My husband and I recently chose a private school for our child in Boulder County, Colorado. Looking back, we really didn't ask all the questions we could have asked, to understand which private school would give our child the best school experience and the best foundation for a life of learning. Fortunately, now that we understand more about the private schools, we still feel great about our decision. If we had it to do all over again, we'd choose the same school! However, not everyone is so fortunate. So, in addition to the top questions parents ask the private schools, I've also put together a list of the top questions parents don't ask! Here are some questions that can be very important, yet not everyone thinks of them when choosing a private school. As you read these questions, there may be some you would like to add to your list of questions to ask the schools.
1. Does this school focus solely on academics, or does the curriculum include other important areas such as music, art, acting, foreign languages and physical movement? These days, the "Three R's" are becoming more dominant in mainstream education. Unfortunately, this is often at the expense of the arts, physical activity, and foreign languages. Luckily, some schools still offer the arts and physical movement integrated with a full complement of academics. Some schools even teach foreign languages in the first grade! And amazingly, with certain integrative approaches, children receiving a well-rounded education do as well or even better at the academics, compared with their peers who get academics only.
2. Does your school have a track record of successful graduates? How well do they do after they graduate? Ideally, a school will be imparting to students the skills they need for a successful, meaningful lifetime. This can include a life-long love of learning, as well as achievement in higher education.
3. How happy are this school's graduates with their education? It can take some time for students to understand how their schooling prepared them for life. One key question is: How many of your graduates would send their own child to the same type of school?
4. What is this school's approach to discipline? What is their student conduct policy? You may want to know what kind of behavior and attitudes the school encourages, and what is off-limits. In addition, it can be important whether behavioral issues are dealt with in judgmental ways, or ways that are more supportive. Every normal child misbehaves at times, so the school's disciplinary approach is likely to be relevant for you and your child.
5. How do you assess how well students are learning? This is an important aspect of education. Does the school focus on testing, or on other types of observation? Does the school only evaluate academic skills such as reading and math, or does it also take into account abilities such as social and artistic skills? You may also be interested in the ways in which the school communicates these assessments with parents.
6. How do this school's teaching methods and curriculum fit with children's developmental stages? Learning to read is important--important enough to find the optimal time for it in a child's development. Although many educators are striving to teach reading skills to younger and younger children, few are asking what the long-term effect of this approach may be. Interestingly, children who learn to read a bit later end up reading just as well, and they tend to enjoy reading more! It's worth taking some time to look into the knowledge we have from the field of developmental psychology regarding children's stages of development and how that effects learning.
7. How does this school approach spirituality? Whether you prefer a school to have a spiritual grounding or not, it can be important to know you're comfortable with the school's approach to spirituality in the classroom.
8. What expectations or requirements does this school have of parents? You know that how you raise your own child makes a difference in his or her behavior. For better or worse, the same is true for the parents of the other children in the classroom. Their parenting will end up strongly influencing your child's learning. If you are willing to make the effort to be the best parent you possibly can be, wouldn't you want other parents to be doing so, too? It can be greatly to your child's benefit if a school gives some guidance to parents, and this will also attract conscientious parents to the school.
As an example, the average American household watches TV 8.2 hours a day. Even one hour or more of TV per day has been linked to poor attitudes toward school and poor achievement in 14 year olds. Three hours or more is associated with learning and attention difficulties. Kids who have trouble paying attention end up distracting the whole classroom. Do you think your child would learn the best if most children in the classroom were watching three or more hours of TV a day, or if most were watching less than 1 hour a day? If you are willing to make the effort to limit your child's TV viewing, then it's greatly to your benefit for a school to require this of all parents. I would not be surprised if TV viewing played a significant role in the poor performance of so many schools today.
9. What about social and emotional development? The happiest people can form meaningful relationships and communicate well with others. School can be a great place to learn positive social skills and also to develop emotional intelligence. You may want to know how a school supports these important life skills.
10. What types of play do you offer to young children? Young children have an innate capacity for imagination, and a need for physically active play. Does the school provide the maximum opportunities for physical activity and imaginative play, or does the school put them in computer lab and reading lessons in preschool or kindergarten?
11. How much time is spent on rote learning versus gaining cognitive abilities? Unfortunately, many children are taught what to think rather than how to think. Memorizing facts is important. However, creativity and reasoning skills are also important. Those at the forefront of any field are able to reason beyond what they are taught.
12. What else do I need to know that makes your school unique? A school may have some unique approach that would never occur to you to ask about it. So it's good to ask an open-ended question, to give the school spokesperson an opportunity to highlight their areas of uniqueness.
