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Hi,
My family is moving from India. My kid turns 5 in June, 2014 & I believe she is eligible for school starting this fall.
I have a couple of questions:
1. Can I put my kid in a public school in the middle of the year? Can the school be already at full capacity so as to reject her admission?
2. Usually, I find multiple schools in the same school district. Can I choose any of those schools in my school district or is my address mapped to EXACTLY to one school? If so, how do I find which school is the exact one for a particular address?
Hi,
My family is moving from India. My kid turns 5 in June, 2014 & I believe she is eligible for school starting this fall.
I have a couple of questions:
1. Can I put my kid in a public school in the middle of the year? Can the school be already at full capacity so as to reject her admission?
2. Usually, I find multiple schools in the same school district. Can I choose any of those schools in my school district or is my address mapped to EXACTLY to one school? If so, how do I find which school is the exact one for a particular address?
Thanks for your help,
DS
All children are entitled by law to attend their local public school regardless of the time of year they move to a neighborhood. So yes, you can put her in and no they cannot reject her. There is no such thing as full capacity for a public school.
BUT she will be in kindergarten, and most kindergartens in NJ are not full time. Usually they only go for half of a day, say 8am-12pm. Aftercare, is a service some schools provide that parents can pay for, if they someone to watch their children after school. These can be limited in capacity.
You are assigned a local school based on where you live. Just because there is more than one in town, you do not get to pick.
Thanks a bunch for your response. That was indeed helpful.
I am currently looking for apartments in different cities in NJ, school being one of the factors in my research. So, if I interpret your statement the right way, school district rankings as such does not mean much. I see elementary schools in the same school district being rated anywhere between 4 & 9. Is there any way to know the EXACT school tagged to a particular address? I would prioritize that address if it is tagged to a school with a higher rank as against another one in the same district tagged to a lower ranked school.
Thanks a bunch for your response. That was indeed helpful.
I am currently looking for apartments in different cities in NJ, school being one of the factors in my research. So, if I interpret your statement the right way, school district rankings as such does not mean much. I see elementary schools in the same school district being rated anywhere between 4 & 9. Is there any way to know the EXACT school tagged to a particular address? I would prioritize that address if it is tagged to a school with a higher rank as against another one in the same district tagged to a lower ranked school.
Thanks,
DS
Yes. Many realtor sites, like zillow, will list the school for that home. Additionally, you can contact the apartment management, most have emal, and they can tell you which school your child would attend.
If you tell us where you'll be working (New York City, or what town in NJ, etc.) & what your housing budget is than people can respond with ideas for towns that will fit your needs.
Remember that your child cannot start school unless he has had all required vaccinations. Make sure to bring the doctor's records with you.
Schools also require a check-up with a pediatrician (or family doctor) before entering school each year.
The doctor will have to fill in a form provided by the school & ensure that all vaccinations are up-to-date.
Wow. This thread is being a ton of help, thanks to all of you.
I have the following criteria on mind on selecting a apartment for ourselves
1. Elementary School should be good (rated 8 or above)
2. Should be preferably close to a train station. NY Penn Station should be around or maybe less than an hour ride
3. Safe (low crime rate) but having a fair diversity - good for young families
4. Budget is around $2000 - $2200 for a 2 Bed, 2 Bath apartment
Wow. This thread is being a ton of help, thanks to all of you.
I have the following criteria on mind on selecting a apartment for ourselves
1. Elementary School should be good (rated 8 or above)
2. Should be preferably close to a train station. NY Penn Station should be around or maybe less than an hour ride
3. Safe (low crime rate) but having a fair diversity - good for young families
4. Budget is around $2000 - $2200 for a 2 Bed, 2 Bath apartment
Please help me find some options.
Thanks,
DS
Is it important to you to be in a neighborhood that has a decent size Indian population?
If it is, I would look at South Brunswick, Woodbridge, Piscataway, and Edison. I am not familiar enough with them to speak to the rankings of their elementary schools. But I lived in two of those town while I was in college, and there are nice, safe family oriented neighborhoods and apartment complexes.
Is it important to you to be in a neighborhood that has a decent size Indian population?
No..I am not looking to move to a Edison type of area which is Indian dominated. It would be nice to have 5-10% Indians maybe, but that factor is not pressing
Each School Distinct (and there are hundreds (~590?) of them in NJ) will have a school feeder map on there website for what address goes to what school.
Warning on the Realtor, Rental websites - What schools the home/apt are zoned to. Many of them use the closest school, that may not be the correct school. I looked at a house once, that show the school in a different school district as the schools for that home. The Physical school in incorrect district was 2 or 3 miles closer to the home then the actual schools that home would feed into. The Realtor even printed it incorrectly on the 1Pager about the home. You need to do your own research on each address to ensure it goes to the school you expect it to.
One word of warning on the rating websites, (GreatSchools etc.) The many of them use the rating from people who comment on there website, a VERY small percentage of the total population at the school, many with a grudge, or problem @ the school.
Each School Distinct (and there are hundreds (~590?) of them in NJ) will have a school feeder map on there website for what address goes to what school.
Warning on the Realtor, Rental websites - What schools the home/apt are zoned to. Many of them use the closest school, that may not be the correct school. I looked at a house once, that show the school in a different school district as the schools for that home. The Physical school in incorrect district was 2 or 3 miles closer to the home then the actual schools that home would feed into. The Realtor even printed it incorrectly on the 1Pager about the home. You need to do your own research on each address to ensure it goes to the school you expect it to.
One word of warning on the rating websites, (GreatSchools etc.) The many of them use the rating from people who comment on there website, a VERY small percentage of the total population at the school, many with a grudge, or problem @ the school.
Thanks flyonpa. Then what is the best way / most reliable source to judge how good a school is?
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Thanks
