Helping Parents Investigate Schools While Shopping For A New Home

As a real estate agent, you’re probably bombarded with questions about the performance of schools in the neighborhoods where you sell homes. Parents naturally want to make sure they are choosing the right school for their child. Fortunately, you can help potential homebuyers take the burden out of this daunting, pressure-filled task. Good resources are available online, and many are free.

SchoolMatters.com , an online database of public schools, is a website where real estate agents and parents can easily find pertinent school information. Below are the ABCs of school research. These helpful hints can help your clients make an informed decision.

A IS FOR ACHIEVEMENT

The first thing to research is how well students in a school perform. Every state has its own assessment, and scores can be found online. When looking at school performance, parents should look closely at the numbers. For example, are lowincome students performing as well as other students? Are minority students performing as well? What about those learning to speak English?

The best schools are able to provide all students a great education. Test data is often available in various formats. At SchoolMatters.com, scores are broken down into three categories.

1.) The first is key data. It gives parents a quick snapshot of scores by showing the percentage of students schoolwide who are meeting reading and math proficiency as determined by state assessments.

2.) The second category breaks down those scores by student groups: male versus female, ethnicities, and income levels.

3.) The third category shows test data by grade level and over time. This helps parents see growth or declines that may impact their decision of where to send their child to school.

B IS FOR BALANCE

Because school is about more than learning to read and write, it’s important to review elements of a school outside of the classroom. For instance, what extracurricular activities does the school offer? Does the child excel in chess, but the school doesn’t offer a club? What if the student is a star athlete and the school doesn’t offer sports, or requires parents to pay for participation?

A good way to find out about a school is by reading what other parents have to say about it. At SchoolMatters.com, parents can rate their child’s school as well as write in-depth reviews. This resource allows parents new to the community to learn from those who have actually experienced time in the school. And, it’s an opportunity for parents to share their own experiences with others.

For example, one Nashville parent of a 5th grade student reported, “Although we were concerned with our son attending a public school in such a large city, I think it has turned out to be a positive experience. The school administration seems to be positively influenced and sincere in their hopes and dreams for their student body. The school offers advanced classes even in the 5th grade, so I’m grateful for that.

Our son is very competitive (at everything) so being surrounded with advanced students certainly helps him.” This type of open and honest feedback is the best endorsement a parent can hope to find. The classroom environment is also one of the most important qualities in a good school, which means it’s always wise for parents to visit a school before making a final decision.

Most schools generally welcome prospective family visits. Parents should call the school, make an appointment with the principal and see first-hand how students, teachers and administrators interact. A better understanding of all activities and services a school has to offer will ensure the child receives a well balanced education that takes care of not only his or her mind, but also body and spirit.

C IS FOR COMPARISON

Another step in choosing the best school for children is to make schoolto- school comparisons. Here’s an example. Let’s say you wanted to review two local high schools. Using the compare function on SchoolMatters.com, you could see a side-by-side comparison. Make sure to probe top choices by clicking on school links to see parent reviews, extracurricular activities, district finances, and even direct links to the school website.

Parents can also take advantage of the district’s opportunities like open enrollment and school vouchers. By understanding the differences between schools, parents are able to pick the one that feels right for their child. And, they’ll appreciate the extra effort you made in helping them through their decision.