Any child needs a good education, and a fine education is the key to his or her future. So naturally, any responsible parent will want to find the best schools for their child, whether they be the best preschools, middle schools, or anything else in their area. When a family moves to a new area, or when the child first becomes old enough for school, the parents may look up the best best schools in their area and use a number of criterion to determine which of these best schools is the right choice. What exactly are the criterion for finding these best schools in one’s area, and how might the needs of a preschooler differ from those of a 16-yaer-old high school student? Any responsible parent will know what to do.

Finding Preschools

Although a preschool education is not compulsory like a K-12 education is, many parents choose to send their young sons and daughters to preschools in their area to give those children a head start in their education. When a child turns three or four years old, their parents may start an online search for quality and affordable preschools in their area, and also get references from friends and family if possible. Such an online search, such as “best preschools Boston MA” or “good preschools near me Dallas TX” will yield a list of results, and the parent can go from there.

Some schools may be deemed too far to visit, and they can be removed from the list entirely. Meanwhile, the parents and their young child may visit those preschools in person to evaluate them. The parents will look into the school’s funding and if it offers any special programs, and also consult the teachers there for their experience and credentials. While the young child won’t ask for the teachers’ certifications, they will get their own impression of the school, and this should not be overlooked. If a child is stressed or frightened by a school’s staff, premises, or other students, this school may be a poor choice. Conversely, if the child seems relaxed and curious, and gets along with the teachers upon first contact, that preschool may be a strong candidate.

Middle and High Schools

A middle or high school student will have more advanced interests and opinions than a three or four-year-old child, and this student can clearly articulate what he or she is looking for in a school. Here too, the parents may look for good schools online and get references from trustworthy contacts, and they can visit those schools with their kids. This time, the student may provide more detailed input on whether they like a school or not, and that child may want to find a school with particular programs or features, such as a soccer team, a debate team, a marching band, or advanced art programs on campus. And like with preschools, the parents may consult the staff to determine their experience and qualifications, and the parents may also look into how well funded the school is. The parents and their child together will decide which school is best.

There may be one more step: attending the school as a test run. The student, whether six or 16 years old, should have a good experience there. If the student is accepted among his or her peers, and makes friends and is moderately challenged by the coursework, it may be a fine school to attend. In other cases, the child might be stressed, overwhelmed (or even underwhelmed) by the coursework, and may suffer bullying. If this happens, the child may have to be transferred to another one.

Another choice for some families is between private or public middle or high schools. Private schools offer highly skilled teachers and counselors, and their graduates go on to college much more often than public school grads. These private schools charge a lot of tuition, however, putting them out of reach of many families. Those who can afford this option, however, may weigh the tuition versus the many perks of attending private schools, which have much lower rates of student apathy or a lack of parental involvement. Private middle and high schools may be found as well as public ones in a web search.