When moving to a new area, finding the right public school for your children often tops the list of priorities. A high-quality education can set the foundation for a child’s future, making it essential to evaluate public schools thoroughly. Fortunately, there are many tools and strategies available to help parents make informed decisions.
Evaluate Public Schools: Ratings and Reputation
Online platforms like GreatSchools.org provide a starting point for researching schools. This website allows parents to compare schools based on academic performance, test scores, and parent reviews. Each school receives a rating that can help you quickly gauge its overall quality. However, while ratings are useful, they shouldn’t be your sole source of information. Visiting the school in person and speaking with local parents can provide additional context that online metrics might miss. Joining local Facebook groups, town or school-specific, can also allow you to search the site for past questions related to the school and allows you to pose your own. It would be easy to search for “bullying,” “principal,” “teachers,” “classroom,” “IEP” to get instant feedback on what’s been happening in for the school you have in mind.
In Massachusetts, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) publicly shares detailed data about schools. Their website includes information on standardized test scores, graduation rates, and teacher qualifications. Reviewing this data can offer a deeper understanding of a school’s performance and areas of focus.
Understand the Town’s Commitment to Education
Beyond evaluating individual schools, it’s important to assess the broader community’s support for education. Town websites often post meeting minutes, budgets, and agendas for selectmen or town meetings. These documents can reveal plans for school expansions, budget increases (or cuts), and curriculum changes. For example, if a town has recently voted to fund a new school building or adopt advanced STEM programs, it might indicate a strong commitment to education.
Additionally, exploring local news outlets or community forums can provide insights into ongoing discussions about education in the area. Changes to school leadership, shifts in district policies, or upcoming construction projects are all worth considering. Even if a school currently meets your standards, potential changes to the district can impact its quality. By researching discussions related to future developments, such as planned residential developments that could lead to overcrowding or changes in school district boundaries, you can hopefully avoid surprises down the road. While you’re looking, check out the town’s master plans. This would give a much bigger picture view of how the town will approach and prioritize overall development and infrastructure.
Evaluate Special Education Programs
For families with children who have special education needs, such as dyslexia, ADHD, or more severe learning challenges, it’s crucial to assess the quality of a school’s special education programs. Start by reviewing the school’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) services and resources. Schedule a meeting with the school’s special education coordinator to discuss how they accommodate diverse learning needs. Ask about teacher training, access to specialists like speech therapists or occupational therapists, and the use of assistive technologies. Parent support groups within the community can also provide valuable insights into how well the school supports students with similar challenges. Again, these groups are often organized on a Facebook forum where they’ll promote periodic webinars or in-person sessions.
Visit Schools and Communities
An in-person visit can be invaluable. Attend open houses or schedule a tour to meet teachers, principals, and other staff. Pay attention to classroom sizes, the condition of facilities both inside and out, utilized technology, and the resources available to students. What happens before and after school? Do they offer extended hours, or run any extracurriculars and athletics? How do they coordinate with the local youth center, library and various community establishments?
Observing how teachers interact with students and how students engage with one another can provide a sense of the school’s environment and culture. And it will also allow you to see class sizes first-hand. If sizes seem large, take note if the teacher has one or more aides to keep the group focused. Where do students use the bathroom, eat lunch, and and have gym? It sounds silly, but with vaping on the rise many schools are resorting to shutting all but 1 bathroom down, or other restrictive measures. If at the high school level, ask for the graduation rate and where students ultimately go to college or what career paths they start.
While visiting, take time to explore the surrounding community. Strong schools often correlate with vibrant neighborhoods that offer additional resources for families, such as libraries, parks, and extracurricular opportunities.
Final Thoughts
Evaluating public schools requires a mix of online research, in-person visits, and an understanding of the broader community. By using resources like GreatSchools.org and Massachusetts’ DESE data, along with reviewing town agendas and speaking with current residents, you can gain a comprehensive view of the educational opportunities available. With careful research, you can confidently choose a community where your children will thrive.
