Naturally, all parents are deeply invested in the education that their children receive, since a good education is the key to any child’s future success. Thus, when a child becomes old enough for school or when a family moves to a new area, the parents may look up the right sort of school for their child to attend. These may range from public or private middle schools all the way to the best preschools (often private preschools) in the area, not to mention top-rated elementary schools. Finding public or private high schools is important for your teenage children, and may impact their future college career. But that is a separate topic, as college prep is not an aspect of finding private middle schools or good preschools. How might parents use both personal references and the Internet to locate these well-rated private middle schools and elementary schools for their children to attend?
Finding a Preschool
Preschool is not mandatory the way a K-12 education is, but all the same, many American parents are choosing to send their children to preschools to give them a head start on their education. This option is more popular than ever, and statistics show that from 1990 to 2008, many more parents started sending their children to preschools. This is a universal trend; by the late 2000s, families from all racial backgrounds in the U.S. were sending their children to preschool at similar rates, counting Caucasian households, African-American ones, Asian-American ones, and Hispanic ones. Preschool is not the same thing as daycare, though, so these parents may take care that they are sending their children to the desired institution. And at a good preschool, the young students (aged three to five) will learn to get along with their peers, learn to follow directions from adults other than their parents, and generally learn how to learn. This may easily prepare them for kindergarten and the grade levels well beyond that.
When a child turns three or four years old, or when a family moves to a new area, the parents may look online to find good schools nearby. This may involve a search phrase such as “best preschools near me Miami FL” or “highly rated private preschools San Diego CA.” A search such as that will show a number of results, and the parents may strike out those that are deemed too far away or those that are not accepting new students anyway. The family may then visit the rest of the schools in person to evaluate them.
On the premises, the parents may inquire about the school’s level of funding, and consult the teachers to review their credentials such as their work history, feedback from the students’ parents, and more. The child, meanwhile, will get a fair chance to evaluate the school on their own, and if that child feels comfortable there and gets along with the staff, that school may be a strong candidate. This process may be repeated any number of times until the parents find an ideal school that fits their needs, and sign up their child as a student there.
Finding Other Schools
Meanwhile, a K-12 education is certainly required, and when a child becomes old enough for kindergarten or when the family moves to a new area, the parents will conduct an online search for elementary schools or public and private middle schools alike. This may be somewhat similar to looking for preschools, but this time, the prospective student is old enough to voice his or her opinions on a school and explain what features they want in a school. A prospective middle school student, for example, may look for certain sports teams that a school may have, or look for dedicated art programs or the like. The family may visit nearby schools to evaluate them, and find one that suits their needs.
Public schools are the majority, and are federally owned and run. By contrast, private schools are privately funded and run, hence the name, and charge tuition. Families who can afford that tuition may give their child access to top-rated teachers, strongly funded school programs, and expert support from the staff. Often, private middle and high schools can go a long way toward preparing a child for their future.