I'll visit the school wants to met teacher and know abt the no of studrnts in each class.What extracurricular act offered by the school

When looking for a good school for your 1st grader you should:
1) Pray about it
2) Make a selection and always have an alternative plan
3) Observe the school environment
4) Look for warm, friendly teachers
5) First grade teachers should be kind, nurturing,
competent and committed to teaching children
6) Examine parental values of other parents
7) Is it a place where learning is fun?
8) Determine if the whole school environment is
conducive to learning
9) Continue to do an ongoing assessment of the school
looking for constant upgrade and improvement
10) Watch out for a school that avoids a frequent
evalution component.

Step 1 Pray to the Lord for Guidance and Direction
Step 2 Survey your local schools
Step 3 Go and observe the school environments
Step 4 Ask questions about school philosophy and
curriculum
Step 5 Look at test scores and inquire about
administrator and teacher credentials
Step 6 Talk things over with your child(dren)
Step 7 Make your selection

Note: Never deal with a school that does not believe in ongoing assessment. This is more than likely not a good place to place your child(ren) and more than likely the school and administration and staff are incompetent.

Visit the school. Meet the Principal and Vice Principal and find out what their goals are for their school and students. Find out the school's "Grade". Meet the teachers, not just for the upcoming year, but the teachers for the next couple years too. Find out if their teaching method is similar to what you would want. Find out what opportunities are there for parents with your schedule. Regardless of the grade, see if the school offers programs/sports, etc... that you child is interested in. BE INVOLVED IN WHATEVER WAY YOU CAN.

There is a really cool section of GreatSchools designed to help you decide what factors are most important to you and your family when looking for a good school. Also included are worksheets and guides to help you know what to ask when you go on school visits.

The best part about it? It's free!

Check it out here: www.greatschools.net/content/schoolChoiceCenter.page

I'd love to hear from more people about what they look for in a good school. I think this discussion could be a great resource for all parents.

I argee with the other responder, there is nothing better than a visit to the school . In Arverne, the best school I have heard about is Goldie MAple Academy. The progress report for the school is excellent. Their test scores are better then most in the city!

The search for a school can be so overwhelming!!! But the search for a school near you is made so much easier with the Great Schools Choosers. The resource includes all types of schools, and has been really helpful for parents with alot of responsibilites like me.

Visiting the schools is a must. My children were in the school I worked in. I have sinced moved on from workining in their school, but I have a real relationship with the school because of the connection I had in person. It is a good idea to go on tours and get a feel for the environment. No one knows your children better than you, so it is a must that you allow your intuition about the school to work.

And a school is only going to be as good as the parents involved. Become an involved parent, and you will see the quality of the school improve as a result of the relationship.

Thanks for the advice. My daughter will be a freshman in high school and I will probably be moving to Conyers in the summer of next year (2009-2010 school year). Currently, I am doing alot of research, i.e. joining your parents' group via internet and asking your opinions.

My daughter is an excellent student. She attended private school from age 3 to 11 years. That covered grades k4 through 6. We pulled her out of private school and placed her in public school in the middle 6 grade. Right now she is attending a middle school in Peachtree Corners where she is in the IB program and doing excellent work. I want to try to duplicate these classes or school.

I read about Salem High and like what I have read so far. My next step is to visit the school and sit in on some of the classes to get a feel for the quality of teachers and how they teach.

Wish me luck and thank you all again.

Are you talking about public or private schools? If public, you may not have much choice in which school she attends, as most districts determine the "home school" based on the address where you live. I'm not from NY, so I don't know exactly how things are done in Rosedale.

Is your daughter currently in kindergarten? If she is, then I would think you already know a bit about her learning style/any special challenges or special interests she might have. (For example, a child who has shown a strong interest in drawing already, may want to be at an elementary school where they offer fine arts exposure.) Will you be needing after-care, and does the school offer it? How about clubs like Scouting?

If you haven't already checked out Greatschools Research and Compare feature on the green menu bar near the top of this page, that would be a good thing to do. Right now, you might also want to join Greatschools Kindergarten Parents Group at community.greatschools.net/groups/11535, where other parents can relate to the transitional issues.

There are a number of things to consider when picking schools:
Teacher-student ratio.
Cleanliness of school.
Safety precautions.
Age of teaching materials.
Whether or not teachers are fully certified AND qualified.
Test scores.
Good PTOs, etc.

Also, talk to local parents and find out what they say about various schools. There is a local section on Great Schools where you can ask about local-only issues. This way, you can find out about various interactions or issues that may have risen from certain schools, or simply find out about wonderful teachers or programs the schools have to offer.