How to switch schools
If you’d like to send your child to a different school next year, now’s the time to start the process of researching your options. As Pennsylvania prepares to commemorate National School Choice Week, which runs from Jan. 25–31, many parents will begin evaluating the educational opportunities that are available for their children.
Believe it or not, seats in schools are already beginning to fill up for the 2015–2016 school year. Interest in school choice — the process of actively choosing a public, charter, magnet, private or online school — is high. That means that waiting until the spring or the summer could restrict your options.
Choosing schools is an individual experience that will be unique to every family. Parents can start by making a list of the attributes that they hope to find in an ideal school. Ask yourself: What’s most important to you and to the academic, social and emotional well-being of your child? Is it the academic performance of a school, safety, the instructional methods, the qualifications of teachers, a school’s shared values or other factors?
Once you’ve identified what matters most, start looking into the options available to you. In addition to the local public school, you may be eligible to send your child to a school outside of your ZIP code, or in a different school district. Look into nearby charter schools and magnet schools. Don’t leave private and faith-based schools off your list. You might be able to find scholarships to cover the costs of tuition. And for some families, online learning and homeschooling work best.
To find the options available to you, look at information from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, as well as information on state-based education reform or school choice organization websites. For a directory of schools in your area, along with parent rankings and performance metrics, parents can visit greatschools.org
Then, start making appointments to visit the schools. Ask to sit in on classes, and make sure to ask as many questions as possible of teachers, the administration and support staff. And most importantly, ask your children about their perceptions of the schools that you’ve visited. Find out what excites and motivates your child at school, but also ask about their worries, concerns and apprehensions.
Making the decision to change schools certainly isn’t easy. But if you start now, and plan out the journey, you’ll find that the destination — a great school for your child — is well worth the diligence and effort.
Andrew R. Campanella
President of National School Choice Week
Can’t we all get along?
History has always held the battle between various disparate backgrounds. Beginning in the time with slavery leading to the rise of Dr. Martin Luther King, there always has been some kind of hatred amongst individuals. There was a time where police officers could fire warning shots, parents could discipline their children anyway they please, and elders were respected.
Now, this ever-so-changing society has slipped backwards. Police officers are treated with disrespect and punished for defending their life. They are forced to make split decisions and criticized by the public on whether they made the correct decision. Parents don’t have the authority they used to have. Elders are not respected anymore; they are just mocked and victimized because they are easy targets.
Why is it that we can’t get along?
Individuals need to unite every day and not just on tragic events such as 9/11. If we all respected one another a little more, maybe we could prevent some tragedies from occurring. We could at least try by working together to implement changes, necessary to provide a better environment. A better environment, for our future generations to come.
John Matthews
Mayfair
Justified use of force
White policemen, across this country, make hundreds of arrests of minorities every day without incident. Those minorities are not being shot and killed.
A miniscule number of people are doing stupid things and having run-ins with police officers. If they are killed, people are holding police brutality demonstrations.
In Northeast Philly, an ex-con was stopped by police for driving in the darkness on a major road without headlights (very dangerous situation). He was supposedly a reformed ex-con.
The police claim he went for a reportedly stolen gun in his car, was shot and killed. Ex-cons are prohibited from legally possessing a weapon. If I was a juror and his fingerprints or DNA was on that gun, I would rule “case closed.”
Mayer Krain
Modena Park
