How to Find a New School for Your Child: With Julie Blumberg and Dee Dee Halpin
How to Find a New School for Your Child
When you realize your child might need a new school, there is often a sense of urgency.
Maybe your child is miserable.
Maybe they're doing okay, but you have a feeling their current school isn't going to be the right fit much longer.
Maybe they're aging out of their current program.
Or maybe nothing is particularly wrong, but you keep wondering whether there might be an environment where your child could thrive even more.
Whatever brings you to that realization, the next question can feel enormous:
Where do I even start?
There are public schools, private schools, charter schools, Montessori schools, faith-based schools, micro schools, traditional schools, and other approaches. Then there are tours, applications, deadlines, testing, interviews, and decisions.
Figuring out how to choose a school for your child can become overwhelming very quickly.
That's why I invited Julie Blumberg and Dee Dee Halpin from Houston School Options onto Educated Parent. They help families navigate school searches and identify options based on the individual child and family.
Our conversation was a reminder that school choice isn't just an academic decision. It's an important part of parenting and education, and the environment your child spends their day in can affect their confidence, behavior, happiness, and even your family's life at home.
The Right School Can Affect Your Child Outside the Classroom
As a child psychologist, I've seen clinically how much a child's school environment can affect the rest of their life.
If a child spends every day somewhere they don't feel respected, connected, or successful, those experiences don't necessarily disappear when they walk out the school doors.
You may see changes in their confidence.
Friendship difficulties can affect how they see themselves.
Stress at school can show up in their behavior at home.
On the other hand, when children are in environments that really fit them, you can sometimes see them blossom outside of school too.
I've seen that in my own family.
One of my children is currently in a school environment that's a really good fit, and I can see the happiness and excitement radiating into other parts of life.
That's why changing schools isn't something we should necessarily view as a failure.
Sometimes the environment that once worked simply isn't working anymore.
You Don't Have to Wait Until Your Child Is Miserable
One of the things that stood out to me in my conversation with Julie and Dee Dee was the value of having a Plan B.
You don't have to wait until everything falls apart to learn what your other options are.
Dee Dee and Julie have both experienced making school changes for their own children, including changes during the school year.
Knowing what alternatives exist can put you in a much better position if circumstances suddenly change.
Maybe your child is doing fine today.
You can still ask:
If this stops working, what would our other options be?
That doesn't mean you're planning to leave.
In fact, Julie pointed out that sometimes parents explore other schools and ultimately realize that their child's current school really is the best fit.
That's useful information too.
You scratched the itch.
You looked.
You compared.
And now you can feel more confident staying where you are.
Step 1: Research Your Options
The first part of a school search is research.
Talk to other parents.
Look at school websites.
Ask questions in community groups.
Use whatever parenting resources you have available to begin learning what's out there.
But there's an important caveat.
When someone tells you that a particular school is incredible, they're usually talking about their experience with their child.
Their child isn't your child.
Dee Dee pointed out that most parents may know three or four schools. Houston School Options, by comparison, has a database of more than 475 private schools in the Houston area alone.
That's a huge difference.
Your friend's favorite school might be wonderful.
It still might not be right for your child.
When you're learning how to choose a school for your child, recommendations are a starting point, not a final answer.
Don't Let Other Parents Make the Decision for You
School decisions can come with a surprising amount of outside noise.
Your parents may have opinions.
Your friends may have opinions.
Other parents at your child's current school definitely have opinions.
Facebook groups have opinions.
And sometimes those opinions are extremely strong.
You may hear:
“You have to go there.”
“I'd never send my kid there.”
“That kind of school would never work.”
“My friend's child went there and hated it.”
Listen to the information, but remember whose child you're making the decision for.
One of the themes Julie Blumberg returned to throughout our conversation was how individualized every school search is.
What didn't work for your best friend's child might be exactly what your child needs.
Step 2: Explore the Schools
Online research only takes you so far.
Eventually, you need to actually see schools.
Julie and Dee Dee emphasized the importance of getting into the buildings, touring them, asking questions, and understanding how different environments feel.
This is where your gut matters.
