A good education is the key to any child’s future, and most parents will of course be deeply invested in this. When a family moves to a new area or when the children in a household become old enough for school, it is time for the parents to find art schools, the best private grade schools, or the best pre-K preschools in their area. Parents may use a combination of the Internet and trusted personal references for a search like this, and adolescent children will be old enough to voice their own interests or preferences in art schools, summer camps, or private or public middle or high schools. Art schools may be found across the United States, and even if a family does not live near one of those art schools, the parents may send their children to a school that has good art programs to offer. And what about preschool? Is it worth it to send one’s child to a pre-K program?
Sending Your Child to Preschool
Studies and trends show that many more American parents are sending their children to preschool than in 1990, and this is true for households of varying levels of income or ethnicities. Caucasian households, Hispanic ones, Asian-American ones, and African-American ones are all sending their children to preschool at roughly similar rates. For any of these children, going to preschool may go a long way toward preparing them for their later education. Parents may look for these schools when the family moves to a new city, county, or state, or when their child is three or four years old.
Interested parents may conduct an online search if they need to, and they may specify that they are looking for a preschool as well as what type, and where. Parents may specify that they are looking for privately-funded preschools (or not), and they may enter the name of their home city or town or even their ZIP code to keep the results local. Large cities such as New York, Boston, Miami, and Los Angeles may have countless schools of all types, so parents there are encouraged to make their search specific for their own convenience. Doing this will bring up a list of local, relevant results, and the parents may tour preschools that are accepting new students.
Parents may evaluate these preschools in person, and bring their children with them, too. The parents may consult the staff and find out their credentials as well as the school’s level of funding, while the child will have a chance to make his/her own impression. If the child likes the school and gets along with the staff, that school may be a strong candidate, and the family may visit a few different schools before the child is enrolled.
Middle and High Schools
A similar process may be used for when an older child is ready for a new elementary, middle, or high school. Here again, a school may be sought if the family moves to a new area or if the child is now old enough for kindergarten. The parents will look for a school of the correct type based on their child’s age and the last grade that they completed, and the search may be narrowed down with a ZIP code and the preferred school type.
Parents may narrow down the search not only with whether they’re looking for an elementary, middle, or high school, but also choose between private and public schools. Public schools are the majority, being federally owned, run, and funded. Meanwhile, private schools, which make up 25% of all schools and enroll 10% of all American students, charge tuition but offer an excellent education in return. Parents who can afford to send their children to private school may consider this option carefully, as private schools boast generous private funding (hence the name), and private high school student graduates go on to college at a 90% rate. Private high schools offer not only expert teachers and staff, but also ample college prep counseling.
Either way, the family may find a school that suits the prospective student’s needs and interests, and a good school is one where the new student is socially accepted and can make friends, and is properly challenged by the coursework.
