School Systems - What to watch for?

I'm taking a first look at this section of the forum and would like some information on what to look for about the various school systems in the OC. I see alot of information about specific schools, but I'd like to get some background on what's the most important. We have a newborn, so I'm mostly interested in the early stages.



Where can I get information on school rankings?

Other than school rankings, what should I look for?

Should I mainly focus on Pre-K, K, and elementary?

Private vs. Public?

etc.?



I'm just looking for a starting point and some recommendations.



P.S. I know about the search function.

I just love early planner and thinking way ahead of the game I don't have any newborn yet but I have a billion sperms and I really need to start thinking about providing a good school for them. Good education is the key to making good money.



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I have kids in Irvine schools and the only thing that can make a kid academically successful is parent involvement, the more involved you are, and by that I mean lots of things, the higher the chances that your kid will be successful.



By parent involvement I mean:



- follow up with classroom activities: what did they do today? how well your son did? for those weak spots do things 2 or 3 times, or as needed,

- follow up with the teacher, what are her observations of your son while he is in the classroom? does he participate?

- attend and take notes in the parent teacher meetings, does your kid need external help?

- obviously make sure they do homework

- review homework, look for teacher notes in previous homework assignments, do old assignments again if your son needs to

- stay in communication with the teacher: email, face-to-face meetings, when you drop your kid in the morning it's a good time to do a small talk, ask quick questions: what's the next major mileston in the academic program? they should be doing _x_ by 2nd trimester!, take a mental note, time tests? the reading counts program? (extra credit for reading books on your own)?

- if your son needs extra help like: Kumon, other educational mentor, do the research and do the follow up to their own methodology, I have experience with Kumon and it worked great for us

- does the teacher have extra-credit assignments?, if you feel that your son can do it, why not? do those too

- all the work to wake him up on time, make a healthy breakfast, do his lunch box, take him to the school



Parents involvement is key, and I personally believe, that if you do this and anything on top of this, your son must succeed in any school system.



I think Irvine schools rank well because: a)highly educated demographics b)white collar parents with service sector jobs or a professional job, can afford to have a stay at home spouse, or they are highly paid and they only work 1 shift, and they have free time to help their kids, but there's no magic in the land or the water that they drink! ;-)



A high ranking score is something that comes as a bonus to parent involvement, and I see many parents doing at least this, and others they are already doing things of the next grade, which sometimes seems excessive, yes Academics is great, but is not the only thing to succeed in our current business world, there are social skills or subjective skills that he can learn doing team sports, or participating in non-academic activities.

Here we go again....... wake me up when you get to "find a school that is good, but not too good" part.



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[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254207844]I just love early planner and thinking way ahead of the game I don't have any newborn yet but I have a billion sperms and I really need to start thinking about providing a good school for them. Good education is the key to making good money.



<img src="http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/12981/49_2008/529c085d9311ed25_sperm-for-money.xlarger.jpg" alt="" /></blockquote>


Well, If I buy in early 2011 and plan to stay there 5-10 years, My kid will go through elementary school. Might be early planning, but schools need to be part of my search criterias.

[quote author="Roo" date=1254366551][quote author="bkshopr" date=1254207844]I just love early planner and thinking way ahead of the game I don't have any newborn yet but I have a billion sperms and I really need to start thinking about providing a good school for them. Good education is the key to making good money.



<img src="http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/12981/49_2008/529c085d9311ed25_sperm-for-money.xlarger.jpg" alt="" /></blockquote>


Well, If I buy in early 2011 and plan to stay there 5-10 years, My kid will go through elementary school. Might be early planning, but schools need to be part of my search criterias.</blockquote>


Average occupancy in a Irvine home is about 4.5 years so calculate your kid by then living in your 3rd or 4th home while attending high school.

I lived in Irvine for many years with the intention to live there forever. Every house I bought I had the intention of staying there longer that the average of 4.5 years.



Every move I made was for the reason of space and yard. I caution my fellow IHBers please don't buy a house that is too snug base on many years of my bad experience. Wait until you have the $$ to buy that slightly bigger home and do not rush to buying something too tight because that is all you can afford now.



I am very happy with my house now except for the nearby gun shot noise everynight at 9:35pm.

[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254376648]I lived in Irvine for many years with the intention to live there forever. Every house I bought I had the intention of staying there longer that the average of 4.5 years.



Every move I made was for the reason of space and yard. I caution my fellow IHBers please don't buy a house that is too snug base on many years of my bad experience. Wait until you have the $$ to buy that slightly bigger home and do not rush to buying something too tight because that is all you can afford now.



I am very happy with my house now except for the nearby gun shot noise everynight at 9:35pm.</blockquote>


The problem is that whenever I have the $$ to buy something bigger - I always want extra $$$ so I can buy that even bigger/better house. I guess that is what keeps the US economy going

[quote author="bkshopr" date=1254376648]I lived in Irvine for many years with the intention to live there forever. Every house I bought I had the intention of staying there longer that the average of 4.5 years.



Every move I made was for the reason of space and yard. I caution my fellow IHBers please don't buy a house that is too snug base on many years of my bad experience. Wait until you have the $$ to buy that slightly bigger home and do not rush to buying something too tight because that is all you can afford now.



I am very happy with my house now except for the nearby gun shot noise everynight at 9:35pm.</blockquote>


Bk, I think that is the fireworks from Disneyland %-P



(I know that you know that, let's not give our neighborhood a worse reputation than it already has!)

For any school (public or private):

1. Go on the tour (ex. kindergarden tour) when kids are in school

2. Only half pay attention to the PR spiel about how great the school is because of the facilities (ex. fancy playground) or guest speakers or whatever

3. Pay attention to student work up in the halls (ex. if it's a third graders report - does it seem like a good third graders report? Does it seem better/worse than you'd expect?)

4. When you are in the classrooms watching, if you can, wander off a little from your guide and look at what the students are working on at their desks. Are they on task? Does the teacher notice if they are on task? How easy/hard does the work look? Do the kids look interested or are they bored or indifferent?

5. Does the school screen by marks (ex. you can only attend here if you have an A or some Bs type of school, or requiring that entering kindergardeners can already read or whatever). If so, take the test scores with a grain of salt - if you took only the test results from A and B students from an open to anyone public school, the test results would be higher, no?

6. Finally - no one school is the best school for every student. A school is like a tool. There is no one best tool for all jobs. The best tool is the best fit for the job. Which school is the best fit for your kid?