As a real estate agent, one of the primary reasons I usually hear when somebody explains why they’re moving to a certain area is they want to make sure they’re in a good school district. If you’re a homebuyer and you’re basing your home’s new location primarily on schools, there are three things you need to consider.

First, there are more than just public school options out there. Most of us in Wake County have one full, year-round option and one traditional schedule option that we’re assigned to. The county has such a great charter system that in most places you can have five or six other nearby charter schools you can apply to, not to mention private school options that range in cost from just under $5,000 a year up to $20,000 a year. Figure out all your options and do your research on every school before making a decision.

“Don’t base such a huge decision on bits and pieces of information about schools.”

Secondly, don’t just base your opinion of a school on how a school rating site rates them. A website like GreatSchools.com is a great resource but it qualifies schools on a scale predicated solely on test scores. We all know there is more to a school than just test scores. In fact, we know that certain schools will just teach for test scores, and that doesn’t reflect how the children are growing and learning beyond academics. Find out extra information like what extracurricular activities the school has and what its culture is like.

Third and most importantly, regardless of what the school’s rating system is or how it’s perceived, the relationship your child has with its individual instructors and administrative staff will have the most impact. In other words, your child’s experience may be completely different than what the school’s rating shows.

Don’t base a huge decision like selecting where to live solely based on a perception of a certain school or school district. Talk to the people involved, do your research, and talk to your real estate agent to find out what they know about it.

If you have any questions about this topic, don’t hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We’d be happy to assist you in any way we can.