Choosing a Quality Elementary School: Five Questions You Should Ask

Once you have a school in mind for your child, you need to ask some important questions. How do you cut to the chase? Well, if you start with these, you'll have all your bases covered.

• Do teachers and other staff seem welcoming? If you're made to feel as if you're disrupting their precious time, they've got an attitude problem.

• How is progress measured? Does the school rely solely on test scores? What about other ways of evaluating kids, such as journals, portfolios of completed work and artistic or musical accomplishments? Test scores can tell only so much about children's abilities. Where else do teachers get feedback to help them evaluate individual strengths and weaknesses?

• Do you see kids working together in small groups? That's a good thing! If students are interacting solely with the teacher, you could be witnessing the onset of mass boredom.

• Are computers available to all students? Are they wired for the internet?

• What provisions are there for after-school programs? Who supervises them and what's the routine?

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