When I was pregnant with my daughter and looking at daycares, I remember walking into some places and immediately feeling calm.
At other places, I couldn't necessarily articulate exactly what was wrong, but something didn't feel right.
Julie calls this listening to your gut.
Dee Dee described it as considering whether the whole family feels comfortable there.
Can you picture your child in that environment?
Can you picture yourself as part of that community?
School websites can provide useful information, but they can't fully communicate the atmosphere of a building.
Look at More Than One School
Julie also recommends exploring enough schools to understand the differences between them.
There are many types of educational environments.
A family might consider traditional, Montessori, Reggio, secular, faith-based, micro, public, private, or charter options.
Seeing multiple schools gives you context.
Do you actually like a particular educational approach?
Or did you simply love the personality of one particular school?
Those are different things.
For families looking at private schools in the greater Houston area, Julie said they often recommend applying to six to eight appropriate schools if the family doesn't want to rely solely on their zoned public school.
That means you may need to visit even more before narrowing your list.
The exact number will depend on your circumstances, but the larger point applies anywhere: give yourself enough information to make a meaningful comparison.
Your Child Doesn't Need to Attend Every Tour
Parents sometimes assume their child needs to participate in every stage of the school search.
That can become exhausting very quickly.
If you're exploring 10 or 12 schools, you probably don't need your child walking through every building with you.
Julie and Dee Dee pointed out that children also tend to focus on very different things than adults.
A younger child might fall in love with a playground.
An older child might be completely sold on the lunch.
One family even had a child become enamored with another child during a school visit.
Those things are worth hearing about.
But, as I joked during the conversation, we probably can't choose a school based on the dessert options.
Your child can have input without having responsibility for the final decision.
That's an important distinction in parenting and education.
Step 3: Prepare for the Application Process
Once you've researched and explored your options, it's time to apply.
This is where the process can suddenly feel like a part-time job.
Different schools may require different materials.
There can be different deadlines.
There may be testing appointments, tours, information sessions, student visits, or interviews.
Even children applying to middle school may have interviews, which can be a completely unfamiliar experience for a 10- or 11-year-old.
If you're applying to several schools while also working, raising children, and managing everyone's existing schedules, it's easy to see why parents become overwhelmed.
One of the most practical pieces of advice from Julie and Dee Dee was simple:
Pay attention to the deadlines.
A school can reject an application simply because required materials weren't submitted on time.
Create a spreadsheet.
Use a calendar.
Set reminders.
Or find outside parenting resources that can help you organize the process.
However you do it, don't let an administrative deadline eliminate an option you genuinely wanted to consider.
Changing Schools Midyear Is Different, But Possible
Not every school search happens neatly in preparation for the next academic year.
Sometimes a child needs a change now.
Both Julie and Dee Dee have experience with midyear changes, including in their own families.
A midyear search may move faster because you're not necessarily operating around the same traditional application calendar.
But you still need to understand what a school requires and whether space is available.
This is another reason I like the idea of researching your Plan B before you desperately need it.
changing schools is already emotional.
Trying to learn every possible option while your child is struggling can make the process even harder.
It's Harder to Be Objective When It's Your Own Child
One of my favorite parts of this conversation was hearing Julie admit that even though she's great at finding schools for other people's children, the process became much harder when she needed to do it for her own child.
I completely understand that.
I'm a child psychologist.
I can sit with a family, understand what's happening, and recommend a parenting strategy.
Then I go home and have to apply those same principles to my own children, and suddenly it's much harder.
Why?
Because I'm Mom.
My emotions are involved.
The same thing can happen during a school search.
This is where outside parenting resources can be valuable.
Sometimes you need another person who can look at the situation with some emotional distance.
They might offer a new possibility.
They might help you hear what you're already saying.
Or they might simply reassure you:
“You're doing enough. You're on the right track.”
Step 4: Make the Decision
Eventually, you have to decide.
After you've researched, explored, and applied, you may have multiple options.
That's wonderful.
It's also stressful.
Julie and Dee Dee help families think through those decisions by returning to what matters to the individual child and family.
Maybe you make a pros-and-cons list.
Maybe you return to the priorities you identified at the beginning.
