Moving and Switching School Systems

Not only was the school 45 minutes away from home, but it was also completely different than where I was supposed to start my freshman year.

For starters it was massive. The classes consisted of so many students they could hardly keep track of us. I may have enjoyed that being a teenager, but it scares me to death now as a mother. I can clearly remember skipping one day and they never even called home. Imagine that? I remember feeling lost as it was such a big school and there was an unsafe feeling. I would never want that for my children. I want to know they are safe and counted for. I want them to receive the attention they need. I want to be notified if anything happens. I want to know they are receiving a well-deserved, good education. I know that you get more out of sending your children to private school vs public school however safety and education should be assured in all schools and unfortunately it just isn’t. In some states and cities, it may be the best option to choose private school as some of the public schools just have horrible credentials. This is something I would weigh out when considering moving anywhere.

I know every child is different and assessing each child’s needs is the first step. For a child to thrive in a new environment, you would need to consider what they need. Some children may thrive in a large school verses a small school. Some require special educational services and for older kids maybe they would thrive better in a technical high school rather than a typical high school. For the younger children that would need daycare services you would want to find the best suitable daycare for your child as well. Not only would we want to find a great school, daycare, or technical school, we also would want to make sure it is not far away. The 45-minute bus ride to school for me was awful. That’s minimally 1 hour and 15 minutes of the day spent sitting on a bus or in a car and in my opinion was not a productive use of time for the child or for the parent driving them.

There are different ways you can investigate new schools when deciding what is best for your children. The first thing that comes to my mind is looking online at the schools. Everything is online these days you can probably find out anything you would want to know about the schools. You could also ask your realtor for recommendations as they typically have facts and statistics about schools in the new area. If you already have friends or family that live in the area you can consult with them about their recommendations. You can also make the trip to visit the schools and facilities yourself in person. If that is not an option, a lot of schools now do virtual tours due to Covid and a lot of things can be done remote.

I would gather all the facts you can find to make the best decision for your children. After assessing your child’s needs, and then doing the research on the schools in the area, it’s time to make some decisions. I would have your top choice school planned out but also have a backup plan. Not every school can be available to take a child at the specific time you are moving. Not every school or daycare has the room to take your child right away and these are more things to consider. You may want to get on a waitlist if necessary. You will want to gather all the paperwork and documentation required when transferring to a new school. Some schools may require an application as well.

Either way moving your family or starting over can be scary, but it can also be a fresh new start that’s exciting! Finding the best school that is suitable for your children is top priority. It truly makes all the difference when moving.