Extensive checklist to help you rank your children school ...
Extensive checklist to help you rank your children school
With so many choices out there, it is not easy to finalize the right school for your kids. With continuous evolution in education industry, every school comes up with a new feature to attract parents. Sometimes these features create sudden spark and as a result of which parents get their kids' admission the school but later they realize they have made a wrong choice. So which features are critical and which ones can be compromised? Below article provides you some insights that should help you finalize the school for your children. Also you can Download 32 Points School Ranking Checklist to compare different schools
32 Points School Ranking Checklist
1- Average Class Size
A good school should have 15-20 students per class so that the teacher can pay fair attention to each student. Teachers not only provide knowledge to the students but also play a major role in building assertive character. This is the reason, a one-on-one kind of session must happen between teacher and each student on a frequent basis. This can only happen if the teacher to student ratio in the class is less.
2- Qualitative Education
Quality of education means that the contents of subjects are up to the mark and add value to the mental growth of children. Also the process of teaching, the techniques and approach are effective. As a parent, you need to take opinions from parents of existing students about the quality of education of the school that you intend to finalize your kids for.
3- Teachers' Credentials
A great school should have best in class teachers. Teachers are selected based on their prior experience, relevant educational certifications, effective communication skills, empathic skills and so on. Great teachers have great emotional intelligence skills so that they are able to understand the comprehension challenges of all kinds of students and help them effectively. Check out this article "33 Qualities of a Great Teacher"
4- Home Work
If the school is giving a lot of assignments to the students that make them busy until late evening, it does not qualify to be a good school. Great schools make sure that students work hard during the school time and less work is given for the home. This approach ensures students have a balanced life and not a life of burden.
Download 32 Points School Ranking Checklist
5- Discipline
One of the key elements of a strong character of a human being is being disciplined. Good schools instill the quality of discipline through time management, compliance with school specific activities and adherence to the ethical and social rules of the school.
6- Career Counselling With the advancement of technology and due to continuous evolution of humanity, hundreds of new domains of career have emerged. Hence, gone are the days when parents expected their kids to be engineers or doctors. With the availability of internet and social media, students of current age are exposed to hundreds of job options hence it is imperative that students are provided proper guidance to choose their careers. Many schools hire career guidance professionals to provide such service to the students. If your kids are going to study in higher grades in this school, this aspect becomes important for you as a parent.
7- Bullying Control
Not a key selection criteria for finalizing the school, yet it is good to know if the school takes necessary measures to ensure the bullying is controlled properly and what is the policy or governance mechanism on this subject. A good school may have a formal policy on bullying that they may share with you, if you demand it.
8- Weekend Classes
Not all students have equal caliber to grasp the knowledge during regular classes. Hence some of the students may not run as fast as the bright students do. A good schools closely measure the performance of all students and arrange special classes for the students who are not up to the mark (for example, students who secure less than 60% for a specific subject must attend weekend class)
9- Hall Of Fame
Everybody needs encouragement. Several schools provide digital or on-premises "Hall of Fame " to publish the achievements of bright students. This act motivates students to rise and shine. A good school must have a Hall of Fame area on the school premises. However, if there is a shortage of space in the schools, they can create dedicated sections on their website for this purpose.
10- Foreign Languages
A Chinese proverb says: "To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world". Many schools have started offering foreign languages as part of their curriculum. While some schools offer it as an optional activity, others have made it mandatory for the kids to learn a foreign language. Chinese, French, Arabic are the most common languages that are offered by most of the good schools.
11- Physical And Mental Games
A good school should conduct both physical and mental games for all grades. Physical games (Football, cricket, swimming, etc) improve the sportsman spirit, enhance patience level, improve collaboration skills, increase the health and empower the confidence level of kids whereas mental games (scrabble, quizzes etc) increase cognitive skills of students at large and improve their thinking patterns. In conclusion, both physical and mental games contribute towards development of the overall character of students.
12- Arts And Crafts
Creative students contribute better to society when they grow up. Fair attention to be given by schools for conducting arts and crafts activities.
13- Interschool Competitions
Such competitions enhance a child's vision and help him/her understand where he stands in terms of physical and mental competency. Check if the school you are shortlisting for your kids conducts such competitions?
