Do You Choose a School Based on Academics, Social Factors, or Just Convenience?

I would send her where she wants to go. She will be spending the time there. If she is on board, that is 75% of the experience.

In the long run a good student, will always excel, no matter the school.

I just answered a quasi-similar question. Due to necessity my DD moved schools 5 times before graduating high school. She has remained in contact with 3 girls from Elementary, 2 from middle and a dozen or so from high school. My husband remained with ALL his friends from kindergarten through high school. Friendships growing up are awesome but not an excuse to limit ones self academically. If they are meant to remain friends there are alternative ways to hang out.

I choose based on what is going to give my child the best education. That is not a one factor determination.

i would absolutely go for the academically rigorous school, especially with its other advantages. when the rubber meets the road, THAT'S why we send kids to school. not to socialize. not to get them out of our way. to get educated in the best ways available to us as a family.
khairete
S.

Academics 1st
Social 2nd
Convenience 3rd

I drive my son 1 hour round trip to his private school because it is great, and far above the schools in our district, and even above many of the other private schools we pass on the way. Some day we hope to live close enough for him to be bussed to school, but getting into that school was our top priority.

Middle school is a natural "break" in their schooling; even if your child went to the same MS as her elementary friends, there is zero guarantee that she would continue to be close friends with them. The social groups mix and mix again in MS as new kids enter your kid's orbit. Please do not let the social factor of "All her friends are going to school X" enter into this, unless you have some extremely specific reasons, for instance, if she has social anxiety or other diagnosed emotional or social issues. If she did you would know that by now.

Think ahead not just to MS but to high school and beyond. School everywhere is much, much tougher and frankly more competitive now than when any of us were kids. Getting into a decent college is tougher than ever. If you feel she can handle the academic challenge, go for the more academic MS if you can.

I have to assume here that you're talking about her starting MS in fall of 2014, since schools are already in session --? Is that right? If so, you have an entire school year to visit both these middle schools; talk to parents who have had kids go to both schools (seek them out if you don't already know any; they are a great resource); talk to your school district to learn about the curricula in detail (get on their e-mail lists for the academic program); attend some student/parent events at both schools; and other things that will help you make a choice. Get into the lottery, yes, and then find out all you can about both schools. You have time. And if the lottery doesn't go in your favor you will already know a lot about the other school and will feel comfortable there, too!

We had this choice, too, though luckily no lottery was involved. Our child was already, in elementary, in an advanced academics program, and the choice was to continue that at one MS or send her to the closer MS which did not have the program. We chose to continue the academic program in MS. Sure, it did help that most of the kids in that program in her elementary school were going to attend the MS with the academic program, but we absolutely would have sent her to the school with the program even if most of her elementary friends had gone to the other MS.

Interestingly, she mostly talks about the new friends she is making at her MS and not nearly as much about her old friends from elementary school who also are at her MS.

Just thought I would share our story so that it might lend some perspective, because we were in a similar situation. My daughter went to our local elementary school, but we decided to send her to a private middle school. She made new friends quickly, and was totally fine. But also, once she got a phone, she reconnected with many of the elementary kids (not sure of your cell phone policy, but we let DD have one at 12). She is now in 8th grade and deciding between the local high school, where all the elementary friends will go, and a private high school where most of the current middle school kids will go. Because she stayed connected, her decision is easier because she will know kids wherever she goes. In this way, technology was a great thing!

Academics are awesome at both choices for us, so it's hard to say. I would definitely put academics pretty high on the list of priorities.

Good luck!

You can't choose a school based on what the friends are doing/where they are attending. That can be a deciding factor when all things (or most) are equal but it can't be THE reason.

My deciding factor is academics and what is best for my child. Academics are the core of education so finding the right balance of challenging enough/not too challenging while keeping in mind the individual child (what is best for one is not best for another). These two things being equal, convenience does come into play. Athletics, like friends, can be a contributing factor but should never be THE reason.

