We know how stressful it can be to choose a school for your children. The right school can make all the difference. But how do we know? What are we looking for really?

Many schools base their promotions primarily on their physical infrastructures and facilities, while others seem to flash their top academic performers. But as parents, these are probably just teasers into all the things you need to consider. We have so many questions in our mind, and yet we will have some more by the time we are done asking the principals and the teachers of the school. So what do we do? Where do we start?

According to Anju Bhattarai, Founder Principal at Aksharaa School, Kanda Ghari, “choosing the right school begins with your child. We must understand that each child is unique. Choosing the right school must start with the following five things in our mind:

  1. Know your child first of all.

  2. Assess his/her learning styles and abilities.

  3. What kind of learning environment does s/he need?

  4. What sort of budget do you have for their education?

  5. Does the school compliment your child or not?”

Understand what your child’s strengths are and identify the kind of learning and grooming environment that compliments them best. Because it’s all about them. You don’t have to go to school every day, they do? Anju Bhattarai adds, “when the philosophies of the parents and school do not align, it is the child who gets victimized.” Here are a few places to get you started:

 

Parents' homework

What to look for at the school tour?

When you visit the school they offer to take you on a tour around the school. Bear in mind that your visit has been anticipated and this is quite the best the school ever looks. But appearances can be deceptive. Cleaner schools, jollier happier teachers, seemingly organized, might just be a propaganda of the senior managements. Always base your considerations on proper research.

During the tour, do they allow access to all areas? Is there anywhere in specific you’d like to go to? Tell them to show you around the kitchen and bathrooms. These places show how much they care about students and their hygiene. There are few things you need to consider such as, are the principal and teachers polite and articulate while conversing with you? Or do they address your questions properly? Or ask them what they think of the school overall? Or what's better about their school over others?

 

Into papers.

No matter what else we say, we always want our kids to do good in studies. Ask for academic reports and talk about performances of students. Inquire how many students perform very well, and how many are below average grades. Contemplate where your child will fall among them.

 

Beyond textbooks.

The school's philosophies in teaching is also probably the most important thing to consider. Anju Bhattarai says, “times have changed and so must the academic systems. We must move on from traditional learning to progressive learning. Progressive learning presents learning as a never ending process and touches all aspects of a child's growth, such as socio-emotional, physical, cognitive, and language. Unlike the traditional methods where children are taught to obey, we must teach children to question in doubt, experience things themselves, and make them capable of making more informed decisions.’

In order to do this, the school must understand that learning goes beyond textbooks. See if the classroom is decorated with the children’s colorful work on the wall. If the walls are covered it shows that the pupils effort are actually valued. Beyond textbooks lies a multitude ways of teaching. Mrs.Shirish Shrestha Halwai, Principal of Premier International School, Khumaltar says, “children do not necessarily have to learn from books. Learning can occur through a variety of approaches. School must facilitate students rather than teachers simply acting as dictators. Learning must be based on interaction and engagement. Schools must encourage a more research based learning, give out creative assignments, project works, field trips and excursions, presentations etc., that engage the children a lot more than words in textbooks.”

 

Resources.

Teachers are the people who make the school. They are the faces that your child will interact and learn from every day. They must be accessible for students at all times in school. Shirish Shrestha Halwai says, “a healthy teacher to student ratio is around 1:8 or better yet, even 1:6. This is an important consideration in schools especially, because each student gets larger share of a teacher’s attention, allowing for the teachers to personally know students better and address individual learning needs.” She further adds, “it’s not limited to the classrooms only. Such a ratio must also be maintained in other extracurricular activities, because the overall grooming and learning happens beyond classrooms.”

Infrastructures are also very important in the selection of a school. There should be ample of outdoor and indoor space to accommodate playful, and energetic children. Owning the property often indicate the commitment of the school in the long run.

It is equally important to ask the school authority for the preparedness for disasters like earthquakes and fire outbreak. The questions that we can ask them are, do they have evacuation drills and how often do they have evacuation drill? During the tour of the school, we can check whether their buildings have fire safety installations, large corridors to allow evacuation, separate emergency exits in the building. Many school compromise on these little things which seem unimportant, only until disaster strikes.

 

Spot on questions to ask the head

- Do you know the name of the children in your school?

- What is the staff turnover every year? (More than a third is alarming and that means the teachers aren’t very happy).

- How many children were expelled last year? And what for?

 

Spot on questions to ask teachers

Would you send your own children to this school? (Very unlikely that they say no, but watch how much they fidget when they reply).

 

Spot on questions to ask students

What are the action taken in case of bullying and bad behavior of the students (This will give you an idea of how serious issues are dealt?

How often are your assignments marked? How do you understand the teacher’s comments?

Which are the subjects and teachers you like, and the ones you don’t? (This may reveal a lot about some of the teaching method)