14- Events
Schools should arrange Food events, gaming events, cultural events and get-together activities. This improves the perception of the school and has many benefits for students and parents.
15- Ease Of Fee Payment
Not all parents are financially strong. Hence a good school should offer multiple modes of payments which should be flexible to all kinds of parents. For example, monthly, quarterly and annually fee payment options should be offered by school. Also, a good school should offer a discount if the parents pay the fee for the whole academic cycle. This will be a win-win for both parties.
16- Attendance System
A great attendance system is important to maintain by a good school. Schools should have a disciplinary policy about the mandatory percentage of attendance for sitting in the final exam. For each of the absences, timely email notification should be sent to parents. Also monthly or quarterly summaries should be sent to parents. This can be achieved by any good school-management-software.
17- Helpful Staff
Not only teachers, but every school employee should maintain a good attitude towards students, parents and visitors. Satisfied parents will promote the school automatically as it is a win-win for parents and school.
18- Parents Engagements
Schools can use such pages to communicate all important notices, news, events and activities with parents. Imagine the happiness of a mother if his/her kids' activities are posted on Facebook!
19- Conduction of Polls And Reviews
Good Schools should approach parents through social media for conducting polls on important decisions the school is considering to implement. If you have a couple of minutes, please visit our polls page and participate in our polls. It should not take more than 3-4 minutes of time
20- Email Notifications & Performance Reports
In a digital era, it is imperative that a good school sends frequent emails to the parents with regards to school, performance of their kids, events, attendance and so on. While too many emails from school may bother some parents, yet it is a great way of communication that must be in place.
21- Classroom Facilities
Great classroom and effective teaching is something every parent wants for their child. Therefore, a good school should have the quality of teaching, quality of teachers and a great classroom environment in their agenda. A great classroom comprises good IT infrastructure (projector, mic, digital whiteboard), good furniture, enough light and ventilation mechanism.
22- Prayer Room
Students have to perform several prayers during school time. This is more important for the countries where Muslim population is dominant. Hence school should provide prayer rooms too. Same level of respect should be given to all religions without discrimination.
23- Games Area
A dedicated physical instructor, play areas for major games and associated ancillaries will result in better ranking of the school in society. In new age, parents are not only concerned about book based knowledge, instead they want their kids to practice physical activities in the school
24- Clinic / Emergency Room
Medical situations are inevitable hence a school should have an emergency room with dedicated nurse staff and first aid medicines/treatment services.
25- Washrooms Quality
Separate for boys and girls! Also frequent cleaning policy and governance should be ensured to achieve high hygiene standards
26- Food Shop
Only healthy food should be provided in school tuck shops. Fizzy drinks, artificial juices, and fried food should be prohibited. This extensive checklist is brought to you by AllGoodSchools however if you want to check out a relatively smaller checklist, please click here
27- Digital or Traditional Libraires
Todays' reader is tomorrow's leader. Libraries (digital or physical) are a must these days. If the school does not provide an on premises library, they should establish partnership with some of the digital libraries and provide credentials to the students to gain knowledge through digital libraries. A good school should encourage students to prepare their assignments through the use of such digital libraries
28- School Trips
According to "See More Be More" Principal, a human improves his/her mental horizons by how much he/she looks at new things every day. That means new places such as museums, technology parks, exhibitions, zoos, camping activities will not only improve the vision of students but enhance their self-confidence through socializing activities. A good school should arrange 2-3 trips every year
29- Safety And Security
A good school provides adequate security measure in terms of entry and exit procedures, in-class safety assurance, CCTV cameras installation, dedicated security department, IT security compliance,
30- Transport System
A great School Transport System requires implementation of certain systematic features through which safety and comfort of the students can be ensured. These features should be based on safety, security, monitoring, comfort and attendance perspective. Check out our detailed article on Best School Transport System
31- Sibling Fee Concession
What if you have 3 kids and the school offers you a 10% discount if 2 of your kids study in that school. What if they offer you a 20% discount on school fee if all 3 kids study in the same school? Sounds good, right? Check out if the school you are considering for your kids offers this.
32- Industry Visits
For the higher class students schools should arrange visits to factories, showrooms, large scale offices, colleges, manufacturing plants, hospitals and IT companies whichever is applicable. This will provide exposure to the kids and inspire them to choose the right domain for their career.
