1. U.S. Elementary Education : What Parents Need to Know
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U.S. Elementary education - what parents need to be aware of

Discussion in 'General Discussions - USA & Canada' started by Rihana, May 12, 2015.

  1. abla

    abla Gold IL'ite

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    I think it depends on the school you are applying @mriduna . In some private schools entry points are kindergarten and then only in 7th grade or 9 th grade. The admissions in between may be hard as they take kids only if someone moves away . So look into the schools in your area .
     
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  2. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Usually there are other factors like proximity to work, preference for condo/townhouse, independent house, friends already living in an area, nearness to public transit, etc that can also impact school district choice. Those generally bring down the choice to 2-4 districts.

    Ratings on greatschools are a reasonably good guideline. But, they only rate in whole numbers. :) A quick check showed to me that 8 is not bad at all, and not all 8's are equal.

    There is regular public school, then there is magnet, private, charter, and so many kinds and then there is homeschooling. Simplest is to pick a reasonably good public school and relax. If a parent I trust has done research and highly recommends a different kind of school, then, I'd check it out, but otherwise follow the herd.

    If picking an area to buy property, then, go more by the high school, not the elementary and middle school. In elementary and middle schools, parent or tutoring can fix any school shortcomings, but high school needs to be a good one. Also worth checking how many parents in the area send kids to private high school.

    Another thing is size of school - if the charter, magnet has few kids in each class, and few kids per grade, the instruction might be more personalized, but there are advantages to a regular class and grade strength.
     
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  3. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks, Ladies.

    Nice to see so many responses. The schools are great, and teachers do a good job, but for many of us, the inside and workings of a school are stuff we learn as our first kid progresses through the grades! I remember just seeing the inside of a school was a big thing, and figuring how to talk with teacher, and how a teacher might be nice to talk to but not get much done really in a subject she doesn't like... for me personally, it took a while to see past the nice friendly front and really get to know how good a teacher is for my child. They often are good or good enough, but one or two over the years can be ones the district simply cannot fire.
     
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  4. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Rihana,

    My son migrated to the US in 1995 when he was 7 years old. He was admitted in Grade 2 but he was far more advanced back in India on subjects when compared to the US school. However, he didn't understand a word of what his friends at school were communicating with him or the instructions of his teachers even though he was given a grand welcome as the only international student in the class at that time. The school district found out that he doesn't understand the accent and use of words that are common in the US and arranged a cultural coordinator to visit the school for 60 days. But within 45 days, he was able to perfectly communicate easily with all his friends and teachers. This may not be experienced by children who are already raised in the US but might be useful information for those who migrate when their children are already studying in Indian Schools.

    Secondly, the children are very sensitive to the clothes other children are wearing. In India, we are so used to wearing many colored clothing. In the US, the children are very used to certain colors and any drift from those colors is viewed down. My son had difficulty to begin with until we threw all of his clothes and replaced it with clothes sold in the US. This also may be important to know.

    Viswa
     
  5. Kamla

    Kamla IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Rihana,

    Congratulations for starting this enormously useful thread and thanks again to butterflyice for nominating this to FP!

    It is very daunting to land in a new country which has its own education system and values and try to find the best for your child. Even if one is the resident of the country, today with so many venues and options, it is a daunting task anyways!!

    I do admit that I did not pay great attention to the thread for thankfully I have passed through that phase of life! But I hear often enough about schools and schooling with three grand kids!! My younger daughter's first concern while settling on a home is the school district!! I do find USA complicated in this aspect!

    Hence , this is a great and helpful thread. I can't believe we did not have such thread till now on our site! Thank you Rihana!

    L, Kamla
     
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  6. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

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    I just wanted to add to @Viswamitra Sir's valuable info.
    all public schools have ELL programs for children who have English as their second language. Not just in elementary even inthe middle school ELL students go for spl English instruction instead of languGe classes.
     
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  7. ramyav_cse

    ramyav_cse Gold IL'ite

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    So, if I understand correctly, students whose mother tongue is not english will attend ELL programs in place of regular language classes? Is this for all or just for students that seem to be a bit behind for the english language? By english as second language, do u mean kids that have a different mother tongue?
     
  8. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    End of school year, stuff to do?

    Write email to child's teachers appreciating their efforts with your child, mention a few specific improvements in your child, and ask for suggestions on any specific area child could use some effort in summer. You can be surprised what all teachers observe. They can have the most unexpected of suggestions, and not all academic.

    Write a separate email to the principal mentioning how the teacher was effective with your child.

    Teachers gossip. A lot. Word gets around on which are the pushy parents, appreciative parents, to-be-avoided parents, OK parents. So, word will get around on who sent emails such as the above two. Let that SAHM go spend dozens of hours volunteering in the school all year, you simply send 2-3 neat emails at end of year, and one up her. :)

    Have child sort his or her closet or books area. Teach him/her to actively give away or recycle stuff (their spouse will thank you years later). Same with clothes. The artwork, projects, assignments, writing work, they have gathered over the school year - take pictures of few of them. Maybe a short 15 second video of a few with child saying what it is about.

    Help child plan some study also into the summer. Some math, some reading & writing about what was read.

    If in public school, start praying for a good teacher next year. :)

    Please add suggestions to the list.
     
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  9. jskls

    jskls IL Hall of Fame

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    Yes if kid's native language is not english then English is treated as second language. If the child starts schooling from kindergarten here then ELL doesn't apply. It's for those kids who join elementary/ middle school from another country and who has lived less than 2 yrs here. It might change from state to state and with district to district based on funding for such programs.
     
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  10. dimhere

    dimhere Gold IL'ite

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    Hello, @ramyav_cse,

    To add to the information on ELL classes. In my state (Midwest), when my children moved from India in the upper elementary school stage, on the first day, a special teacher checked their proficiency in English. Understanding American expressions, comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, listening skills, and creative writing proficiency were checked.

    My kids cleared all these checks. They were placed at the same English proficiency level as other kids in their class. (in fact, their writing from India was more advanced than their peers! - Cursive, neat, good punctuation and all).

    So they did not need ELL classes and were allowed to take the regular courses, and now learn the same English and Spanish as their peers. Now I foresee Spanish becoming a problem in the next grade, as my elder one was thrown into the deep end immediately.

    So now, we need to catch up on Spanish for him over the summer hols. Any ideas?
     
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