Once you get past the basics, these in-depth questions can yield information to help you make a more informed decision. I can only hope that you are as thrilled with the private school you choose as we are with ours! - 30531
1. Does this school focus solely on academics, or does the curriculum include other important areas such as music, art, acting, foreign languages and physical movement? These days, the "Three R's" are becoming more dominant in mainstream education. Unfortunately, this is often at the expense of the arts, physical activity, and foreign languages. Luckily, some schools still offer the arts and physical movement integrated with a full complement of academics. Some schools even teach foreign languages in the first grade! And amazingly, with certain integrative approaches, children receiving a well-rounded education do as well or even better at the academics, compared with their peers who get academics only.
2. Does your school have a track record of successful graduates? How well do they do after they graduate? Ideally, a school will be imparting to students the skills they need for a successful, meaningful lifetime. This can include a life-long love of learning, as well as achievement in higher education.
3. How happy are this school's graduates with their education? It can take some time for students to understand how their schooling prepared them for life. One key question is: How many of your graduates would send their own child to the same type of school?
4. What is this school's approach to discipline? What is their student conduct policy? You may want to know what kind of behavior and attitudes the school encourages, and what is off-limits. In addition, it can be important whether behavioral issues are dealt with in judgmental ways, or ways that are more supportive. Every normal child misbehaves at times, so the school's disciplinary approach is likely to be relevant for you and your child.
5. How do you assess how well students are learning? This is an important aspect of education. Does the school focus on testing, or on other types of observation? Does the school only evaluate academic skills such as reading and math, or does it also take into account abilities such as social and artistic skills? You may also be interested in the ways in which the school communicates these assessments with parents.
6. How do this school's teaching methods and curriculum fit with children's developmental stages? Learning to read is important--important enough to find the optimal time for it in a child's development. Although many educators are striving to teach reading skills to younger and younger children, few are asking what the long-term effect of this approach may be. Interestingly, children who learn to read a bit later end up reading just as well, and they tend to enjoy reading more! It's worth taking some time to look into the knowledge we have from the field of developmental psychology regarding children's stages of development and how that effects learning.
7. How does this school approach spirituality? Whether you prefer a school to have a spiritual grounding or not, it can be important to know you're comfortable with the school's approach to spirituality in the classroom.
8. What expectations or requirements does this school have of parents? You know that how you raise your own child makes a difference in his or her behavior. For better or worse, the same is true for the parents of the other children in the classroom. Their parenting will end up strongly influencing your child's learning. If you are willing to make the effort to be the best parent you possibly can be, wouldn't you want other parents to be doing so, too? It can be greatly to your child's benefit if a school gives some guidance to parents, and this will also attract conscientious parents to the school.
As an example, the average American household watches TV 8.2 hours a day. Even one hour or more of TV per day has been linked to poor attitudes toward school and poor achievement in 14 year olds. Three hours or more is associated with learning and attention difficulties. Kids who have trouble paying attention end up distracting the whole classroom. Do you think your child would learn the best if most children in the classroom were watching three or more hours of TV a day, or if most were watching less than 1 hour a day? If you are willing to make the effort to limit your child's TV viewing, then it's greatly to your benefit for a school to require this of all parents. I would not be surprised if TV viewing played a significant role in the poor performance of so many schools today.
9. What about social and emotional development? The happiest people can form meaningful relationships and communicate well with others. School can be a great place to learn positive social skills and also to develop emotional intelligence. You may want to know how a school supports these important life skills.
10. What types of play do you offer to young children? Young children have an innate capacity for imagination, and a need for physically active play. Does the school provide the maximum opportunities for physical activity and imaginative play, or does the school put them in computer lab and reading lessons in preschool or kindergarten?
11. How much time is spent on rote learning versus gaining cognitive abilities? Unfortunately, many children are taught what to think rather than how to think. Memorizing facts is important. However, creativity and reasoning skills are also important. Those at the forefront of any field are able to reason beyond what they are taught.
12. What else do I need to know that makes your school unique? A school may have some unique approach that would never occur to you to ask about it. So it's good to ask an open-ended question, to give the school spokesperson an opportunity to highlight their areas of uniqueness.
Once you get past the basics, these in-depth questions can yield information to help you make a more informed decision. I can only hope that you are as thrilled with the private school you choose as we are with ours! - 30531
About the Author:
Be sure your list of questions is complete! Click here for 10 more questions parents often ask the private schools. Go to www.PrivateSchoolsBoulder.com to find out what private school the author chose in Boulder CO.
