We are moving to area XYZ and have children in elementary and middle grades. What should we look for in a school?

• If you want to scan districts and schools by county, start your search with the California School Directory. • Next, go to the California Department of Education's DataQuest and browse for any information about any of California's K-12 schools. • Your last and most important stop should be an actual visit to the school. Make an appointment with the principal and ask for a tour including classroom visitation and a copy of the school handbook and the School Accountability Report Card (SARC). In addition to the evaluation criteria outlined in the slide show above, specific middle grade questions for the principal might be: • How is the curriculum aligned to the state's standards in math, language arts, science and social science? Will my child have the opportunity to take Algebra and other electives? (Ask to review district adopted grade-level textbooks). • Will students be prepared to successfully pass the California High School Exit Examination (based on grades 6 and 7 math standards) ... more