Choosing a School for your Child

It is Education Week in Victoria. Many schools have Open Days to try and attract prospective students for next year.  As a smaller school, we need to be mindful of how we are appealing to future families.  I want families to select our school because I know how hard we work to support their child. More importantly, I  want families to be able to make an informed decision about the education they are choosing for their child. 

When my brother was looking for a school for his daughter, I remember him raving about the Music, Drama and Art programs schools offered, as well as the camps and excursions. When I asked him about how the school would teach Reading or Mathematics he vaguely replied, "I suppose they teach those too." 

It is easy to focus on the shiny and attractive things, but something should alarm us when after a school tour prospective families understand more about the half hour music class than about the 15 hours/week their child will spend receiving literacy (reading & writing) and numeracy (mathematics) instruction. You need to make sure that the cake is good before worrying about the decorative icing.

Unfortunately, we can't just assume that schools will teach your child to read, write and do maths. I know that they will try to do so, but there are schools that use ineffective programs. You need to ask questions to make sure that your child will get the best education that they can. This post outlines the process that I followed to choose a school for my daughter. I am aware of the privilege I have that allowed me to select a school for her, and of the inside-knowledge that I have as a teacher to help me make that decision. 

1. Do the background research
This is your chance to live out any spy fantasy you might have. Take your time to research the school and find out any and all information about it that you can.

• Check out the school's website. What feel do you get from it? Look at the language that the school uses to describe itself. You can download Annual Reports from Victorian Government schools and see what successes they have had. Look for any policies or statements about teaching and learning. Do you agree with these policies? If you choose to send your child to the school, you will be supporting them.
• Talk to other parents/carers. Ask them about what they like and they don't like about the school. Other parents/carers will be honest, very honest. Take criticisms with a grain of salt, remembering there are always two sides to a story.
• Go to fetes and other events. Last weekend's election was a great chance to check out many schools. Keep an eye out for any opportunities you might get to visit the school: playgroups, concerts, fetes/fairs. What is the vibe of these events? Are they relaxed affairs with lots of people chatting?

2. Get a school tour
Your child is going to be spending about 30 hours/week at school. This environment will mould and shape them. It is important that you visit to get an understanding of the school environment. I strongly recommend organising the tour during school hours. If the school is unwilling to show you around while they have students present, then alarm bells should start ringing.
Some things to consider about the school environment as you tour:

• What is the vibe of the school? A gut feeling is a pretty powerful thing. If something feels off it is worthwhile thinking about why it doesn't feel right.
• Do students seem to be learning in every class? Are students engaged in tasks? Do they seem focused on activities? Are they listening to their teacher? Consider how the classroom is set up to focus students on their learning. It is easy to be distracted, how does the teacher minimise this? Look at what the students are doing because these are the things that your child will be probably also be doing. Also think about how the students are acting towards each other. How do you want students to act towards your child?
• Do the classrooms feel welcoming? We greet everyone who enters our classroom. Does this happen in most classrooms, or does it feel like you are intruding? Can you see how children are made to feel comfortable in the classroom? When I visited my daughter's future school I noticed some consistency between the posters in each class. This told me that the teachers were working together. You want your child's journey through classes to be as seamless as possible, therefore look to see if the teachers seem to be following a consistent train of thought. You want to see practical displays. I once had a pretty castle that I had painstakingly cut out and displayed in my room. It had no positive impact on the learning of a single child. Don't be afraid to ask why displays are up there. Hopefully the answer has something to do with the students' learning.
• Are the grounds well kept and tidy? An abundance of rubbish in the yard could indicate that there is an absence of respect. Does this extend beyond the playground?  An absence of rubbish could indicate that students and teachers take pride in their school.
• What resources can you see? Are there plenty of books? Do they seem to be well organised? Is there a library? How much technology do you see? I use a large screen in my classroom and also have a document camera that I use to project and display many, many things. Can you see students using mini whiteboards? This is a sign that teachers at the school are trying to check whether all their students are engaged and learning. 
• Can you talk to students? Our school has Grade 6 students conduct the tours. This allows families a chance to get to know some of our students and ask them all sorts of questions. Our Grade 6s provide frank answers. And most families enroll their child!

3. Ask questions
Ideally you will meet with the principal or another member of the leadership team. They should be able to answer most of your questions in detail, not just in fluffy grandiose statements.

• How are you going to teach my child to read? I wrote a post about the exact steps I take to start teaching students to read. The school should be able to say how they teach your child to unlock the code of written language through teaching 'phonics'. Every school wants their students to 'love reading' and 'make meaning' from what they read but your child will need to be taught how to decode to achieve this. If the school sends home 'decodable books' then this is a good way for your child to practice the skills they are learning in class. The school should also be able to tell you how they teach 'comprehension' and how they support your child to become 'fluent'. If the school is able to tell you about 'phonemic awareness' than this is a reasonable indicator that they have a strong reading program. Be wary of a school that claims reading is 'natural'. Reading is actually a biologically secondary tasks which means we haven't been reading for long enough for evolution to make it natural (unlike walking or talking). Reading is a skill that needs to be taught, not caught.
• How are you going to teach my child to write? Hopefully the school links reading and writing as they are two sides of the same coin. The school should mention how they teach spelling. Big ticks for a school that talks about doing lots of short writing tasks as this indicates that they are focused on teaching (and providing feedback on) specific skills. Writing is one of the hardest tasks to do. Schools should break this task into achievable steps.
• How are you going to teach my child maths? Maths is tricky as we need to make the abstract (numbers, algebra, etc.) very concrete. We do this by using materials like cubes or counters. We need our students to be automatic with numbers and I spend a lot of my maths time helping students practise their counting, adding and subtracting. In our later years we teach multiplication and then students review this regularly so that they know it automatically.
• How do you know if my child needs extra support? How will I know if there is some difficulty with their learning? The school should be able to tell you how they assess students and how regularly they do this. The school should be able to tell you about their intervention program. Ask how the intervention teachers work with the classroom teachers. It may shock you, but unfortunately many intervention programs do not work in tangent with classroom instruction. This could be a warning sign that there is something wrong with either the classroom program or the intervention program. Teachers and the school should also be in regular communication with you and open to talk about any concern you might have. Make sure that you remain open to their concerns as well because most teachers work in education because they want the best for YOUR child too.

I would love to hear your stories of why you chose the school you did for your child. Please tell me in the comments below. I have also chosen not to mention particular commercial programs but if you want my point of view, please reach out via the contact page or on twitter.

Photo by Surface on Unsplash