In your case, it sounds like the "option" school is what is best for your daughter. Does taking her to school work with your work schedule? If so, that is probably the best option so get on the list. However, if she isn't accepted through the lottery, be prepared to make her bedtime earlier so she can get enough sleep and get up on time to catch the bus. I can't imagine that driving her would save THAT much time since there is only 1/2 hr between the bus and the start of school.

Friends don't enter into the equation.
You can enter the lottery but there is no guarantee you will win it and your choice comes up only if you do.
Our son tried out for STEM last year and won a spot.
The high school is newer than the school that's in our zone.
The academics was superior in the STEM program (although both schools are the top 2 in the county) plus the STEM program wants to look good - boast of it's success rate, etc) - and has a vested interest in making sure the students attending it do well.
He knows a few people who would go to the STEM school from middle school due to how the middle school and high school zones overlap.
After thinking long and hard, we chose the STEM school and he goes there now.
He loves the school.
The only thing bad about it is the bus ride.\
It takes an hour to get there one way.
So it's like he's back on the early elementary school schedule and gets on the bus at 7am.
He gets home anywhere between 4:30 - 5pm.
So it's a long day.
But we just got his first report card and it's all A's!
We made a good choice and he has the option of earning college credit equivalent of an associates degree by the time he graduates high school.
Considering he wants to be an engineer and most BS degrees are 5 yr programs, anything that can save us money college-wise is WONDERFUL!
And it's a big plus for him to have as little debt coming out of college as possible.

Go with better academics, always. Are you still friends with your elementary school BFF? Probably not. That's not a good reason to choose a school, in my opinion. Your daughter can certainly keep in touch with her old friends if she likes, but she will make new friends wherever she goes.

You choose what would be best for your family. You base it off of the family's priorities. Obviously academics is the priority for most and it appears you too would like the more academic school. If that is not the option, then I would go to the later start school because sleep is extremely important. However, if driving to the other school is not going to work for your family then you need to choose the bussing school. If I were you and was not chosen for the "lottery" school then I would bank on going to the 8:15 start time, based on what was given.

I would send my kids to where they would be most happy..and that is with their local neighborhood friends. Friends mean a lot to kids and sometimes it means the difference between liking school and not.

My kids all have awesome groups of friends and they keep each other on track. They positively influence each other to stay away from bad influences and bad choices. Our kids all love going to school because their friends are there. They are happy, upbeat and excited to go each day. Then in turn they are trying hard to do well in their studies and are actively involved in extra curricular activities.

Our kids have the choice to take 0 period which means school starts for them at 7:25. The rest of the kids that don't want to take an extra class begin at 8:25. Our kids and most all of their friends choose to go early...they enjoy being with each other and taking on more classes together.

Have you asked her what she wants to do?? Start there. I also disdain the early hour. But if all her friends go to the same school then you can do a carpool. I drive only a few times each week among the 10 times needed. We have a huge carpool so it eases the burden on everyone.

It must be close by, absolutely. And I want enough sleep. My kids, too.

I would not choose one that's dangerous or poorly rated. Go with 7 or up on Greatschools.

You have a tough choice.

You are using start times as a possible issue. She won't get enough sleep. You are kidding right. Will she tell her boss, she can't start work that early?
She wont last more than a day.

You would have to drive her???? She should be able to plan accordingly. Go to bed earlier so she can be on the bus!!!!! Kids all o ER the country catch buses that early including mine when they were in school.

Let her decide but her decision should be for the right reasons, not because she can sleep later if she goes to one school over another.

I chose based on academics. My daughter was G/T and took AP classes, and I chose schools based on their G/T and AP offerings.

I chose to send DD to her "home school" in our district based on the cost of the private option. There was no other option for us other than homeschooling. I do plan to have her tested in Jan to see if she qualifies for the science magnet and if she does, then I need to decide if she should stay in her dual language program or go for science.

