They teach Spanish starting in kindergarten, which is definitely a point in their favor. They have partnerships with the local rotary club, who supplies a LOT Of stuff that the other schools don't get. They have pen-pals at a school in Mexico. And they have a better-than-average music program for elementary. The neighborhood is not very friendly, so I'll have to ensure that it's well supervised and they have good security. All of the online reviews look good, but their test scores are similar to the school he attends now. I wonder if it may be worth it to send him to a school with mediochre test scores, just for the extra perks? After all, pretty much every school in the county has mediochre test scores, and we have no accredited private schools to consider.
Thanks for the suggestions - both kids are on board with going there (DS is enamored with the fact that they actually have a robotics lab, which he can use when he gets to third grade). It's definitely looking promising - almost too good to be true, in fact. But maybe that's the past year of beating my head against the wall over school issues talking.
So, from what you wrote, it sounds like the school is, at a minimum, more appealing than the current school, and it offers some perks not available at the current school.
I suggest creating a short list of specific questions to ask at the open house, such as, "He's working at this grade level in math. How would you envision helping him maintain this level of achievement?" Look for specific answers rather than vague promises of differentiation or observation.
As a teacher, you have a nice advantage over most of us others on this board in that you know a lot about what schools will respond to and how. That should be a big help.
Val
