While most people associate the post-Sukkos season with an annual pageant of colored leaves and a time to batten down the hatches before the cold weather hits, for many parents, mid-fall is a season to start thinking not about hot soup or snow shovels, but about choosing a school for the upcoming academic year.
Whether you are looking at preschool, elementary school, high school, college or even seminary or beis medrash programs, choosing the right school ranks up there among the most pivotal decisions you can make in your child’s life.
As reported by CNN, the single most important criteria for choosing the best school for your child is to assess the needs of that particular child, according to Bill Jackson, founder, president and chief executive of GreatSchools, a non-profit organization that helps parents make that all important decision.
“You should think about your own child’s strengths and challenges and look for a school that fits,” said Jackson.
Dovid Winiarz, a Staten Island father of ten, echoed Jackson’s thoughts.
“The most important thing we kept in mind when researching schools is that nobody knows your kid better than you,” said Winiarz. “Not the school principal, the teachers or the guidance counselor. They are tools in your arsenal, but to build the best offspring you can, it’s up to you to do the research. That being said, we also davened hard. Real hard.”
“We chose a school that we felt would best suit our son’s needs,” added Julie Faska, who teaches 7th and 8th grade social studies at Bnos Malka Academy in Kew Gardens Hills. “We know that our son has his strengths and weaknesses and we wanted an environment that would provide both an academic challenge and a warm environment to foster growth.”
Networking with other parents was crucial in helping the Faskas select the right school for their child.
“We spoke to parents with older children to see what things look like down the line,” said Faska, who ultimately decided to send her son to Yeshiva of Central Queens.
Checking out a school’s more advanced students is a smart move, according to Rabbi Mark Landsman, principal of Yeshiva of Central Queens.
“Even if you have a preschooler, you have to look not just at the preschool and see if they have blocks and playgrounds,” he said. “ Go to the older grades. You want to see the older kids because this is who your kid is going to be. Speak to the students in the older grades, see what they are like and what they have to say. They are not sales people and they will tell you the truth.”
Rabbi Landsman also stressed the importance of choosing a school whose philosophies are in keeping with your own.
“Sometimes families choose a school because of social pressure or because they want to fit in in their community,” he cautioned. “Talk to the teens in elementary schools, the juniors and seniors in high school and see if that is the kind of young adult you want your kids to be. If you have to send your kid to a remote school because it is a better fit, it is worth it. It is the most important investment spiritually, emotionally and financially that you can make in your child.”
Music teacher Marsha Greenberg Motzen recalled the conflicts she encountered years ago.
“We were looking for an elementary school for our son, we chose the closest neighborhood day school, the one everyone sent their kids to, because it was close,” she said. “We knew at the time the hashkafa of the school was more to the right than we were. Gradually, little things started to annoy us.”