Living History Worldwide

A good education is the key to any child’s future success, so naturally, parents are greatly invested in finding the best pre-K programs for their young children, or find the best private grade schools or best private middle schools in the area. Parents who can afford the tuition of private schools often take this route, but still, many public schools may have quality staff as well, and parents can find the top rated public school in the area when they conduct an online search. When a child turns three or your years old, or when the family moves to a new area, the parents may look online for preschools with a query such as “best preschools in miami” or “best preschools in miami private” to find some. Something similar can be done to find elementary, middle, or high schools, too, and a more specific search may yield some promising results. How might this work?

Looking for a Preschool

While it is not mandatory for young American children to attend preschool, there are many benefits to sending a child aged three to five to preschool. While a day care is a general place for watching over children, a preschool is a dedicated academic setting. There, the young students will learn how to learn, meet and get along with their peers, and get used to following instructions from adults who are not their parents. This can give a child a real head start in their education, and prepare them fully for elementary school. Studies show that more and more families are taking this route, and from 1990 to 2000, the rate of preschool enrollment grew rapidly. By now, well over half of all American households of all backgrounds send their children to pre-K programs like these.

Parents may find these schools online if they have to, such as when the family moves to a new city or county. The parents are advised to enter a fairly specific query when they look online, especially if they are searching in a fairly large city. A general phrase such as “best preschools in miami” can be narrowed down with the client’s ZIP code, or they can specify if they want to find public or private preschools. For example, “best preschools in miami private schools” or “public best preschools in miami”. Doing this may bring up a whole list of schools, and the parents may strike out undesired results and compile a short list of candidate schools.

With this list on hand, the family can and probably should tour local preschools in person to see what they are like and form a fair impression of them. When visiting a preschool, the parents may consult the staff to review the school’s level of funding and see what sort of programs it offers for students. The parents may also review each teacher’s credentials, such as their work history and educational background. And of course, the parents may double check to see that their child feels comfortable in a given school and gets along with the staff there. The family can visit any number of preschools this way, and revisit the most promising one, before making their decision. Private preschools will charge tuition, but in exchange, they are well funded and have expert staff. Still, a highly rated public preschool may meet all of the parents’ criteria, too.

Other Schools

Meanwhile, it is certainly required that American children attend elementary, middle, and high school, and a similar process can be used to find local schools of the desired type. Here again, the parents can look online and specify what sort of schools they want to find, and tour them with their child. The child may later tell their parents why they did or did not like a school (useful reference), and explain what sort of programs or clubs they want a school to have (art programs, swim team, marching band, etc). Private schools are privately funded and run, hence the name, and charge tuition each year. These schools are the minority, but they do offer expert staff and generous clubs and activities for a top-tier education. Private high schools offer generous college counseling, and over 90% of private high school grads go on to college.