Sending Kids to Ann Arbor School (Holland: rental, house, neighborhoods)

[jwt8070]

Hi,

My family plans to relocate to Ann Arbor next year (2019). We have been living overseas in the past decade. We have a 11 year old daughter and a 9 year old son. The girl is in 5th grade so she should start junior high in fall and the boy is in 2nd grade so he will attend 3rd grade. We plan to come to Ann Arbor in the summer so our kids can start school in fall. We plan to first rent a place for a year and then look to buy after we know the city better.

I am a naturalized citizen and my wife is a foreign national so neither of us have any experience with the US school system. Naturally we have some questions about schools.

1. How to visit a school? Can we just stop by or do we need to make an appointment first? Can we visit school during the summer (June-August) when school is off?

2. Can we visit any school without a rental agreement proving we live in the same neighborhood?

3. If we rent in one neighborhood and later buy a house in a different neighborhood, will my kids be asked to change school if the two neighborhoods have different schools? By the way, we will move only within Ann Arbor.

4. Can anyone give some advice on how we should prepare our kids for their new schools in the US? I know it is a big topic by itself. By the way, we currently live in eastern europe. My kids are attending international schools here and both speak English well, so I don't think there will be a major communication issue.

5. Will my kids will be put through a series of tests during their first days in the school?

Thank you.

[craig11152]

I will copy and paste this to my Facebook wall. I'm pretty sure among my friends and friends of friends I can get you some answers from actual Ann Arbor teachers.

[scorpio516]

Originally Posted by jwt8070

1. How to visit a school? Can we just stop by or do we need to make an appointment first? Can we visit school during the summer (June-August) when school is off?

Don't know. I have never heard of parents touring public schools

2. Can we visit any school without a rental agreement proving we live in the same neighborhood?

Visit and enroll are very different. Again, my answer to #1. For enrollment, you need a proof of residency (a rental agreement is perfect)

3. If we rent in one neighborhood and later buy a house in a different neighborhood, will my kids be asked to change school if the two neighborhoods have different schools? By the way, we will move only within Ann Arbor.

Typically, yes. However if you don't, you'll have to take care of transportation by yourself. Bussing can be free and most students use them. And drop off always is screwed up with the rest of the kids getting dropped off by parents.
Schools typically don't ask to verify your address every year...

4. Can anyone give some advice on how we should prepare our kids for their new schools in the US? I know it is a big topic by itself. By the way, we currently live in eastern europe. My kids are attending international schools here and both speak English well, so I don't think there will be a major communication issue.

5. Will my kids will be put through a series of tests during their first days in the school?

No. Testing usually only happens once a year for everyone.

[craig11152]

Originally Posted by scorpio516

No. Testing usually only happens once a year for everyone.

I think absolutely a student enrolling from overseas would be evaluated for grade placement. That evaluation may very well include some "testing"

[craig11152]

In any case I posted the questions on my Facebook wall but answers may not come today being Thanksgiving.

[teachbeach]

You might try posting this under the education forum as well. Perhaps some Michigan teachers can chime in on the best way to acclimate/adjust and prepare for the transition.

I taught in two different states, and we would welcome parents for tours. Many of our visitors were shopping homes and schools at the same time~because we were high performing district and there were two other equally high performing districts/communities nearby. Just call ahead (especially during the summer, when some schools are closed for extended periods or limited hours) and ask to visit the school once you have narrowed down your anticipated residence. Often a few blocks will determine different school placement. You could also contact the Ann Arbor School district itself and see if they'll send you a map of their district areas. The 6th grader could be placed in an upper elementary or a middle school or a junior high~so again, it depends on the location of your residence.

They will ask for their records from their current school, so if you can get copies of those before you move, that would be helpful. From those records (tests/classes etc.) they will determine proper placement. Ann Arbor is a multicultural town, so children from all nationalities will be represented, and if yours are already comfortable with the English language, I'm sure they'll easily adapt.

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by teachbeach

Ann Arbor is a multicultural town, so children from all nationalities will be represented, and if yours are already comfortable with the English language, I'm sure they'll easily adapt.

They'll do just fine! When I went to school in A2 (Burns Park - Tappan - Pioneer) I could count on 3 - 4 kids in every class who were from somewhere overseas: UK, France, Germany, Holland, Africa were some of the nations I remember off the top of my head. Sometimes they were a little hard to understand at first, but their English accent got better with time. We all got along pretty well. I'm sure that's still the case.

[jwt8070]

Originally Posted by craig11152

I will copy and paste this to my Facebook wall. I'm pretty sure among my friends and friends of friends I can get you some answers from actual Ann Arbor teachers.

Craig,

Thank you so much!

[jwt8070]

Hi, I am the OP and I have a few follow-up questions. My son is quite talented in math. He is a 2nd grader now, but can handle 5th grade math easily. His math teacher gave him last year's 5th grade math final exam a couple of weeks ago. He scored 35 out of 40 points. He excels in the science class as well.

We have recently become aware of magnet schools. Is there a magnet school geared towards math and science in Ann Arbor? How is the enrollment process for magnet school different from public school? Are magnet schools private or public? Thank you.

[craig11152]

Here is a link to the enrolling page of the AAPS. From there you can find all the other links you would need/want. You really need to contact the school district yourself and not count on accurate answers from anyone in here.
There are some private schools and charter schools that might be better equiped to cater to your 2nd grader with 5th grade skills. But first of all you should be in contact with the AAPS system.

https://www.a2schools.org/site/Default.aspx?PageID=5344