Hellobee Boards

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: I think if I were moving somewhere new I would probably join a local mom's group and ask co-workers with kids for opinions.

@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: yup, a local FB moms group so you can ask there! And yes, the few people I know that live/d outside/in of Atlanta either aren't happy with their public schools or send to private. So...yeah.

I don't know about Georgia, but the states I'm familiar with publish test scores, which are usually on the state department of ed website. In my experience, the best information comes from talking to the students, but you can only talk to them if you know them and/or their parents, and I think you have to ask the right type of questions to get useful answers. I think that teachers are the next best source of info, including recent retirees, but they can be hard to find. I tend to view parent perspectives as highly subjective and the least reliable, because nearly all of the school-aged children I have ever met are/were getting superlative educations at their schools per parental evaluation (with the exception of the children I tutored who were in inner-city schools that were a total disaster). That said, if you do hear a criticism from a parent, pay close attention to it.

There is decent advice in the appendix of the book "The Smartest Kids in the World." She recommends visiting a school while classes are in session, but that doesn't work with most public schools, so the next best option is to talk with the students. Her recommended questions are: "What are you doing right now?" and then "Why?"

I've worked in some schools where test scores are really high, but I wouldn't want my child to attend there as a student!

I'm interested in teacher retention. High turnover would make me question what's going on. How much money is spent per pupil, and where is that money going? What kind of extra programs and services are offered to students? What is the facility like? The simple question, "What do you like best about your school?" reveals a lot!

Getting in to see the school is great.

Try this maybe: https://gaawards.gosa.ga.gov/analytics/saw.dll?dashboard

Let me know if you need help understanding fields on the report.

In addition to test scores/parent &child interviews I would look at teacher turnover and I would find out if staff have/let their kids go to that school. That would be very telling if a majority didn't with the convenience of having your child attend the same school. If it is a good school, in their opinion, they will most definitely be putting their kid there.