Questions to Ask About School Quality – Livermore Pleasanton Dublin
Questions to Ask About School Quality
If your family includes kids of school age and you’re thinking about moving to a new area, the schools are be among your most important concerns. Does the neighborhood or city have good schools? Are the teachers and staff well enough equipped to teach your children? Is there a good PTA that deals with the concerns of parents? When looking into neighborhood schools, here are some things to think about to help ensure your children get the good education they need. These are questions you might need to before you commit to a decision on your new home.
Proximity
Finding a community in which schools are located nearby is the ideal situation especially for parents with young children. When the school is located close to your home, you can walk your small children to school and back. If you have a busy schedule, your kids can walk to school and back by themselves as they get old enough to do so instead of riding the bus. It’s a terrific way for them to get exercise.
Per Capita Budget
There is publicly available information that will tell you how much a school spends to teach each individual student each year. This is the amount they allocate and spend so that each student has everything needed for success in their academic experience. The average expenditure includes teacher salaries, supplies, books and other materials and equipment that are necessary to learn.
Student-Teacher Ratio
The number of students for each teacher is usually thought of as having a big part in the success of the teaching process. The national average is around 16 or 17 students for each teacher, although as school districts are experiencing budget pressures that may be increasing. In a school which goes over those numbers by much, your child might not get the individual attention they need when and if they need it.
Standardized Test Scores
When looking at a neighborhood’s schools, one of the primary things to look at is the overall standardized test score rankings. While these are not the only thing you should consider in evaluating the quality of a school, (as some parents seem to believe), they can be one sign of how good the teachers are at teaching their students. Some high schools may disclose the average SAT or ACT scores achieved by their students, which would be an indicator of their overall success level.
Graduation Success Percentage
If you have children of high school age, the school’s graduation completion percentage may be a factor in your decision. Schools that have low graduation rates have a bad reputation are coming up short at their most basic job. This is the reason many parents take the trouble to enroll in schools in areas where the high school has a high graduation percentage that shows their focus on education.
Other Activities, Clubs and Teams
Do the schools near the home you’re considering offer extracurricular activities in which your child can participate? Do the schools have clubs and classes that will keep your young students engaged in learning new things? For the good of your whole family, this should be a key factor when deciding on a new area to live.
Selecting the right school system should be one of the main factors to decide when searching for a new place to live. You want to find a place where your kids are comfortable and a place where you feel comfortable as well. By carefully investigating schools in the different areas where you are considering purchasing a new home, you will be in a position to make a good decision for your whole family.
