February 19th, 2019 | Updated on April 13th, 2023
Parents nowadays pay a lot more attention to the school they are sending their children to than they used to in the past. It is understandable, since there are a lot more opportunities and some schools are more focused on developing certain abilities and skills in children they teach and educate.
Choosing between a public school or a private school is also a very important issue to be taken into consideration and this also can affect pretty much any other aspect besides the financial one. Usually, private schools tend to have a different approach on education in general even though they have to follow the same curriculum as everybody else.
Starting school is a very important and confusing thing for young children because it is a big change moving from kindergarten to the scholar life.
However, if the child already attends a school, but the parents want to change it for any reason, that is an equally hard to deal with experience since the kid already got accustomed with his teachers, classmates and the overall environment.
So, deciding which school to choose for the child is hard enough for the both parts and this is why there are some steps to be taken into account before making this call.
1. Acknowledge The Needs Of Your Child
First of all, either the child already attends a certain school or not, it is important to see if the current situation or the future one meets all their needs. So, the parents need to take into consideration not only the present time (which is actually irrelevant if the child will just be starting school because preschool is done and they won’t be able to keep learning in the same manner as they did during this whole period), but what is going to happen after a while.
First of all, talking to the kid is the most important thing because they have to be consulted (even if this will not count that much in the decision-making process) and they have to be reassured that everything is in their best interest.
Young children tend to be scared of starting school from various reasons, so they will have questions and fears to be looked after. They need to understand why this change has to happen and how it will help them develop in the long run.
In the first few scholar years, the needs of a child are not that advanced in terms of academia, but with time passing they will also grow and become more complicated. So, the new school should be a competent one that can support the child’s learning route, that can bring constructive challenges, but also extracurricular activities.
2. Do Some Research
Finding out information about certain schools in the area is not as hard as it used to be because all information is public and people can search on the internet anything they need. Parents can find groups of interest on social media or forums where they can ask questions related to this topic and other parents can answer.
This can be a little subjective since every parent and every child have their own needs and expectations, but it is nonetheless beneficial because of all the information they can find.
They can also ask questions about different teachers that work at certain schools or there is also the possibility to do a little people search and find out about their background, feed-back or any other relevant information.
Besides, there are educational consultants that can help on this issue because they already have all the expertise they need in the field. This process of searching for proper schools to fit the child’s needs from every aspect can be a little bit too much for the parents because there is a lot of information that can get confusing and overwhelming.
3. Make A List Of Pros And Cons
After narrowing it down to having 2 or 3 options, the next step would be to analyze them and see which one fits best the expectations. The best thing is that most schools offer directed information and some even post pictures, so you can even involve your child in making this decision.
Parents probably already know what the inclinations of their children are, so if it is about what kind of specialization the school has, it is pretty easy. If not, it is important to have a list of pros and cons related to every school from the short final agenda that can help with the whole process.
4. Work On The Budget
Whether it is a public or a private school, parents have to analyze their finances and what they can afford before making any decision. Of course, it’s very well-known that private schools are better than public ones (or so is the general acceptance), but it really depends on the learning needs of the child.
The truth is that any public school can rise up to the expectations of a private one if the approach is a healthy one and in the interest of the children.
However, if the winner between public and private is a private one, parents should be aware of the higher costs, especially if they are boarding schools.
5. Go For A Visit
It is essential to visit one or more schools before deciding which one to pick because in theory everything seems easier than it actually is in reality.
The information on the internet or from other parents is not enough to help in the process of choosing a school as it cannot guarantee that the experience the child will have will be pleasing and satisfactory, so visiting one specific school (or more than one) can help in sensing and getting to know the learning environment.
Besides, by going there, parents will have the opportunity to meet the teachers, principle and other members from the specialized personnel, have a talk with them, get to know them and how they work, ask some questions and get some direct answers on the spot.
This experience will reassure parents of their choice whether it is or not the school they initially decided on.
