Choosing school? Do homework Parents have resources to check in North
Texas
By KATHRYN STRAACH Special Contributor /
The Dallas Morning News
Finding the best educational setting for their children
may be one of the biggest challenges parents face. Wading
through the choices – from public to private to home-school
environments – takes time, commitment and research.
The important thing to remember is that
what works for one family – or even one child –
might not work for another. Fortunately, parents have
a wealth of resources at their fingertips to guide them
through this process.
Researching public schools
First, check out the Texas Education
Agency's Web site: www.tea.state.tx.us.
TEA, the accrediting agency for public schools in the
state, has extensive information on school districts and
individual campuses.
Next, visit www.greatschools.net.
Its user-friendly format makes comparing schools particularly
easy.
Write down questions you have about
a district and then visit its public information office
or superintendent's office. Many districts have Web sites
that provide details, too. Be sure also to visit the schools
you are interested in and talk with other parents.
Possible questions to ask include:
What are the school's educational philosophies
and goals?
What is the curriculum?
What materials and methods of instruction
are used in the classroom?
What special education/gifted-and-talented
programs does the school provide?
What are the discipline procedures?
What percentage of the faculty has
advanced degrees?
Does the school provide diversity?
What methods are used to communicate
with parents?
Does the school have a strong volunteer
network, and how can I volunteer?
What percentage of students attends
college after graduation from the district?
What is the school calendar?
What are the school hours?
What is the class schedule of a typical
day?
Is kindergarten half-day or full-day?
Does the school have after-school programs?
Does the school provide activities that
meet my child's interests?
What is the dress code?
In recent years, parents – and
Realtors – have closely watched the accountability
ratings assigned annually to districts and schools by
the TEA, with exemplary and recognized status particularly
coveted as signs of academic excellence. But because Texas
schools switched this year from the Texas Assessment of
Academic Skills standardized test – a key indicator
for the accountability ratings – to the Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and Skills, the TEA does not plan to update
its district and school ratings until 2004. See the current
ratings for North Texas districts in the tables on Pages
47-48.
The state has begun reporting TAKS passing-rate
information for school districts, and, for the first time,
is releasing data on how many students within a district
excelled on the test.
Private schools
Researching private schools requires
every bit as much diligence. Fortunately, Dallas and Fort
Worth have an excellent resource called A Guide to DFW
Private Schools (Southwest Business Graphics; $27.95).
The book's fourth edition features 218
area schools; the fifth, due out soon, will include 360.
"A lot more schools have opened,
but since 9-11, parents have been analyzing cost-effectiveness
of private schools," says author Lynn H. Magid. "Applications
are down."
The new edition will include several
new sections, including ones on gifted students, individualized
instruction (including home-schooling) and boarding schools.
Summaries of schools' admission policies, curricula, philosophy,
tuition and other information are provided. Much of the
information can also be found on the book's Web site,
www.dfwprivateschools.com.
Private schools have numerous accrediting
organizations, which can be another source of information
when considering educational options. Among them are the
following:
Accreditation Commission of Baptist
Schools
Association of Christian Schools International
– www.acsi.org
Independent Schools Association of the
Southwest – www.isasw.org
The Texas Private School Accreditation
Commission oversees accrediting groups for private schools.
Its Web site is at
www.tepsac.com.
Other resources
Besides information about public schools,
www.greatschools.net provides data about private and
charter schools nationwide. The site, run by a nonprofit
organization, includes tools for tailoring your search
according to different criteria.
For additional home-schooling information,
call the TEA Publication Office at 512-463-9744 and request
a copy of the curriculum used in public schools. The cost
is about $50. It is not required for home-schooling but
can be a helpful resource. Also visit the Web site for
the Texas Home School Coalition, www.thsc.org.
For information about licensed day care,
log on to www.tdprs.state.tx.us,
the Web site for the Texas Department of Protective and
Regulatory Services. The site lists day-care centers (including
home-based ones) as well as information about minimum
standards for licensing.
JMary Lea Phillips, 5,
attends Merriman Park Elementary in Dallas.
