Two weeks ago I wrote about a therapist being a good fit.  Today I am coming at you with part 2-the remix (any 90’s kids in the house?). Today I want to talk to you whether your child’s school is a good fit.
 
“Well Adrienne geez-the school year just started!  Why are you talking about this now!?”
 
I totally understand why you are saying this because I, just like you-thought that spring was a good time to start looking for a new school for the fall.
 
But this is not so. If there are any of my original readers still out there in the audience.  I used to post/blog all of the time about my 2 wonderful nieces Monica and Morgan.  If you are new to this blog-let me catch you up-My 2 nieces are the 2 most wonderful little girls on the planet and being an Auntie is the best job in the world! Anyway when I first started writing this the girls were age 4 and 6 and back then school was figured out (or we thought it was).  But now my oldest niece is now an 8^thgrader and this month her parents have started going to open houses and taking tours of HIGH SCHOOLS! But even more surprising is that some of the charter schools and magnet programs have early application deadlines as early as October and November the year BEFORE the girl is to even step foot on a high school campus.
 
So when looking for a new school for your child, keep these things in mind/ask yourself these questions:
 

1. What does my child need from a school?  Does he or she need a smaller class size? A school with a specific focus (such as language disability, a Christian or religious school? or a school for kids with Autism)
2. Is this school a good fit for my child? Even if the school has the focus that your child needs-it still may or may not be a good fit for your child.  I have known many parents that send their kids to a ‘private school’ because they thought it was going to be better only to realize that it was still not a good fit.
3. Ask other parents/ read reviews: I give this as a suggestion-don’t make your decision only based on 1 or 2 good or bad reviews but definitely keep it in mind.
4. Is the commute realistic for my family?  Even in our clinic-I shy away from taking patients that live far away because even though a parent can start out with all of the best intentions of bringing their child 45 minutes for therapy once a week-often, life gets in the way.  This is even more true for school.  If the commute is too far- it may not truly be the best option for you.  Even if the school is amazing-it may not be the best fit-if you as a parent have to commute a long time each way-5 days per week.
5. What does your gut say?  This is, by far, the most important thing.  Go visit the school (multiple times) and listen to what that inner voice is telling you.  Even if the school looks perfect when you visit-if you get a nagging feeling telling you this is not for your child-then continue your search.

 
Even though we have not reached Thanksgiving-NOW is the time to think about school options-especially if your child is approaching a transitional year. 
 
We are now open on Fridays for appointments and makeup sessions.  Call us today to set up an appointment.
 

Adrienne Fuller M.S., CCC-SLP
Speech Builders, LLC
speechbuilders.org
(407) 703-2711