School

Cope is in Early Childhood Intervention, which in the San Juan County area is through Roundtree. They just recently told me that in January-February we'll have to start the transition process to pre-school. Even if I don't want to put him in school quite yet, I still have to go through the process. Because of that, I've started trying to research schools in my area. I posted on facebook and got some really good ideas and comments, but I still don't have enough information. I wish there was a website with a conglomeration of the areas schools, their resources, teaching tactics, what they provide for both special education and gifted education. I wish parents could go to this site, click on the schools they are interested in, and then have it compare those schools according to certain parameters. This would allow the parents to get a quick idea of what they are looking at. Since I haven't found such a site, I'm going to have to make calls, visit schools, and get all the information I can that way.

The helpful tips I've been given so far are:
1. Almost all public schools have school district sites. Find the district site and use that to find the school you would be in. Included in that should be a number to reach the school. Call the school directly and ask questions. Make a list before calling so that you don't leave any out or forget to ask something important.
2. Ask around. There is usually at least one person you know that has been to a private school in the area, and can tell you which ones there are, and then from there you should be able to search them and find a number to call. Ask them the same list of questions you would ask the public schools.
3. Talk to teachers. They know the ins and outs of the school and would know best the positive and negative aspects of the school they teach at.

If you have any more advice or helpful tips let me know. It looks like I'm going to be making a ton of phone calls in the next little while to find out the information I need to know.

The other thing I'm not sure of is what questions I should be asking aside from the resources, teaching tactics, special education, and gifted education. As I come up with my list of questions/concerns I'll post them.