@DonFefe Agree with look at kids’ faces. Especially at non-programmed times. That is the current students aren’t being paraded around. Example of kids looking inconvenienced to move out of the way is great. Whe we toured, I asked to see if we could see the kids in-between class times while they are changing classes. Unguarded moments.
I dont agree that super structure always mean that the kids won’t like it. We toured two schools for my dyslexic kid. My husband and I noted that at the super-structured school that the kids there during the unguarded moments seemed genuinely happy. We also watched the rapport amongst the kids and kids and faculty. And it seemed easier and less contrived than at the more rules-progressive school. I think that the reason why the strict school seems to work is that it has a smaller student-to-faculty ration, overall small student body. There seems to be a genuine interest to get to know each kid. I don’t think that specialty schools do this better than non-specialty schools.
We also toured 8 of the top 30 schools. The quality of happiness seemed different at each school. I wanted to see kids who were happy to be at their school because that’s what I think my kid needs. Some stood out over others. It’s all dependent on your kid’s preference. This board confirmed some of what I observed.