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School Hunting
Deciding on a school for your child may well be one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make. Although it would be normal to feel incredibly pressured under the prospect of making such a life judgement, you should not succumb to this pressure or let it interfere with your ability to make a sound decision regarding what could potentially change the course of your child’s life. For some of you, the decision is a clear one by planning to send your child to your former school or the one closest to your home. It is important, though, that you start this process carrying no bias that could cloud your judgement. Keep in mind that what was good for you, may not be so for your child and the convenience of a school being located closest to home should not be your only consideration. Infact, there is a whole bunch of factors that you should first consider before you make your choice. We hope by providing you with the following series of factors that you’ll be better equipped to make a clearer and more successful choice for your child.


Social and emotional atmosphere
The atmosphere, both social and emotional, that the school you are considering for your child provides, is a vital factor in influencing your decision. Whether your child will be treated with respect and understanding, receive the attention he needs, or is appropriately disciplined are issues you should be able to observe by paying the school a visit and observing a class in action. Do the children in class look happy? Does the teacher respond to their questions and encourage their curiosity? If you have any doubts, ask parents of children enrolled in the school and don’t hesitate to raise up your questions with the school’s authorities. Make sure that the atmosphere the school provides does not conflict with the one you have created for your child at home. Remember, your child spends a good eight hours of his day at school and trying to correct the wrongdoings of an atmosphere he exists within on a daily basis will be impossible for you and harmful to say the least for your child. Be careful of schools with large class sizes. The more children in a classroom, the less attention and patience a teacher will be able to provide for each and the less comfortable your child will feel.

Learning activities
This factor usually ranks first on Egyptian parents’ list of priorities in a school. The curriculum and program a school provides will determine or at least narrow done the choices to a few. Whether it’s English, French or German, IGCSE, American Diploma, IB or Thanawiya Amma, parents keep faithful to only a few choices of schools in their chosen framework of study. Sticking to a certain framework maybe fine, but each of these programs offers different methods for teaching and disciplining your child. So, try to think of what’s best for your child and not what’s best for you. A couple of new schools, however, have addressed this problem by offering more than one program or framework of study thereby widening parents choices.
Apart from any primary bias for a certain program or curriculum you may have carried, there are many other things that fall under the learning category and require your careful consideration. First, regardless of the program, every school should offer a choice of activities and materials that will help your child develop and grow academically. There should also be an ample amount of reading material made available to the children in relation to their studies as well as outside them. Visit each school library, observe the materials available and judge for yourself whether they encourage reading and learning. Another consideration for you is the extent of parent involvement the school requires or allows. Are you expected to study for your child at home and does this suit your schedule? Are you consulted in the choice of your child’s study materials? For some parents, these issues make or break their decision to enroll their child in a certain school.


Physical environment and safety
Although this may be a factor you regard less importantly, I believe this is one of the most important. Checking for safety around school premises is essential. Is the bus area regulated and supervised at all times? Are there any open potholes around the school? Are staff members trained in first aid? And is school open and easily accessible to strangers? Safety questions never end, remember to ask all the questions you feel necessary, no matter how overly protective or ridiculous they sound. The school grounds themselves should not be any less important than safety. The environment your child is surrounded with daily during the better part of his childhood years, affects his perceptions of beauty for the rest of his life. If you are careful to surround your child with beautiful things at home extend this to his school as well. Space, greenery, cleanliness and decorations in your child’s classroom are important for him to be able to regard and incorporate beauty into his everyday life.
School facilities for sports are often important for many parents, the extent to which they exist usually varies with a school’s tuition. Although sport facilities on school premises are good to have, some schools arrange regular visits to the nearest clubs to provide their students with the necessary exercise.


Health and nutrition
Finally, on our list of factors, comes health and nutrition. Parental concern here is usually minimal because most schools now provide a clinic with a Doctor, school nurse and updated student medical reports. If the school you are considering, however, also provides meals for your child or has a canteen make sure that the meals and products sold are nutritious and are provided through means of a good source.
Now, you may think school fees should belong on our list of primary factors but in reality they should only be used later as a factor to help you narrow down your choices of schools. Remember, erroneous judgement on your behalf to assess your capabilities to make a certain cash commitment yearly, may lead you to regretably uproot your child from a school and friends he grew accustomed to or deny him other necessities like vacations, toys or even clothes. Changing exchange rates and inflation have made it hard for many parents to keep up with school fees. While you are narrowing down your choices of schools, eliminate ones that you feel will lead you to live on the edge. Your child may need a good education , but more importantly he needs a stress-free environment to grow and develop comfortably. We understand parents are all about sacrifice, but be smart about drawing the line.

Finally, after considering all the factors listed above, it is best that you create a profile for each of your choices, but only after you have narrowed them down to at least three schools. For an example of a profile, refer to the Hayah International Academy Profile we have provided below. Each school profile should include answers to most of the questions we have posed, in addition to other factors that you may want to consider, for example, if it should be a single-sex or mixed school, or how far it should be from your home. Equipped with the profiles, you should now sit down with your partner and compare them. Discuss pros and cons and even involve your child in the decision. Children have strong first impressions and visits during interviews may leave positive or negative impressions on them that you may want to hear. Making a decision, now, should be much easier. If you still have doubts, though, sleep over it! You are bound to feel more sure of your decision in the morning.