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GreatSchools Helps Parents Understand School Options
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lisa Rosenthal, GreatSchools
415-977-0700, ext. 123
The landmark education bill that President Bush recently signed gives more school choice options than ever. To help them make smart school decisions, many parents are turning to GreatSchools.
GreatSchools is an independent, nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that helps parents choose schools, track school performance, support their children's learning and advocate for education excellence. With the support of foundations and corporate sponsors, GreatSchools offers unbiased information on its free online guide to K-12 schools through its online property, GreatSchools.net, at www.greatschools.net.
Founded in 1998, GreatSchools provides information on public schools in all 50 states and in-depth school profiles in California, Arizona and Texas. During 2002, the online school guide will add expanded information in Florida and Washington.
In addition to School Profiles, the online school guide offers powerful search and compare tools and includes more than 100 articles of interest to parents on topics ranging from testing to coping with homework. Many articles are targeted at parents in a particular state to explain, for example, unique testing requirements.
GreatSchools also offers community outreach to low-income parents at training programs where representatives teach parents how to choose schools and assess school quality. With information provided by GreatSchools, parents take home customized lists of schools that match their personal criteria.
Here's a summary of the features available in GreatSchools.net's free K-12 guide at www.greatschools.net. Those marked with an asterisk (*) are available only in states with in-depth school information (California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and Washington):
School Profiles-GreatSchools.net has a School Profile for virtually every public and charter school in the nation. Profiles include school contact information, test scores, teacher experience, class size and student demographics. From a School Profile, parents can link to explanations of state testing policies, positive and negative trends in test results, and the value of teacher experience and credentials. The site also lists basic information for nearly all private schools.
Enhanced School Profiles-These expanded profiles allow schools the opportunity to tell their story beyond the test scores and basic demographics. Enhanced School Profiles include details such as the school's mission, curriculum, extracurricular activities and special programs.
Match School Needs*-Parents can use this tool to prioritize the characteristics most important to them in choosing a school, such as class size, test scores, teacher performance or student diversity. After they enter a home address, Match School Needs identifies schools near their home that match the parents' preferences.
Choosing Schools*-This tool walks parents through the school selection process, whether their child is just starting kindergarten, transitioning to middle or high school, or the family is relocating to a new area. As parents use Choosing Schools, they are given options to connect to the Match School Needs and Compare Schools tools.
Compare Schools-As parents explore schools, they may wonder which schools have higher test scores and which have smaller classes. They can use the Compare Schools tool to compare schools in a specific geographical region by test scores, class size, student diversity and teacher experience.
My School List-This feature allows parents to save the schools that are most interesting to them on a personal list. Using the list, they can compare selected schools and see where each school is located. Each time they return to the site, they can access their list and easily add or delete schools.
My School Stats*-Parents can sign up for this free, customized newsletter on GreatSchools.net to get the latest data about their school and learn what it means for their children.
GreatNews-This newsletter, also available at no charge to parents, helps them understand issues beyond testing, such as how to support their child's learning on a day-to-day basis. Issued monthly, the newsletter provides tips, resources and tools to help children stay on track throughout the school year.
Grade Tracker-This new feature, available in the Track School Performance section, advises parents about some key skills their children should learn in grades 1 through 3. It also gives examples of those skills.
Testing definitions-GreatSchools.net explains what each state's testing policies mean for students and schools with short definitions of terms and longer explanations called "Issues to Consider" that decipher the testing process.
Helpful articles-GreatSchools.net has a library of more than 100 articles that help parents solve school problems, improve schools and support their child's learning. Topics include enrolling in kindergarten, tips for successful parent-teacher conferences, eligibility for special education programs and adjusting to a new school.
For more information, visit GreatSchools.net at www.greatschools.net.
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