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Schools in USA

H

hopenewsunn

New Member
Dear forum friends
Regarding schools in USA, when is the start date for the 2014/2015 school year? And if one comes late, is it easy to introduce the. Children into school there? And do u know how much does it cost per year or simister?
 
In my area school starts on August 25, 2014.

There is no cost for public school - although you may incur some small expenses for equipment etc. The entry to a school varies by location - but generally they will provide a place when you move into an area late.
 
The American school year traditionally begins at the end of August or the day after Labor Day in September.

Most of the USA uses a school district system where local homeowners fund their local school system with a tax. Where you live is very important as it affects the school your children can attend; if you want to send your kids to the "best" school you need to live in a home that is in that district.

When I lived in Denver everyone wanted to send their kids to Cherry Creek as it was the "best" (mainly because it's a rich area so receives high funding compared to a poor area) and there were cases where house prices were different on the same street because one side could send their kids to Cherry Creek and the other side couldn't.

More importantly, if your children attended Cherry Creek you could put a bumper sticker on your car that says "My child is an honors student at Cherry Creek" and feel a warm inner glow whenever looking at cars not possessing this sticker.

(That was a little joke, you'll see what I mean when you get to the usa)

As a new immigrant starting out you'll probably want a cheap rental, which also means the area might have an under-funded school. Elementary (Primary) school should be ok, however give any high schools a quick google.
 
^^what is interesting is that the people in Cherry Creek we stayed with knew exactly how much of their home taxes were going to fund the school system!!

I think it is also area dependent as (1) some city districts have a lottery system so living in a particular area does not guarantee you school there - Boston (city not suburbs) works like that and I believe some others do as well (2) if you arrive later in the school year in some districts you will be guaranteed a place in the district but not necessarily at the school closest to where you live.

I would suggest OP shortlists a few areas, then goes onto the relevant city-data forum to ask the locals about how the schools work there.
 
Tazmania said:
Unfortunately schools taxes are outrageous in the U.S.
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All relative to where you come from.
Some places pay similar property taxes but none of it goes to schools so you still end up paying in the thousands of dollars a year to put your kids in a decent school.
 
SusieQQQ said:
^^what is interesting is that the people in Cherry Creek we stayed with knew exactly how much of their home taxes were going to fund the school system!!

I think it is also area dependent as (1) some city districts have a lottery system so living in a particular area does not guarantee you school there - Boston (city not suburbs) works like that and I believe some others do as well (2) if you arrive later in the school year in some districts you will be guaranteed a place in the district but not necessarily at the school closest to where you live.

I would suggest OP shortlists a few areas, then goes onto the relevant city-data forum to ask the locals about how the schools work there.
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I think most property tax bills are itemized so everyone can see how much of it goes to schools and how much to the fire dept. at least mine does. It's kind of nice to see compared to ahaem china
 
Britsimon said:
In my area school starts on August 25, 2014.

There is no cost for public school - although you may incur some small expenses for equipment etc. The entry to a school varies by location - but generally they will provide a place when you move into an area late.
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thanks for the explication but what happen if someone arrives in October, do they let the kids to enter the classes? what do you think?
 
MalcomX said:
thanks for the explication but what happen if someone arrives in October, do they let the kids to enter the classes? what do you think?
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New students join the schools mid way into the school session all the time. They simply join the class wherever they are in the school syllabus.
 
Eucn said:
I think most property tax bills are itemized so everyone can see how much of it goes to schools and how much to the fire dept. at least mine does. It's kind of nice to see compared to ahaem china
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Wow that's awesome, ours just goes down a black hole it seems....
 
SusieQQQ said:
Wow that's awesome, ours just goes down a black hole it seems....
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Really !

I just checked my tax bill

School board operating
School board debt service
Inland navigation
Water mngment
Everglades construction
Children's trust
County operation
County debt service
Library
Fire rescue
Fire rescue debt
City operating

So 83,91 usd of my property tax are for county public libraries. 3700 usd is for schools. Nice to see where my money is going. So with 3 kids I guess I get my dollars worth in terms of schooling.
 
As part of my research of where we want to live I have been using the Great Schools website. I have shortlisted a few States and looked up every school from every major city/town. The Website tells you the rating, Nationality percentage, number of students, test scores etc. Not sure how accurate it is but it's all I've got. I also look at the school Website and look at curriculum, meals, newsletters and other info. The Website lists all types of schools such as Private, Charter or Public.
 
greatschools is the "go-to" website. If you are particularly interested in academics, also look up the API scores of the schools. Finally, be sure to go on the relevant local forum on the citydata website and ask, because there will be on-the-ground info that may be important to you that you can't get from greatschools but can get from people who know the schools.
 
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