And so it starts.....

Not a stupid question at all! I hadn't really thought about this a whole lot until we were seriously looking into where we would be moving.

In my mind, open enrollment means that you can enroll your child in any elementary/jr high/sr high in your district given available space. So, you can go to your neighborhood school or open enroll at a different school, if they have room for you child. Districts handle this differently, but there is usually some sort of lottery system. Preference is generally given or guaranteed to students who have already been at that school or siblings of students.
Our school district here allows open enrollment and I just assumed that most districts would. That isn't always the case though, making it important that you like the neighborhood school where you purchase a home (if you are going w/ public schools). It is also important to like your neighborhood school because you can't always get into other schools through open enrollment.
There is an elementary school that we would really like to have available to us but (of course!) it is in a more expensive neighborhood and there are fewer homes in our price range available. The other school nearby seems pretty good and I think we would be happy there as well.

re: interviewing. Most of our decisions are based off of school test scores and word of mouth from people we have talked to in the area. I think that test scores only tell part of the story about a school and that high test scores don't always indicate the best school. I guess I am hoping to find out more about the school by talking to the principal. I don't really have a list of questions yet. I'm going to ask for my aunt's advice on this -- she has been teaching for many years and now works as a curriculum planner for a school district here. She visits a lot of different schools and has a good perspective on what to look for. (For example, she told me that one of the highest scoring schools also has some of the most miserable teachers because the principal is such a slave to scores. Not a place I want my child).

Hopefully this makes sense....I am so sleep deprived.

[Flynn]

lots to think about

I've enjoyed all the comments thus far! What an interesting dialogue! Education is such a broad topic, it can be overwhelming at times!

Another resource to answer some of these questions is through the local newspaper. They would have test scores, stories on strikes and levys passing or not passing. I'm sure you can access all of that online once you get the name of the local paper. Some newspapers also rank schools based on a certain criteria (Seattle just did this with the high schools on the west side of the mountains) they determine. This can be facinating. One example was how the GPA from certain high schools transfered to the freshman students attending the University of Washington. Many high schools had kids drop in GPA more than a point (a high school GPA of 3.5 dropped to a 2.5 or lower at the U of W) while others stood firm -- a testament to being more prepared for the rigors of college life?

Of course most of our questions and thoughts are about elementary schools since our kids are younger...

Off the top of my head I would ask the principal (these are in no kind of order!):

1.) What is the student to teacher ratio in the classroom?
2.) What is the teacher-turnover in this school?
3.) How long has the principal been working at this school and before that, how long had the principal worked there? (turnover = TROUBLE)

4.) What is the greatest challenge the school struggles with? (If they say, "nothing" they are LYING!!!!)

5.) What is the school's greatest strength?

6.) What are the options for jr. high or middle school? Do all kids from this elementary school go to the same Jr. high or middle school or are they split up between many schools based on geography?

7.) All day kindergarten?
8.) What is the technology like in the school (computers, video, etc.)?
9.) Am I required to volunteer and if so, how many hours a month? (Many private schools have this as a requirement where you are fined if you do not comply.)

10.) What are the ethnic statistics of the school?
11.) Are special education kids "main-streamed" into "regular" classrooms or are they in a different class?

12.) Are their music programs in the school or has the budget been totally cut?

13.) "Gifted" options for the extremely bright students?

Another thought ... from what I know about the interviewing process, there are several interviews when finding a job and if you are in the running there may be at least three before you are through and they offer you the job. Ask the attendings where their kids go to school and how they feel about that school.


Ok -- I'm tapped for now.

Flynn

[SueC]

Great questions Flynn--next month dh and I are touring the school affilited with our church (if we stay here we really want to send our kids there) so I'll try out these questions. I actually already know that this is an excellent school, with it's main trouble being lack of diversity (something important to us as our kids are of mixed heritage), but it'll definitely help me to prepare for the other schools I will be looking into over the next year. I never realized how important this issue was, back in my day, you sent your kids to the neighborhood school--end of story! Of course, I lived in a small town and there were no other options!

Flynn -- thanks for the suggestions on questions! This is a project I need to tackle over the next month or so and that will be a great start. Great idea about the levy and tax issues too. I know that Oregon had a special election recently that I think affected school funding. Although, we are committed to moving there, so I don't know what I can really do if there are funding issues, besides private school.

Lunatic -- one thing I have realized with this is that I have to be thorough in my research but also at some point just let it go. No matter how great of a school we live near there can be all sorts of other issues we can't control for. For example, portland public schools is thinking of re-districting some of the schools and the jr high/sr high "feeding" pattern. One of the schools potentially on the list is the elementary school we are most interested in. Not only it a great school (by scores and reputation so far) but it feeds into the better jr and sr high schools. This could change though and who knows if we will still be living there by then. And a so-so school can have great teachers and a great school can have a teacher who isn't a great fit for your child. At least these are the things I keep telling myself. So much to think about!!

[Flynn]

bummer

So I just wrote this pretty long response to Nellie and Lunatic and I lost it somehow but am too mad to duplicate it!

Here are the highlights.

At least in Washington state, you lose diversity when you go to a private education in almost 100% of the schools. That bothers me but I'm still processing my priorities....

My experience with teaching in a public and private schools were like night and day. I was depressed how big of a gap there was between the two. I am a public school kid and always thought my education was above average. I think differently now. Granted, there are some awesome public schools out there -- don't get me wrong. However, where we live there are some large benefits to going with a private school.

Most of the private options here are Catholic as well and some people are very uncomfortable with this so they send their kids to the public without looking into them first. I'm Catholic so I don't have that issue but I would encourage parents to look at every option before closing doors despite initial thoughts towards certain religions. A visit to a specific school won't hurt anyone.

