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| Questions for Schools; What do I need to know? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 16 2007, 12:12 AM (380 Views) | |
| ElTam | Dec 16 2007, 12:12 AM Post #1 |
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queen
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My oldest is starting pre-K in the fall. DH and I are going to be visiting schools in the next few weeks, and I feel like I don't even know what to ask. What do I need to know? |
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| marmyduke | Dec 16 2007, 12:22 AM Post #2 |
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princess
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Is the pre-k a stand alone or are you wanting to find a primary with a pre-k that your child will attend for all of their primary years? |
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| sauls_mom | Dec 16 2007, 06:52 AM Post #3 |
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Bala Buste
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also- is it a more religious school or secular school that you are interested in? |
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| U Tarzan Me Jane | Dec 16 2007, 01:39 PM Post #4 |
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Rebbetzin
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Where I live, The school looks into the parents, not the other way around . LOL Ask friends who have older children about the schools they go to, see if the schools are in line with your needs. Pick 3-4 schools that if you are accepted to, you would be happy with, Don't apply to schools that you are really not interested in. Getting your oldest into school is a huge challenge, but in most schools, Once you are in, you do not have to worry about subsequent siblings....Unless the child is of the opposite gender and the school does not have a school for them. |
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| ElTam | Dec 16 2007, 05:15 PM Post #5 |
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queen
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we're out of town, so it's different, I know. Both schools have nursery through high school. School A is Mizrachi school. School B is a charedi/yeshivish school. We're probably somewhere in the middle. There are some other options, but they are either farther right or farther left than we could go with. |
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| npl | Dec 16 2007, 06:26 PM Post #6 |
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Bala Buste
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Having just gone through the process of deciding whether to switch our kids schools, we found the most useful thing was to talk to parents of kids already at the school. I let them talk about what they liked about the school, what good experiences they had, why they recommended it. But, I also asked what the bad aspects were - things that might make me regret choosing that school. These comments ranged from the level of organization in the office and administration, to bad experiences when a kid needed some special attention or help, or there was a problem with a particular class. We are in the same situation as you - felt we were between the two schools. But, when I asked around at who the parent body was, I found that many non-yeshivish families sent their kids to the yeshivish school. We have found, to our regret, that the stated ethos of the school does not determine what happens within the walls, what is taught, or what the student population is like. We have found that talking to the administration can give you a good idea of the official line of the school, but that is often not carried through to the daily running of the school. Also, a school with a reputation for being very professionally run doesn't guarantee that issues will be dealt with professionally. We had a situation that wasn't handled professionally, and others I talked to at the same school either had similar experiences to me, or totally the opposite. Sometimes, the professionalism can get in the way of the caring. Finally, remember that all schools change - sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and often just with a changing intake of families from different backgrounds. When we first looked at schools, we asked parents with kids already in the school for a few years. These parents now say that whilst their kids classes are OK, the school is changing, and it now does not suit our needs as well as it should, theoretically. |
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| U Tarzan Me Jane | Dec 16 2007, 06:28 PM Post #7 |
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Rebbetzin
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when there is a choice of less frum and more frum, we always go with more frum. Less frum can bring you conflicts. What if the parents do not cover their hair, keep CY, how good is their shabbat observance....ect. While those things may not bother you in an aquaintance, It might be a problem when your child is over at the house without you, and is doing things you do not allow in your home. In a more frum school, the parent body will be at your level and maybe somewhat frummer, so its more of a commonality. This is what we did,we would rather our kids be frummer then we are, as oppossed to not as frum as we are. |
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| sauls_mom | Dec 16 2007, 06:35 PM Post #8 |
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Bala Buste
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if important to you- also pay attention to the secular studies- and how it prepares them for other things |
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| marmyduke | Dec 16 2007, 06:39 PM Post #9 |
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princess
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I think it is important to know what the academic expectations will be if that is important to you. Where is the bar set, and what support is in place if your child is either under or over acheiving. Schools often have great systems for those who are lagging behind, yet are not able to offer enrichment for those who are ahead of the group. Bored kids are often naughty! |
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| U Tarzan Me Jane | Dec 16 2007, 08:01 PM Post #10 |
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Rebbetzin
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Yes most schools do not cater to children who are ahead. I have this issue with my son right now, and we are not sure how to go about it. Skipping a grade is really not an option, because It is not good for him socially. Definitely, look into the secular education, to us that was also important, a school with no English dept. would totally not work for us. |
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| JRKmommy | Dec 17 2007, 10:23 AM Post #11 |
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Bala Buste
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While I do hear "it's better to go more frum than less" quite often here, I'd see that being a potential source of problems IF there are any areas where you really have philosophical differences with the school, or have no intention of taking on a higher level. For example - if you were already leaning toward frowning on many TV programs, getting rid of a TV for a more traditional school wouldn't be a problem. However, if you had always pictured your child getting a good secular education and being a professional, and the school frowns upon anything more than a bare minimum in secular studies and actively discourages college - that could be a real problem. I think it's great that my kids are learning and doing more than I did while growing up - but I wouldn't be able to send them to a school where I couldn't, in all honesty, support what they were being taught. |
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| npl | Dec 17 2007, 10:43 AM Post #12 |
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Bala Buste
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Not sure if I made this point before. School administrators will tell you their principles and ethos (hashkafa in both Jewish and secular programming). But, firstly, they may not implement them strictly. And also, the school may have a policy, eg no tv, no internet, but you will find that even though they are encouraging this, many kids do watch tv at home, and use of the internet for school reports is OK. The best indicator I found of how these policies work in practice is to talk to current parents at the school - in all grades. |
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| Mandy | Apr 9 2008, 12:02 PM Post #13 |
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aishes chayil
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Right on target! |
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