Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Magnet schools for elementary?

I've found that the best is talking to other parents of 'similar' kids - and taking it with a grain of sand.
A close second is 'sitting in the classroom on a non-special day and watching.'
This is non-optional in my opinion. And if you pick up a few ideas about which teachers might be the best fit, that's useful for planning.

If the school is small enough that there is only 1 teacher per grade, it's even more critical. I would look to see how the teacher treats the wiggliest child. Sarcasm? Public Humiliation? Total ineffectiveness? Can the teachers command respect without being condescending? See shades of grey? Laugh at themselves? What will happen when the teacher makes an academic mistake, and your child points it out?

I think that a careful listener can get a lot of those questions answered in about 45 minutes of observation on a typical day - or maybe I have super powers and a new career - not sure which, actually. So let me know, ok?

Smiles,
Grinity

Weighing in here just as a short addendum to Grinity's exceptionally insightful "mediocre test scores" post above (and truly; hear, hear! Particularly the parts about Garrison Keillor and the socioeconomic distribution of standardized test scores).

Since you have teaching experience yourself, treecritter, have you thought about how well your teaching style syncs with your child(ren)'s learning style(s)? If it is possible to 'cover' deficiencies yourself, then that puts things in a slightly different light.

For example, someone who was, for example, a linguist with a background in the classics... a school environment particularly strong in science and mathematics might be preferable since those are the most likely deficiencies in the parent's scope of expertise.

For me, weaknesses in the humanities and the arts led me to seek out a school environment that could cover those things exceptionally (or at the very least, adequately).

Make sense?

If your background is in the sciences and/or mathematics, I think this sounds like a terrific solution for your kids.

Good point. This is one of my big issues with No Child Left Behind - the teachers that take the tough jobs are expected to make the same progress as the teachers who have kids with involved parents who can afford tutors. But I digress. Test scores are, however, a preliminary indicator. If EVERYONE is passing, or if EVERYONE is failing, it must have something to do with the school. But if a school is average, it may or may not.
I did a little more research and found that in specializing in cultural arts and international studies, they still put just as much emphasis on math and science. But they've expanded their programs even more into teaching the kids about the rest of the world as well. I think that's important - if nothing else, because they'll learn some Geography and tolerance of other cultures.
This school is looking better and better!

Hmm...not necessarily. People from some cultures put a very high value on school achievement, and do many things to ensure that their kids do well. For example, many parents in our area send their kids to Kumon or the Mathnasium or another tutoring service once or twice a week, year-round.

I know someone who grew up in a high-score district not far from where we live. Eight years ago, he told us that he was convinced that the test scores are due to parents more than the schools.

Now that we've been around the education block a bit, I tend to agree. There's a Kumon next to our local supermarket, and it's crushed full when it's open. We checked it out once, and you can't move to the next level in something until you get 100% on a test in less than a certain amount of time. Don't know if all Kumons have this policy, but this kind of stuff really drives high test scores.

And of course, there's also the question of the relative merits of high scores on high-stakes tests and their ability to measure education.

Just food for thought...

Val

TreeC,
How much tutoring did you do with your DD? I'll bet not a heck of a lot.

The problems with NCLB is that kids have a variety of readiness levels, so expecting them all to learn the same amount per year is a problem for both ends.

I hope that helps some,
Grinity