September 10, 2007

Get the scoop on local schools.

GreatSchools.net is a nonprofit organization that provides free national data on both public and private schools.  Bill Jackson, a former teacher, founded the program in 1998 because he believed that “When parents make informed choices, students and schools benefit,  students are more successful when parents are actively involved in their education and schools improve when parents advocate for high-quality teaching and learning.”

The site contains comprehensive profiles on over 120,000 K-12 schools with data directly from the Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics.  They have a quick one through ten rating system but also included details such as parent written reviews.  GreatSchools won the 2007 People’s Voice Webby Award for Best Family / Parenting Web Site.

Great information when you are shopping for a new home for your family and to see if the local schools are bonus or detriment to your property value.  They also have some good articles like “Private vs Public Schools” and  ”Can MySpace Be Good for Kids?”