Maybe you talk with a professional who knows your child well.
Maybe you need someone to reflect back what you're already saying.
The important part is to separate your decision from as much outside noise as possible.
When thinking about how to choose a school for your child, the question isn't:
Which school would everyone else choose?
It's:
Which of these environments makes the most sense for my child and family right now?
A Rejection Doesn't Necessarily Mean Something Went Wrong
School rejection can sting.
Maybe you were convinced a particular school was perfect.
Then they didn't accept your child.
Dee Dee offered an interesting perspective: sometimes families may ultimately be grateful that a school recognized it wasn't able to provide what their child needed.
You may never know exactly why the school said no.
But if a school doesn't believe it's the appropriate environment for your child, forcing that relationship may not create the outcome you want.
I've seen a version of this clinically.
Sometimes a school is strongly encouraging a family to leave, and the parents desperately want to figure out how to make it work.
But I remind them:
You don't want your child spending every day somewhere that doesn't want or feel equipped to support them.
That's not likely to be a positive experience for your child.
The School You Choose Doesn't Have to Be Forever
This may be one of the most reassuring ideas from my conversation with Julie Blumberg and Dee Dee.
You're making a decision for the child you have right now.
You're choosing based on what you know about your child right now and what you know about the school right now.
Things can change.
Your child's needs can change.
A school's leadership can change.
A school that was wonderful for elementary school may not be right for middle school.
A child who once needed one kind of environment may eventually be ready for something different.
Changing schools again later doesn't mean you made the wrong choice.
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[00:00:00] Leah Clionsky: When you realize that you need to start looking for a new school for your child, usually you want that to happen right away. There's some kind of urgency that you're feeling to do something about that. But what do you even do? There are just so many options and so many choices, and just the process of finding the right school for your kid can be overwhelming, at least it would be for me.
[00:00:21] Leah Clionsky: So that's why I am so excited a- about our wonderful guests today, Houston School Options, and we're gonna talk about the strategies you can start today right after you listen to this episode if you realize that you need to start your school search. So I am incredibly excited to bring on Julie Blumberg and Didi Halpin, and I'm gonna let them introduce theirselves and Houston School Options because it's such an exciting resource.
[00:00:45] Leah Clionsky: I'm so glad you guys are here.
[00:00:47] Dee Dee Halpin: Thanks.
[00:00:48] Julie Blumberg: Dr. Clionsky, for having us
[00:00:51] Leah Clionsky: So tell everyone about the kind of work that you do. I feel like it's almost in the title of your business, Houston School Options, but how do you, how do you help families?
[00:01:00] Dee Dee Halpin: We do. Um, yes, we help families figure out what their options are, and actually, Houston is a little bit of a misnomer. We are, we s- we are in Houston, and we do specialize in Houston 'cause I've been doing this here for about 40 years. But we have done, um, searches for other families too. Both of us are educators.
[00:01:21] Dee Dee Halpin: I started out in special education, um, in elementary school, then I moved to middle school, then I became a diagnostician doing testing for children that had learning disabilities and other learning needs. And, um, and then when I was looking for schools for my own children, I started Houston School Options with a friend who was doing the same thing when we thought we knew everything and realized we didn't.
[00:01:48] Dee Dee Halpin: Um, there was a lot more out there than we realized, and I actually chose a school I had never considered, um, and was there for 12 years with three kids. Uh, and it was the right school until it wasn't. Um, I wish I had had somebody helping me at the time, and so we kind of realized other families could use that help too.
[00:02:07] Dee Dee Halpin: Um, and Julie joined me about 10 years ago to, to help me because frankly, we had so much business we needed, we needed two of us, at least two of us.
[00:02:17] Julie Blumberg: Yeah. Fast-forward to 2016, and I had just finished being in the classroom for about eight years, and then I was tutoring students one-on-one, and I realized that some of these students, I was coming h- they were coming home and I was redoing school with them. We were meeting for an hour, two hours a day, four, five, sometimes even six days a week.
