Customer Reviews

Picky Parent Guide: Choose Your Child's School With Confidence, the Elementary Years, K-6

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Picky Parent Guide: Choose Your Child's School With Confidence - The Elementary Years (K-6) by school choice experts and advocates Bryan and Emily Hassel was written to be of practical utility to the tens of millions of parents who are picking a first school (or considering changing schools) for their child. Readers will learn practical, customized ways to improve a child's school performance, complete a step-by-step "Confident Choice Tool Kit" inquiry and thereby avoiding the waste of time and money; engaging in a detailed discussion designed to match child and family needs with what schools have to offer; learn stress saving tips on getting into a favored school; successfully dealing with teachers and school staff to acquire what a child needs; and so much more. If you have a child needing to be enrolled in a school that will do him or her the most good, then give a close and careful reading to the Picky Parent Guide.

This book offers a framework to organize your priorities for your child's education. This is helpful not only when starting the process, but throughout the process. It also helps organize information gathering. However, there are many better and more thorough FREE sources online. For starters the Department of Education has most of this information, as do numerous private school reviewers.

In hindsight, the several of the 5-star reviews are written in very similar language. Real consumers do not repeat the title or authors' names in the review. Additional clues, this is the only book they have reviewed and the review dates are very close together. One Amazon reviewer is also an "Admissions Director" whose review is quoted in the inside cover of this book. Gotcha!

If parents were asking these questions consistently, there is no doubt that the quality of education in America would be significantly better. The Picky Parent Guide provides an excellent framework to think about what educational choice really means, and the tools to put these ideas into action. The concepts are easy, and logical. This is an indispensable book for parents to learn about what they can do to help pro-actively and constructively ensure the optimal learning environment for their childen. The book enlightens parents about the factors to consider, and that indeed, there are a lot more choices in elementary education than you might think. Parents' choices are not limited to the question of public vs. private vs. parochial. The Picky Parent Guide is a great primer on how each child can be encouraged and supported to get the best possible education. It's an easy read - VERY helpful, very common sense, very encouraging and very actionable information. Read before your kids are in school so you have a way to think about this subject, and then read it again as your kids approach school age so that you can put what you've learned into action.

This book does an excellent job of hand holding a parent through the steps of choosing a school that is just right for a child and their family. It is easy to read and transiitions easily from subject to subject while giving in-depth and invaluable information about what to look for in a school, teacher and administration. It is a comprehensive tool for making an educated choice with the many options that are available to parents today.

There are few things more important than picking the right school for your child and this book will show you how to do it and feel very confident about your decision. We used this book when we were deciding whether to switch from private to public schools for our kids. We used many of the toolkits/checklists which made the process much easier. We have made the switch and our children have never been happier. Thank you for writing such an important book.

Choosing a school is hard, but when it works, it unlocks worlds and possibilities for families. With the "Picky Parent Guide," the Hassels have created an indispensable guide to help parents undertake this most challenging responsibility: matching their kids with schools. They point out it's more than just finding the "good" schools; it's about making the right choice for your particular child. The tools provided are the right ones to make the smart call. The lively and accessible format, the checklists and the charts are all informed by the reality of today's schools. Armed with this knowledge, families will find choice truly satisfying, and great learning will take place.

The Picky Parent Guide is an outstanding, clearly written and easy to use guide for parents about to embark on the school selection process. Whether you are looking for a private school,a religious school or a public school, for that matter, this clearly written guide is full of information and easy to use charts that help parents focus on what is really important to them in selecting a school. The book guides parents through easy to follow steps that help them to find the correct "fit" between child and school as well as between parent and school. The book is laid out in a manner that allows the reader to pick and choose what matters most to them in the school selection process. As an Admission Director, I have recommended this book often and continue to do so as a tool to help parents focus on the school selection process. Parents have often commented that the book is enormously helpful.

Very good reference on the variety of elementary schools (K-6) and the services that each can offer. Guidelines on which factors parents should consider in choosing a school for their children were also given. School administrators and teachers were also informed on how the parents will choose a school. School administrators and teachers were made to be aware of on how to meet the parents' expectations while conforming to the educational goals and standards. A more sociable approach for schools.

couple of good tips, but overall not worth the money got just as good info off the internet.

This is a great tool to start the process of choosing a school or evaluating the "fit" of the school that your child is in.