3. Distance, Time, and Money
This is the nitty gritty section of school choice. Take some time to compare the day to day aspects of your child attending school, including school location, school start and end times, and cost. Considering these key factors as a part of your decision making process is important in choosing a school that meets your family’s needs in an essential, practical way. Figure out for your family:
How far away can your school be from your home? Does it need to be near public transit? In a certain area to help with commuting?
What time does school start and end daily? (Note: this varies greatly from school to school for the Kindergarten year.) Will you need before care or after care due to work schedules? Do your chosen schools have it available - or will you need to organize outside care?
The money. No matter what the setting, there is money involved in kids attending school. Before care. After care. Tutoring. Enrichment classes. Transportation. School donations. School supplies. Field Trips. Uniforms. If you are looking at private schools, then other costs (a.k.a. tuition, annual funds, auctions, etc.) come into play. If money is a concern for your family (like most of us), creating a school budget might be a necessary component of school selection.
One last note on practical decisions: What little research that has been done on why families choose the schools they do, many families note distance, time and money as the ONLY factor they examine in looking for a school. While important for the health and well-being of a family, I feel strongly that this should not be your only point of decision (notice I put it third). If you don’t consider your child’s key needs (#1) and your family’s educational values (#2), then both you and your child could be very unhappy in your chosen setting - for years. That unhappiness can impact the academic and social progress of your child - and the stability of your family. It isn’t worth it - in my opinion. Drive a little farther (or carpool) for a place that meets the critical needs of your family.
4. Prioritization
The bad news first:
No school will have everything that you could ever want for your child and your family, be located down the street from your home, and cost nothing to attend.
There isn’t one.
I’m serious.
Stop looking for it.
Really.
The absolutely, 100% perfect, optimal educational setting isn’t out there - and believe me, I’ve looked. Every place you consider will have aspects that are just what you have always wanted; have things that you are flexible with or could work around if needed; and have things you prefer weren’t present in the school setting. I don’t think I am being a Negative Nellie here - for the diversity of children and families that schools need to serve in the Bay Area we have a great deal of choice (count your blessings you don’t live in Albuquerque, NM) - but we don’t have a school designed exactly for each individual child and family. There will be compromises ahead.
Here’s the silver lining though, I do believe, with hard work and focus, that you can find a good school at a price your family can afford.
But you have to identify with razor sharp focus:
Your child’s top three key educational needs (see #1). Remember, these are the things that your child has to have in his school environment on a daily or at least regular basis or you can’t see them thrive there. For my daughter, I knew that she needed a small environment (a school with under 150 children with a high student-teacher ratio) because she is very shy and new situations are difficult for her. Without a small setting, I was concerned that she would be extremely stressed each day as she went to school So, a small, supportive environment with a social-emotional focus were my child’s three key needs. Identifying your child’s critical needs will help you create a field of schools for you to choose from and focus your search.
Your family’s top three educational values (see #2). Be careful and specific in selecting your top three. If you say that you want a school that supports diversity - describe what that would look like to you; what you would see in the classrooms to represent that; and what school leaders would do regularly to support continuing diversity in the school community. Do not use generalities here - they won’t help you in your prioritization process. Create your own personal definition for each value and highlight what meets that specific criteria that in your search for a school (especially when you are reading the school promotional literature (#6) and visiting the school (#7)).
The top two practical needs for your family (see #3 above). The more flexible you can be on distance, time, and money - the more options you will have available. For instance, if you can’t be flexible on money, then being flexible on location widens your choice options for schools. If you can say, I will focus on only my child and family’s needs and not worry about distance or money - fantastic - but make sure that in the end you can truly make that commitment for a K-5 setting (that’s six years people). Looking at the long run is key - otherwise you will be looking for another school in a few years due to a financial or logistical strain on your family.
Coming up next....#5 - Find Some People You Trust
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