Ask the principal about over-all philosophy and the curriculum of the school. Many schools are really different in these areas! Make sure the school teaches formal writing and not just narrative and "creative" writing!

After all is said and done, if you stress certain values in your home, your child will bring them to whatever school they attend and they will be reinforced.

I'm out!

Flynn

Re: lots to think about

One example was how the GPA from certain high schools transfered to the freshman students attending the University of Washington. Many high schools had kids drop in GPA more than a point (a high school GPA of 3.5 dropped to a 2.5 or lower at the U of W) while others stood firm -- a testament to being more prepared for the rigors of college life?

What a great idea! Seems much more meaningful a measurement.

[Amiens]

Flynn- Those are EXCELLENT questions- in fact I copied them down. Definitely things that I hadn't considered before when it comes to schools. I agree with you- media outlets are great for gathering information on schools. We didn't know much about the Seattle Public Schools before moving here, however since we have been here we think Seattle has a horrible school system. We have several friends who are home schooling this year, so they can take some time to research other options. We have are thinking that if the public schools do not meet our expectations, then we will research either private or home school. We'll see.

We are looking at Logan, UT as our top choice right now. Purely based on these factors- city of 30,000 that is home to a State University, so it has a local symphony, museum, located 1 1/2 hours from Salt Lake City- which has sports venues, cultural venues- symphony, museums. Logan is 3 1/2 hour drive from Matt's family, and 8 hours from mine, possibly closer as they are looking to move. Also Matt's cousins and aunts and uncles live in Salt City. Another thing it is there is lots of outdoor activities- hiking, swimming, intertubing down the canal, skiing is close. Matt is going to call the anesthesia group in the next month.

Other places we are looking at, mainly because they are within a one day drive of family.
Colorado- not Denver
Montana
Northwestern Wyoming
Idaho
Eastern Washington

It's wierd to think that we can go any where. I know we can be happy anywhere, but it boils down to what is going to be the best fit for us.

Crystal

[Flynn]

I'm glad I said something you found helpful!

I was dinking around and just found this website:

http://www.projectappleseed.org/choose.html

It had a TON of related information and addressed ideas I don't think anyone has mentioned yet in this dialogue.

Happy hunting!

Flynn

[mommax3]

We sent out cover letters/C.V.s a week ago and today DH got an email from a medical director at a small rural hospital wanting to interview him....sounds like they are willing to fly our whole family up there for the interview! 8O This job was not listed anywhere, but a friend of mine works for this medical director's wife, and mentioned my husband in casual chit-chat, so that is how it came about. After we sent the stuff to him, my husband realized that he had done a rural medicine rotation with this man (who is IM) back in medical school. So, the fact that we even knew about this job, let alone got an interview request was more due to connections than our job search methods.....at least that is my opinion.

Still, it can't hurt to blanket the areas you are interested in. We went ahead and sent C.V.s with a letter, but said that references were available upon request. We basically went to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology website and found addresses for docs in the areas we had interest, and went from there. We have also heard from a practice that let us know they recieved the letter/C.V. but aren't interested in adding to their practice.

There is another position (the one we are most interested in, here in TX) that we heard about from a friend.....the doctor we mailed stuff to mentioned to my friend that he had gotten our stuff, but so far he has not contacted us. I think my husband would like to find out more about that job before we get serious with anyone else.....we don't want to lead anybody on!

So we sort of know what is going on with three of the places out of the fifteen we sent to..... Of course, I would like to hear back from everyone this week but I am pretty sure this whole process is going to be an exercise in patience.

Keep us posted on what happens with you guys!

Sally

[SueC]

That's great news Sally--even if you don't like the place, you guys will get a free trip! We aren't quite as far in the process as you guys are--my husband has his ear out for opportunities, but hasn't gotten his CV together yet.

[Sheherezade]

I know we are done with the search phase now, but for us everything went faster than expected. People that were looking to hire had often been looking for a long time; they went from 1st interview to 2nd interview to an offer in under 6 weeks. Other people that weren't as interested or didn't really have the funding dallied alot. Of course now that we are dealing with the legal departments for contracts, everything has slowed down considerably.....Still, be prepared for it to move quickly too!

Angie

[mommax3]

Okay, here is where things stand now.....

DH had an awesome phone interview with the medical director at the smal rural hospital in our home state (the job I mentioned in an earlier post). The guy is all over wanting DH to come there and said the hospital "will do whatever it takes" to get him there.....signing bonus, debt repayment, and competitive salary. DH asked if they would be open to another doc joining at the same time (he has a friend from residency who will be leaving the AF at the same time we are) and the guy repeated "whatever it takes". This place is 30 minutes away from where we grew up and 30 minutes from a big(gish) city. The supt. of the local school system is a friend of our best friends and is doing a great job. DH would not be a hospital employee, but the hospital would provide incentives and an income guarantee for a specified number of years in order to be able to continue to provide OB services in the community. There is tremendous potential to grow a practice because right now, many patients are driving 30 minutes away to other larger cities.....the one OB currently in the town apparently has a poor bedside manner.

So as you can tell, I am excited about this.

However, we are still more interested in another job here in TX and don't want to pursue the above job until we hear more about the one here. DH let the guy know that he is considering another job and the guy was fine with that, but I think we are heading for a hard choice. The job here in TX will not have many incentives attached to it, I am pretty sure. But the pros are that we have friends and family both in the community and nearby......

ARGHHHH!

Thank you for letting me decompress.....


Sally

[SueC]

Wow Sally--I'm excited for you guys!

So exciting, Sally! This is for July 2005, right?

[Auspicious]

It is exciting, definitely. Having trouble deciding between options because they're all so good is life's best dilemma.