How to Choose the Perfect School for Your Child

Every parent knows the emotion attached to the question, “Where should I send my child to school?” There are so many concerns—the academics, pressures of a dual curriculum, the social aspect, school values, the quality and strength of friendships, and relationships between teachers and students. This decision is, most assuredly, not for the faint of heart.

Once the dust kicked up by uncertainty settles and you’ve found the right school for your child, calm confidence takes over and it’s time time to look forward with excitement.

Finding that school isn’t easy. Are you convinced that children thrive in an intimate environment where time spent learning is engaging and personalized enough to produce practical results that provide further encouragement and future successes?

Do you want your child to know the intrinsic reward of hard work and accomplishment that fills to capacity a healthy self-image? Are you interested in the development of creative and independent thinking, leadership and personal responsibility?

Do you believe your child would benefit from a blend of open exploration and structured learning that teaches skills and challenges the mind?

Do you want educators who can add to the time you have invested in your children at home, developing pride in who they are, where they come from, and what they believe in? Are you looking for warm and dedicated teachers who nurture every student and provide just the right environment for personal and educational achievement?

If you’ve answered yes to these questions, invest in a school where deep commitment to, and pride in, self, family, community, the Jewish people, and Hashem is evident in your child’s everyday thinking and living.

Find a place where the long view drives the short-term goals and that very vision is an expression of your child’s needs and your family’s expectations. Seek a school with expert educators who have a shared understanding that where children are going is not more important than how they get there, and how they feel about themselves in the process.

Understand that the best education happens in classes that are not only small in size, but intimate as well, enabling children to experience an authentic, individualized approach to life-long learning.

Choose a school that exemplifies the belief that first, last, and always, every child must feel safe, welcome, understood, and accepted and that in order to achieve, students must believe in themselves, be challenged, have the confidence to take risks, and feel comfortable and connected in school—every day.

Arielle Jolovitz is currently the principal of Yeshivat BitaHon in Brooklyn. Her 19 year service to our community includes 13 years as assistant principal of Magen David Yeshivah and six years as a classroom teacher. She’s also the author of a unique first grade reading program.