When the older kids picked a HS (maybe a similar program to yours), we chose it based on what special thing they offered. SS went to one for Engineering and SD went to one that focused on arts. We didn't drive them most of the time. They took a bus. Over time, SS didn't like getting to the bus at 6:30AM and didn't like the program, so he transferred to the neighborhood HS and did fine.

Kids' friendships ebb and flow, especially in MS. I would not base the school choice on that. Some of the sks' friends dropped off and some they stayed with. It also helped if the friend was nearby so they could bike over, even if they were not in the same MS or HS.

The other consideration is even if you put her in the lottery, what options does she have at the regular MS? Is there a gifted program? Any afterschool activities like art or science club?

Academics. I got an entirely new set of friends when I went to middle school. Plus who is to say some of the friends at the neighborhood school won't try for the lottery too? And I agree with the poster below that said with the electronics kids have today it is so much easier to stay connected.

I had the chance years ago to switch to the G/T elementary school when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. My parents left the decision up to me, and of course I didn't want to switch to a school where I knew no one! So I stayed in a school where they didn't know what to do with me because I was so far ahead of the other kids. I think I missed out on some great opportunities. And what is funny, the people I ended up becoming friends with in middle school and high school were the ones I would have met at the G/T elem school (30+ years ag they didn't have G/T middle or high schools in Ft. worth TX, you just had classes with all the same kids).

I'd go the school that has a normal starting time if I had a choice. That's silly to start school that early!

Other than that. Why put kids in a program that is so academically better when they're all going to the same high school. They'll have to dumb it down for the kids who don't get into this great school so they advanced kids will be doing the same stuff they did last year when they get to high school. I don't think it's such a great idea for a middle school to do this.

Now if it was a high school then I'd see the advantage towards college admissions. Middle school is sort of a useless advance program age.

Hi, Sally:

It sounds like you have a problem getting up early and getting your child off to school.

Keep her in the school with her friends. Why disrupt her life because of a time issue?

Good luck.
D.

When we bought our house we made sure to buy close to the schools our kids would attend. We managed to find a home that is two blocks from the elementary school, three blocks from the middle school and four blocks from the high school. It was important for me that my kids went to schools that offered French Immersion, excellent music programs and IB, that my kids were able to walk to school, and that my kids went to the same school as the kids on the neighbourhood. Luckily our neighbourhood schools start at 9:00am, so the later start is an added bonus.

ETA: Schools in Canada have a standardized curriculum, so academically they are the same, unless you are looking for specialty programs.

The best school academically-and who really wants to put a child on a school bus with no seat belts, at dawn?

It's been proven that teen's internal clocks are not set for such early morning hours. Not wanting to get up at 6am as a teenager does not mean she won't be able to hack it as an adult. I can say that from experience. My job for years required very early hours and I did it while as a kid I'd have never imagined being ok with it. Maybe don't worry about this too much though until you get into the lottery school. You may not get in and then your decision is made... I'm going to be faced with a similar decision and I understand your dilemma. It's tough to take kids from friends. You don't say if your local school is also quite good or just mediocre. And you don't say how big it it. Ours is so big that I hear lots of kids never see their close friends anyway. Maybe you have the same situation which makes it easier to leave it. Good news for the lottery school too is likely everyone will be "new". We think about moving from one town to another and I worry that'll be hard bc most of the kids will have been in elementary together. If we go to a private middle, I figure everyone will be starting fresh and then it's likely pretty easy to make new friends. You could also try it for a year if you get in... It's probably easy to switch back to your neighborhood school if your daughter hates the lottery one, right?

Just the start time would be my deciding factor. I do not get why some schools start so darned early.

I would do the lottery. I had little contact with my elementary friends when I started middle school because there were more kids from other schools mixed in. If she gets in she will adjust. And who knows, maybe she will have contact with some kids that she knows that also make it in.

Middle school can be a tough transition especially making new friends. I would discuss the options with your child, and see how she feels as well.