5. Find Some People You Trust
Obviously, I have a bias here because this is what I do for a living. Hiring an educational consultant to help you with identifying your child’s needs and your priorities in looking for a school can be a big support to a busy family. (Here’s our contact information.) But even if you decide that working with an educational consultant, isn’t for your family, finding a trusted friend (one who works in education?) or a partner family going through the same process to talk about impressions, share information, and commiserate can be a big support in everyone making it through to the end with their sanity intact.
6. Read, Read, and Read Some More
Read the school website. Read the printed literature from the school. Read the district descriptions. Read what you can find on the internet (for East Bay schools look at Berkeley Parents’ Network as a good place to start). Highlight key phrases that show a school’s commitment to your “top three” priorities (see #4). Now, re-read - for what is missing. Make notes if a school doesn’t mention one of your top three in its printed material. Print out a review from BPN that gives a counter example of what you are looking for. Try to read critically for a balanced perspective on your schools of choice. Once you have gathered your information, make a file for each school you are looking at to keep your information easily at hand - and to help you keep them straight.
Coming up next....#7 - Go and See For Yourself
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