Relocating to another area can mean enrolling school-aged children in a new school if you have a family. Parents often want to find the best school in the area to enroll their kids. Naturally, parents want the best possible educational programs and activities to help their kids feel comfortable in their new home.
One thing that is sometimes forgotten or not thought about at all is finding a school that offers the best fit for your child’s learning style, personality, and club/hobby/sports/arts preferences. Finding the best-rated school can be promising, but it is also a good idea to look at all the schools available in the area and what each has to offer to find the best fit for your student and help you determine where you want to start your home search.
Tips For Finding the Best Fit School for Students When Relocating to Philadelphia
Know Your Family Priorities
Make a list of what each of your children loves best about school. What is their favorite subject in school? What could they use more attention and help with? Do they need to utilize specialized or higher-level programs? Are they outgoing? Are they more reserved? Do they like clubs and extracurriculars? Do you want to be in a school that has strong parent involvement? Do you want to/ need to be within walking distance of the school?
Use Reliable School Ranking Sites to Start Gaining Info
There are sites that gather information on every school in the country. They can be a good launching point for gaining insight about schools. Make sure to read reviews left by people who have had experience with the schools. The top school ranking sites include:
Do Some Digging or Ask Questions on Forums
There are several discussion forums on the internet. Don’t be afraid to do some digging and find some incredibly honest opinions about schools. Make sure to remember that opinions are opinions and not facts, and try to read things from many different forums and perspectives to try to begin to form your own. If you are not finding specific answers to detailed questions you have about certain schools as you begin to learn about schools, you could even post a question of your own on a forum or two.
Go to the source
To get the best well-rounded view of what schools are like, make sure to go directly to the school for information as well. This will help you to get a well-rounded look at all angles from both positive information sources and first-person, honest reviews. Asking questions on discussion sites will help you to get some perspective, but making sure to talk directly with the schools will also give you another angle. It is a good idea to set up appointments, take tours, and visit schools in person to see them operating, if possible.
Observing classrooms in action, if possible, and seeing if the kids are engaged and excited, and enthusiastic to be there, is a great way to learn about a school. Making sure that facilities are in good shape and the atmosphere seems positive and fun helps you to gain insight from a first-person experience. You can also ask schools for information about the PTA and gather answers from parents who are involved at the school as well.
The more homework you do about potential schools for your students, the more comfortable you can feel in their transition, which will translate to them feeling more comfortable in their transition as well. And remember, it is hard to find a perfect fit right off the bat, so if you don’t, it is OK. As you live in an area, you will get to know the different educational systems available and may decide to switch to what seems like a better fit later on.
Finding a school does take research on your part as you relocate, and it is solely your decision. As realtors, we can help you find all the available schools in the area, and where information from third parties exists, but the job of researching and forming opinions on what school you are interested in is up to you. Philadelphia has great learning institutions and a lot of available information from the schools themselves and ratings websites to help you make the decision of where to live.
If you have any questions about moving to Philadelphia, the team at Victory Real Estate and I are ready to answer your questions. You may even find some of them answered already on our website. Please feel free to take a look around, browse through the community pages, and look at available home listings. Check out the buyers. section and look at some great tips for purchasing homes in the area. Browse through our about pages to see who we are. And if you have more questions, please contact us anytime.
If you are ready to begin searching for homes in Philadelphia, I am happy to help. The team at Victory Real Estate and I are highly experienced. We are a boutique Philadelphia real estate agency dedicated to the specific needs of every client.
“Leron is very helpful with answering my questions and is very patient with addressing my concerns. It was nice to have someone who cares very much of his customers.”-review of Victory Real Estate verified by a realtor.com