Finding the Right Schools and Daycare Centers in Your New Town

January 05, 2011, By Taurus Londoño 0 comments

As you find yourself driving through unfamiliar streets, hearing upcoming turns being reassuringly intoned by your GPS, it dawns on you that you might be calling this new place "home" for a long time. Whether you've just gotten a new job or find yourself in a new town for some other reason, a smooth transition into the area can help your embark on what could be an entirely new life. Unfortunately, having to decide on which area schools or daycare centers would be the best fit for your family can seem a little daunting. If your personal experience in the region could be chalked up as "little to none," you might feel like a fish out of water.

Having made a big move from western New York to western Massachusetts not long ago, I can relate. What doesn't exactly look like a major leap on a map might as well have been a move to the opposite end of the country as far as I was concerned. Growing up in the heart of Buffalo, NY, getting to know its major streets, neighborhoods, destinations and landmarks like the back of my hand, I felt like a blank slate once I arrived in Massachusetts, knowing not much more than where my apartment was and where I had to go to work every morning.

Unlike a college campus, there isn't necessarily any special orientation for new arrivals. No matter what new town you're going to be living in, you'll likely have to rely on the kindness of strangers and a few useful resources for savvy dads willing to do their homework.

You could flip through a local phone book hoping you'll get lucky or slowly drive through the streets scanning back and forth for signs, but aimless searching can be a major waste of time. When it comes to the all-important task of settling on what school district or daycare center you want for your child, your first recourse is simply to ask.

Nothing Beats Firsthand Experience ... So Ask

While it seems obvious, it absolutely bears repeating; ask the locals. I couldn't tell you how many times I've found myself interacting on a professional basis with people who are new to the area (western Massachusetts is the crossroads of New England), only to overhear them later complaining with other out-of-towners that they don't know where to find anything. Even if you don't know anyone socially, your realtor or even your employer's human resources department will be more than happy to share their personal experiences in the area with you.

While it's not necessarily wise to ask the first stranger you see on the street, anyone with whom you'll be dealing with professionally will almost certainly be sympathetic and all too eager to give you their opinions. As long as you don't offer up a lengthy version of your life story, it's totally appropriate to simply request the names or locations of the best schools or daycare centers. More likely than not, the person you ask will have had experience raising children or know somebody who's using daycare services right now.

The Best Internet Resources for New Town Transplants

The ever-indispensable Internet offers a wide array of useful resources which are easy to navigate in order to find what you need, as long as you know what you're looking for. One of the most reliable is City-Data.com. This outstanding website is a veritable encyclopedia of statistics and information, and includes detailed school profiles for all 50 states. Even better, its popular forum lets you interact and ask questions of locals and other prospective residents just like you.

SchoolMatters, a service of the non-profit Council of Chief State School Officers, provides a great search engine which allows you to compare up to three schools in any state. You can see how many students there are per teacher, total enrollment, the ethnic breakdown of the school, as well as student proficiency across a range of subjects. The parent reviews and ratings are also very useful.

When following up on recommendations for daycare centers, always make sure that the center is properly licensed by the state. You can check out the National Resource Council for Health and Safety in Child Care website for more on state licensing and regulations. Beyond meeting basic government requirements, the National Association for the Education of Young Children offers accreditation for daycare centers across the country, usually a reliable indicator of the best daycare centers. You can search their database online for the accredited daycare centers near you.