Moving and Trying to find the "right" school ~ HELP

Doozer · **Moving and Trying to find the "right" school ~ HELP**

My ds will start Pre-K fall of '07. We are moving to OKC in spring of '07 and have asked our realtor to consider two possible school districts in our criteria for buying a home. We will only be in the area for four years, but both of our boys will be starting school while we are there. I have heard awesome things about both school districts, both online and through word of mouth, so here are my questions:

1) what should I look for when touring the various elementary schools?
2) what do you expect a child should be learning at the Pre-K, K, and 1st grade level?
I guess what I should have asked: have you ever asked for a curriculum when you tour schools?
3) do the schools normally provide parents with information about soccer, t-ball, football registrations or is this something normally the parents need to research and seek out?

Just curious ladies if you can provide me with some insight

Thanks!

newlywed0610 · 11-08-2006, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Christy_K_

My ds will start Pre-K fall of '07. We are moving to OKC in spring of '07 and have asked our realtor to consider two possible school districts in our criteria for buying a home. We will only be in the area for four years, but both of our boys will be starting school while we are there. I have heard awesome things about both school districts, both online and through word of mouth, so here are my questions:

1) what should I look for when touring the various elementary schools?
2) what do you expect a child should be learning at the Pre-K, K, and 1st grade level?
I guess what I should have asked: have you ever asked for a curriculum when you tour schools?
3) do the schools normally provide parents with information about soccer, t-ball, football registrations or is this something normally the parents need to research and seek out?

Just curious ladies if you can provide me with some insight

Thanks!

Good questions. I think it's great that you are planning your move about what is best for your children. I wish every family did that!

To answer your questions:
1. I don't know!

I'm not a mom yet, but I am a teacher. I have found that each school has a "vibe". Some are more lenient than others, for example. Check out how the school makes you feel. You'll know when you walk through the school. See if you can meet with the principal during school hours. Just being in the hall when kids are there will help you know what the "vibe" is for that particular school. Will your child feel comfortable and fit in at that environment? Also. .. if you plan on being there for many years, you might want to consider the middle schools and high schools as well. Just a thought. . .

2. The school will probably happily provide you a curriculum for whichever grades you request.

3. I don't know the answer to your third question, but I would advise you to ask the principal anything you think would be important to know. Don't feel silly asking any question.

Good luck!

Doozer · 11-08-2006, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newlywed0610

Also. .. if you plan on being there for many years, you might want to consider the middle schools and high schools as well. Just a thought. . .

Thanks for the info.

...and that isn't necessary in our case. We're military!!! We move every three years, guaranteed! (however, we did recently hear a rumor that because of budget cuts they may be upping that to every four years)

Doozer · 11-09-2006, 05:45 AM

bumping up!

Claire · 11-09-2006, 07:08 AM

When we moved here, we only had Stephen who was 18 months old, but we knew we wanted more and he would be starting school. Here is what I did: I got online and looked up the different schools and anything the state had on them. THen I would physically drive by the schools (we came during a TDY Chris had a few months before he got the job - we were scoping things out). Then I had Chris ask some of his future co-workers their thoughts/impressions on the schools. Then, I told our realtor the schools I would consider and not to even show me homes in a couple of school districts, too.

I also took into consideration the possibility of rezoning in the future. If you are in a high growth area and really, really want one school, get as close to it as possible. JMO from working on rezoning projects. The general rule is that if you have to drive by a school, you will not be zoned away from that school. Thus, we live behind the school (and we loved the house and neighborhood).

When you look at homes, find those you really like and ask the neighbors. We did that in a couple.

I think the "vibe" is a good way to look at it. You can ask for the curriculum, but most of the time if they are in the same school district, the curriculum will be the same, but the vibe/personality of the school, teachers, principal are all diffierent. If you go for a tour, just be aware, they are showing you the best of the best of the school. See if you can find a playgroup, Moms Club, Mops group to ask questions. Or the spousal support group at the base maybe!

As far as the recreational activities, the school might know, but I would check the recreation dept. of the city you are looking at and the Y. Also, ask the spousal support group or the other groups I mentioned.

Doozer · 11-09-2006, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Claire

When we moved here, we only had Stephen who was 18 months old, but we knew we wanted more and he would be starting school. Here is what I did: I got online and looked up the different schools and anything the state had on them. THen I would physically drive by the schools (we came during a TDY Chris had a few months before he got the job - we were scoping things out). Then I had Chris ask some of his future co-workers their thoughts/impressions on the schools. Then, I told our realtor the schools I would consider and not to even show me homes in a couple of school districts, too.

I also took into consideration the possibility of rezoning in the future. If you are in a high growth area and really, really want one school, get as close to it as possible. JMO from working on rezoning projects. The general rule is that if you have to drive by a school, you will not be zoned away from that school. Thus, we live behind the school (and we loved the house and neighborhood).

When you look at homes, find those you really like and ask the neighbors. We did that in a couple.

I think the "vibe" is a good way to look at it. You can ask for the curriculum, but most of the time if they are in the same school district, the curriculum will be the same, but the vibe/personality of the school, teachers, principal are all diffierent. If you go for a tour, just be aware, they are showing you the best of the best of the school. See if you can find a playgroup, Moms Club, Mops group to ask questions. Or the spousal support group at the base maybe!

As far as the recreational activities, the school might know, but I would check the recreation dept. of the city you are looking at and the Y. Also, ask the spousal support group or the other groups I mentioned.

Thanks Claire. Very helpful.

I have gone to matchingmoms.org and asked some women there for their opinions on the school districts we are considering. The feedback has been very good. The spouses I have met here who have also been to Tinker have also said good things about it.

What I have really liked about this is that all schools now have their own websites. It's amazing how different things are now from when I was in elementary school. I can now go online to the school districts, click on the individual elementary schools, even email the teachers if I wanted to, view the lunch menus, read up on the latest news within the school, and see what they have coming up in the future. This has been a great help!

Doozer · 11-15-2006, 06:37 AM

Anyone else have any thoughts?

aliadam · 11-15-2006, 10:29 AM

When we moved 10 yrs ago, we did so because although the area of town we lived in was lovely with beautiful older homes, it was in the Indianapolis school system which has dismal test scores and lots of problems. So since we were moving ONLY because of schools, we spent an enormous amount of time researching schools. It sounds like you already have it narrowed down to two districts so your search should be much easier than ours. We looks at probably 10 different school districts before deciding on the one we picked.

Anyway...we looked mostly at test scores. Here they print the test results of each elementary (& MS & HS) in the paper and on websites, so I could see which schools were doing really well with most of their students passing the standards, or what schools were not doing so well. The school system we picked is the best (or at least one of the best) in the state, so we picked it. Then within the school system I agree it's probably more just "personality" or "vibe" of the school. We found a house we were interested in, then BEFORE we put in an offer, we toured the elementary school, met the principal, talked to a few parents, etc. We liked the feel of the school, and since we already knew they had exceptional test scores, we decided to go for it. We have been VERY happy here in our school district, so I hope you have as good of luck

blessed_with_6 · 11-15-2006, 11:26 AM

I was going to say to check the "report cards" of the schools, too. Almost all are on line now. This is what we did..and talked to realtors and friends of friends to see where was the best area. We have been extremely happy with our choices. My kids are thriving...and that is what I wanted!