The number of problems encountered by children in public schools today seems to be constantly growing. And not only are there more problems for kids and their parents to be concerned about but the seriousness of the problems also seems to be increasing as well. The result of the gradual deterioration of public education in some areas has caused parents to seek alternate means acquiring an education for their children. When home schooling isn’t an option another common solution seems to be to turn to private schools. In fact in some areas the number of private schools has mushroomed in the last two decades. If you are among parents who are out looking at private school options you might be assisted by bringing along this list of ten questions.
1. How Safe Is This School? In today’s world we need to be aware of safety issues even in places that traditionally may have seemed safe. Parents can make up for any other failing of a school, but if the school fails in its task of protecting your children and keeping them safe, then irreparable harm can happen. Among the ten questions to ask when choosing a private school for your child you definitely should begin with a question about school safety. You will want to know how secure the facility is, what precautions are in place to keep danger at more than arms length from your child and how well teachers are prepared to handle kids in a crisis situation.
If responses are slow in coming or if the issue does not seem to be treated with appropriate concern by the administration, then perhaps it is time to check out another option.
2. What is the basic Philosophy ( or Theology ) of this school? Once you have satisfied yourself on the issue of physical safety the second of the ten questions to ask when choosing a private school for your child has to center around the basic philosophy or theology of this school. Obviously if you are sending your child to a religious school you will want to be sure that the faith being taught is in harmony with the faith that you want for your child. The same is true if you are sending your child to a private school that operates around any basic philosophy. It is important to choose a school in which your children will be taught things that reinforce and will be reinforced by what you are teaching in your home . The last thing children need is to receive conflicting messages from parents and educators.
3.What degrees are typically held by staff and what is the ratio of staff to student? Choosing a school means choosing teachers and a class arrangement. You have a right and really an obligation to make certain that when you are asking questions to help you choose a private school you include questions about the staff. Private schools can often escape some of the rules enforced in public institutions regarding staffing. You want to know if the teachers in this particular school are well trained and have received appropriate degrees for the subject matter and grade level they are teaching. Anything less is putting the quality of your child’s education in jeopardy. You will also want to check on the ratio of staff to students. Large classrooms will mean less individualized attention and more time diverted to discipline issues.
4.What is the typical schedule for a school day? One of the ten questions to ask when choosing a private school for your child should require the administrator to give you a mental picture you can hold on to of what the basic daily schedule is like. Of course you will have to determine if this is the kind of schedule that will help your child to work to his or her capacity. You will want to know about lunch, snack, recess. You will also want to know how early school starts and when the day is over. After school sessions also are a fair area of concern. For older children you will want to know how long each class during the day lasts and what kind of a schedule is in effect.
5. What opportunities are there for parental involvement? You may be a parent with an interest in being involved in your child’s school. If so make questions about parental involvement one of ten questions to ask when choosing a private school for your child. Are there after school programs that need adult supervision? Do classroom teachers need room mothers to assist with classroom activities or trips? Is there a school parent organization that works on fund raisers or special programs for the kids? Not only will these question give you a sense of how interactive the school is but it will also likely filter back to teachers that you are someone willing to step up and help out.
6. Are there specialized programs and offerings to meet the needs and interests of all? It is possible that you are seeking a school that is willing to work with students that have a variety of learning disabilities or you may simply have a child with serious and already well developed interests in particular specialized areas. In either case you will want to know what efforts the school makes to meet those needs. There may be music programs with instrumental lessons, art programs, computer labs, foreign language programs and special needs programs that you would like to know about because of your particular child. You need to make your interests heard through an appropriate question or two.
7. How diverse is this school?. Questions about diversity are asked for many reasons. One would hope that a major reason to ask about diversity is because parents recognize how important this aspect of education can be for their child. If you are looking for a school that is inclusive and encourages applications from a real cross section of races, religions and ethnicities then you really need to ask a direct question about the student population. Don’t wait until your child comes home and tells you that everyone in his or her class looks exactly like him or her to realize that you have handicapped your child by placing him in a monolithic institution. Your asking the question in and of itself may actually hope to promote the diversity you value.
8. How long has this school been in operation? You are not looking for the oldest school in your state, but knowing a little bit about the background of a school can help to give you a fuller understanding of its character. Public schools usually stand until they fall down of their own weight. But private schools only exist as long as they successfully educated children and respond to the needs of parents. A private school that has been in operation for a considerable period of time is likely to continue to stand the test of time. You won’t have to look for a different private school next year because last year’s school fell apart.
Still, brand new private schools need to be examined carefully. What they lack for in seniority they may well make up for with excellent curriculum and solid staff. That’s why you need to visit a school armed with ten questions to ask when choosing a private school for your child.
9. How often do children stay in this school on average? This question is really meant to discover what the response of children has been to this particular institution. Has the reaction of children brought them back year after year until they run out of grades or do children only stay a year or two and then want to find something different? It may be difficult to get administrators to own up to this statistic but it is worth a try.
10. What is the tuition, how is it payed and are their scholarships? The question about money seems best held to the end of the discussion. If you haven’t liked the answers to several of the important questions above, you may not have to bother to ask about price. This school might just not be for your child. But if everything else is squaring up nicely, then finally it becomes time to ask the practical financial question. The thing is, you really don’t want to choose a school based on price. You want to choose what is best and then find a way to pay for it .
You may be surprised to find how much private schools are willing to cater to the needs of solid prospective students. There are lots of private schools that willingly arrange payment plans and are understanding if payments are occasionally late or even fall behind a bit. And there are also private schools that hope to diversify their student body by making scholarships available to students outside of the normal socio-economic class of attendees. The only way you are apt to discover what is available is to ask.
Throughout much of the 20th century going to school for American children meant going to public school. Changes in our nation and in the ability of our public schools to provide a quality education have increased the numbers of parents hunting for private schools. There are more and more schools popping up to fill this need, but not all of them are of the highest quality. Make sure you select only the best for you and your children by visiting with school administrators and asking at least some of these ten questions to ask when choosing a private school for your child.
