has had their lottery for next year. I should know, my daughter is #3 on the waitlist. Her buddy is #123. Thanks to my friend Wendy, whose daughter already goes there, I knew that said school does their lottery in October of each year. If I was just starting my search now, I would have to cross that one off the list. Honestly, I would start your general research for schools a year in advance.
8. Have a Plan B. And a Plan C and D, if necessary.
Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I always like to have a Plan B. In the ultra-competitive business of finding the perfect school though, having a Plan C and even a Plan D, isn’t such a crazy idea either.
9. Get a reality check.
Just like there is no guy out there who is perfect [Not even you, Mr. Cullen!], no school is going to be perfect either. But if you know that your school has your priorities covered, then you can overlook some of the petty annoyances. You overlook your husband’s dirty sock collection in the middle of your bedroom floor, right? Sometimes you have to pick your battles.
Thanks to Arizona’s budget crisis and the impending cuts in education, looking for your perfect school match has turned into an Olympic sport this year. But armed with information, and the support of your fellow mommies, we can find that perfect match. Good luck, Ladies. Let the games begin!
P.S. BTW, Honey, I prefer purple tulips. Thanks.
