Choosing a school for your child takes time and energy but it’s not a hard task if we know exactly what we are looking for.
Why do we need to pay attention to what school our children attend? Because there are basic requirements that will ensure children get the best education and treatment when they are in their critical period of learning and absorbing everything around them.
A study done by the University of Stanford, researched families with children in elementary school who were completing their final year, and concluded that when parents receive information about schools, they tend to choose schools that have higher-performance for their young ones. So basically, the more information we learn, the more we can filter the best options of schools.
With that in mind, what factors do you consider when choosing a school for your child? Keep reading and find out which aspects are important to look for!
Check the school reputation
Before enrolling your children in any school, it is very important to find information about the background of the institution. How do the management and the school handle different types of problems? After all, we want our children to get the best education, securing their safety among other children and staff.
Nowadays, the internet has become a useful tool for research and it’s quite easy to find pieces of information that reveal the school’s reputation. Look for ranking scores in educational websites, and don’t forget to check reviews and testimonies from other parents who had their children attending the school. Their point of view about the services provided can be more honest and straightforward without sugarcoating.
Look for evidence of safety and security
Safety and security are two of the most important factors to consider when choosing a preschool for your child. First, let us distinguish between safety and security.
Security is the process of ensuring people’s safety. Security is the protection a infrastructure or a security company gives, against intentional acts, for example an invasion at school. Safety is related to the prevention of danger in non intentional acts on a more personal level, such as the layout of a classroom designed to avoid accidents with little children, for example.
As we want our children to feel protected on a physical and emotional level, it’s good to schedule a visit at the chosen schools to see and ask questions about how the staff handle situations that involve danger and how the space is appropriate to avoid even little accidents. Also, don’t forget to be attentive to how the teachers and caretakers behave with other children. Check for signs of patience, tolerance, proper care and love being shown.
Learn about their curriculum
The curriculum is extremely important when you are choosing a school for your child. It’s good to remember that young children are in their critical phase where their learning process is at its peak and they need a lot of stimuli to expand and develop their capabilities.
The curriculum of a school is what will show you how they will approach knowledge, teaching and activities done in class. The activities must revolve around experiences and stimulation of motor, cognitive, emotional and social skills in a full approach for the child’s development.
Despite being able to know the interests of children when they are a bit older, when they are too young it’s hard to have a clue of what they enjoy and feel more attracted to, as they are being exposed to a lot of different information. With that in mind, it’s good to choose a school that offers approaches in different fields, such as math, technology, arts, science, emotional intelligence and others.
Know and meet the staff
Sometimes it’s possible to find information about them on the school websites or reviews that people give on the web. However, if you feel like it’s needed, schedule a visit at the school and use the opportunity to ask questions. Get to know how the routines are done, what the management expects from their teachers and caretakers, and in what aspects they go beyond other schools.
As mentioned above, knowing and meeting the school staff is an opportunity to see how the school works on a daily basis and how the caretakers that will be close to your children behave and deal with kids.
Visit their infrastructure
With all the other factors in check, don’t forget to visit and see how the infrastructure can cater to your needs and the needs of your children, as the environment contributes a lot to self development.
Check if their physical space has room for children to be active, explore body movements and even playgrounds that can challenge their skills. Also, check the classroom layouts: the disposition of furniture can impact their learning process, their socialization and stimulate their independence, as children can work on tasks on their own.
With the support of technology, it’s also natural that good schools have devices available to enhance even more the child’s learning process. While visiting, make sure you see them and ask how technology is used on a daily basis.
Now that you have learned about what factors are important to you when choosing a school for your child, it will be much easier to find a school that has standards and meets the criteria to offer a quality service for your little one.
After all, it is very important to choose a school that will collaborate in a positive way to your children’s development and guarantee a better future for them, as their young years are extremely important for their performance in adulthood.
With that in mind, we invite you to learn about Amazing Explorers Academy Programs, and check everything we can offer to your child and family. Visit our website and if you have any questions, let us know and we will gladly answer them!
