How to Pick a School 1Home2Category 1 – Explanation/Instructions3 Finding the right school for your child can be a challenging endeavor! Here are 5 steps we think every family should take when looking for a school for their student: Think about your child. What interests them? What are they great at? What is a challenge for them? Having the answers to these questions will help you better understand what you might be looking for in a school. Identify what is most important to you & your student in a school. No school is perfect, & every school offers many different things. Think about the 2-3 things you care about the most when looking for a school & only consider schools that have those things. We encourage you to use the How to Pick a School Guide to help identify what is most important. See what all your school options are & see which ones may be a fit. We believe that the Minneapolis School Finder is the place to start! Put your address into the search bar & select the grades you are looking for to see all school options for your child. You can then look at schools’ profiles to see which ones offer what is most important to you. Visit and/or talk to a few schools. Nothing tells you more about a school than being in their building & talking to their staff. We encourage you to visit the schools you are most interested in, & at a minimum, talk to each school you are considering for your child. A great place to do this is at the annual Minneapolis School Finder Fair, which happens every January at Minneapolis College & has over 80% of Minneapolis Schools in attendance. Apply to a few schools & enroll in one! It is always smart to apply to more than one school. We recommend applying to at least 2-3 schools to ensure your child has a seat in a school you are excited about next fall. On each school’s profile, in the ‘About’ section, there is a section called ‘How to enroll’. Follow the links to be brought to each school's application & enrollment instructions. After you are accepted to schools, decide which one you want your child to attend & only enroll your student in that one. The following guide has been designed with input from over 100 parents & caregivers on what they hope for when looking for a school. Use it to learn more about common school aspects that are important to families like yours, as well as to see examples of questions you can ask & things you can look for to see how a school is doing in these focus areas. Select the things most relevant to your student & family to receive a personalized sheet at the end! You can keep this sheet with you during your school search to help you find a great school for your child. You can also download our printable guide for picking a school here! Below are 9 elements of a school that local parents often cite as important. We encourage you to think about which 3 or 4 are the most important to you & your child—focus on those when researching schools. Click on each aspect to see things to look for & questions to ask. Things to look for include evidence you can find on school profiles, school websites, or when you visit the building to see how it meets what’s most important to you. Questions to ask includes examples of questions you can ask to better understand how the school meets the areas most important to you. Select the specific things to look for and questions to ask by clicking on the check box next to them. These will then show up in your personalized report. Access to grade-level materials1Would my child be taught using materials and receiving instruction appropriate for their grade? For example, you would not want an 8th grader being taught 5th grade-level math. Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Students access grade-level curriculum & instruction Students are reading & doing math at grade level, averaging more than a year of academic growth High schools: Percent of graduates who attend (& graduate from) college Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Questions to Ask How do you ensure all students are working at or toward grade-level standards? What data will you share with me throughout the year so that I know whether my child is on grade level? What are your interventions for students who are not mastering grade-level content? Are you a pathway to college (college tours, earning credits in high school...)? What indicators do you monitor to ensure kids are on track? Student focused curriculum & instruction2Does the curriculum reflect my child's background and interests? Are they taught in a way that works well for them? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Students have the opportunity to make choices regarding their learning & know how it’s measured Opportunities to understand how curriculum is selected & provide feedback Teachers use assessments & feedback to inform/modify instruction Curriculum is reflective of students’ interests & cultures Questions to Ask How do teachers accommodate different learning styles & tailor instruction? How does your curriculum & instruction reflect the backgrounds & interests of your student community? Do you partner with local organizations & experts? What are your special education & Emotional Behavior Disorder rates by ethnicity? Why? How do teachers provide feedback to students? How do you collect student feedback? How are you ensuring that the student demographics in advanced courses, magnet classes or other special programs mirror your school’s enrollment? Diverse, experienced & culturally intelligent educators3Do the teachers reflect the identities of my student? Do they understand the culture of my student, and have experience working with students like mine? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Percent of teachers of color reflect student demographics, diverse school leadership Educator completion of cultural competency trainings Questions to Ask How do your teachers & other staff reflect your student population? What are you doing to improve this number & keep staff who reflect my community? Have all teachers completed cultural competency trainings in compliance with state law? What are the trainings? How do you help teachers become well-versed in trauma- informed practice, positive youth development, social-emotional learning or other frameworks? Culturally responsive communication4Is communication tailored to my preferences? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Meetings scheduled around parent availability Interpreters & translations are standard practice School personnel changes are communicated to families in real time Questions to Ask Does your school offer home visits or family- teacher conferences in the community? Do you provide interpreters for events? How are families informed of staffing changes during the school year? What ways & how often do teachers make contact with families (e.g., positive or multilingual notes)? Welcoming culture and climate5Do I feel like I belong in the school building? Do I feel comfortable? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page.Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Signage is multilingual (main office, library, cafeteria) Accommodations (interpreters, transportation, child care, food) Examples of diversity & inclusion (e.g., named in the school’s mission &/or a core value) When you’re in the school you feel warm & welcomed Questions to Ask How do you welcome parent feedback & respond to it? What is the procedure for visiting my child’s classroom? How do you make it easier for families to engage (transportation, interpreters...)? What's your attendance percentage? Family inclusion6Are there meaningful opportunities for me to be included in the school? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! The school has a family liaison or someone responsible for working with & advocating for families Schools give families tools to engage other families &/or connect Questions to Ask Do you empower families to reach out to each other, including those who might be less engaged? Do you provide them with access to advocacy or empowerment trainings? If yes, do parents attend? Can families suggest topics for staff training? Do you allow parents to engage in school improvement? How? Fair discipline7Is my student more likely to receive disciplinary actions because of their race? Are discipline practices culturally appropriate for my student? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Percentages are reported out by ethnicity (e.g., suspension) Communication is sensitive to historical trauma, avoids triggering words Questions to Ask Do you use restorative practices, Culturally Responsive Behavior Interventions or something similar? What are you doing to reduce the number of discipline actions? Do you share discipline actions by ethnicity? Diverse board and leadership8Do the school leadership and school board reflect the diversity of the students who attend the school? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Families are presenters/experts of their culture There's an active family council or committee Questions to Ask Do you have parents on your board or council? What are the demographics? What decisions are they responsible for? What's the process to volunteer? Do you have a parents' bill of rights? In what ways do families impact school decisions? School values are set by families9Do families help set school values & help evaluate how the school lives up to them? Select the questions and things to look for that feel the most important to you to appear on your personal results page. Things to Look For Select the questions and things to look for you want to appear on your personalized guide! Is there a family satisfaction survey—in multiple languages? How do you use the feedback? What's the family grievance procedure? Questions to Ask Are families and cultures embraced (no undermining of families or cultures)? Do families & educators set &/or reflect on values together? Enter Personal Information to Receive a personalized PDF Enter your email and/or phone number to receive your results via text or email. Name* First Last Email me the results? 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