It is a question real estate brokers and agents are often asked but are not supposed to answer: Can you recommend a good school? Under the nation’s Fair Housing laws, they are not allowed to either recommend or bash schools.
“All we can do is tell them which schools fall into the requested location, and then we point them to the [school] Web site,” said Alana Lasover, an associate broker and branch vice president with Coldwell Banker’s Bethesda office. “They can get test scores, economic and even population diversity, etc., from the site.”
So how can buyers find information about public and private schools?
Joe Himali, president of the Greater Capital Area Association of Realtors, directs clients to the Internet. But he also cautions buyers to be discerning about the information they receive and to make sure they check many different Web sites and resources. Generally, he said, parents have such varying interests in different aspects of a school that simple Google searches and the standard rankings are not always useful.
“Nobody would guess how difficult choosing a school is until they are confronted with the reality of having to do it,” said Himali, principal broker with Best Address Real Estate.
Fortunately, many Web sites go beyond just ranking schools.
The Free School report on HomeFair.com provides information that includes student-teacher ratios, instructional dollars spent per pupil, before- and after-school programs, gifted and talented programs, number of computers in the classroom, and the percentage of college-bound seniors.
PSK12.com offers school performance information gleaned from state reports. The site, which charges a fee to join and view the data, was started by parents searching for data about Maryland public schools while they were looking for a new home.
GreatSchools.net offers information about public and private schools, as well as data and news on state education departments and programs.
Virginia at www.doe.virginia.gov and Maryland at marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE both offer online information about public schools, as well as links to many other public education-related Web sites and data centers.
There also are advocacy and parent groups that offer information to help homebuyers, parents and others learn about school districts.
Fairfaxcaps.org, the Web site of the Fairfax County Coalition of Advocates for Public Schools, is designed to be a platform for discussion about the county’s schools. Though it takes positions on issues, the organization also provides a great deal of information and data on Fairfax schools and public education in the community and in the region.
The Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County in Maryland also provides information on its Web site, parentscoalitionmc.com. But the group will not recommend specific schools, choosing instead to provide information that allows buyers and parents to make their own decisions, said coalition member Janis Sartucci.
“Our group is about shining sunshine on a … public school system,” Sartucci said. “It is also about empowering parents to ask questions beyond their own school.”