[00:02:37] Julie Blumberg: Sometimes we'd meet on Sundays. And there were two particular students who I just... They weren't related at all, but looked at each parent separately and said, "I'm the worst business person in the world, but if you had the right school, you wouldn't need me." And so we kind of put together, back in 2016, this school search, if you will, and we found a school for one of them and another school for the other.
[00:02:58] Julie Blumberg: They were thriving. Exactly what I said. They didn't need me. I found new business. I was telling everyone about my next million-dollar idea, finding schools for kids, when someone said, "Oh, you know Didi Halpin," because I knew her daughter growing up, and she said, "She does this." And I said, "Huh, okay." And so I reached out, said, "Tell me more."
[00:03:18] Julie Blumberg: Didi told me more. So I didn't even have kids yet. I was actually six months pregnant with my oldest and hadn't been in the world as a parent, but I sure understood it as an educator. Didi was doing a lot of relocation work, but I had realized from the work I was doing in tutoring that local families needed this help.
[00:03:36] Julie Blumberg: Well, fast-forward to 2020, relocation shut down with COVID, and local just took off because what families realized they needed for their kids, what schools began doing, what schools began cropping up. We're really lucky. We're really, really lucky. Um, we have more information now. Testing's being done earlier.
[00:03:55] Julie Blumberg: More information, how kids learn, what kids need to be successful. And so that does make the school search even more complicated, but in the best way possible.
[00:04:06] Leah Clionsky: Yeah. Uh, you guys are such an amazing resource for families because there are so many families where they're just not sure if they're in the right place, or they haven't even started school yet and they're not sure what the right place would look like. And I was sharing this with you right before we started, but I'm in so many, like, Facebook mom groups or therapist groups, and there's constantly questions about what school should I consider, what should I do?
[00:04:30] Leah Clionsky: And I'm like, "You should go to Houston School Options. They'll tell you." And then I had a parent even comment, like, it made it so much less anxious. You know, the process was so much easier with guidance. And I think that, I think it just does feel incredibly overwhelming. And one thing you were even sharing with me as well is that even though this episode is being recorded in September, like, if you are right now listening to this at the time of its coming out, this is when people are starting to look for schools.
[00:04:57] Leah Clionsky: And I'd had no idea that we would even be considering this so early. School just started, but
[00:05:03] Julie Blumberg: School starts and then you start looking for the school the next year if your child's aging out or you know you're going to need a new school, you're gonna need a school at all. You're exactly right
[00:05:12] Leah Clionsky: Yeah. Or maybe you're even wondering, you're like, they're here and they're doing okay, right? But what would my plan B be if they stop doing okay there? Or what are the other... You just, you don't know literally your school options, um, most of
[00:05:27] Dee Dee Halpin: that's really incredibly important because both Julie and I can tell you we, we've changed our children's schools in the middle of the school year, like on occasion because things just go awry. And if you know what that plan B is, you're in such better shape than having to, you know, rush through trying to figure out what to do next.
[00:05:47] Dee Dee Halpin: So, you know, we always think it's never too early to do, to do a school search
[00:05:52] Julie Blumberg: But if you do find yourself in the position of needing to rush through and needing, like you're listening to this right now and you're thinking, "I need that change right now, and I haven't done this pre-work," that is where it's helpful to have that outside perspective. And something I didn't add in in my history was that, yes, I've been doing this since 2016, but I also became a mother in 2016.
[00:06:13] Julie Blumberg: And like Didi just said, since then I've needed my own services, and it's really hard when it's me finding it for my own child. I say I'm really good at finding a school for everyone else's child, just not my own. But I am, it's just as mom or dad, you start to second-guess yourself. And so my husband and I truly were so lucky to have Didi alongside us as we were trying to navigate a school change for one of my children
[00:06:36] Leah Clionsky: Yeah, it is. It's, it's like how I always joke about as a child psychologist, I'm a much better therapist often than I am when I'm having to apply parenting strategies myself, 'cause they're... The emotions come in, right? You don't have any, um, like distance, any of the emotional distance when it's you and your family instead
[00:06:56] Julie Blumberg: is something to having that outside perspective in all situations that's not mom or dad that can look at it objectively and say, "Okay, this is what, this is what we need to do. Let's go."
[00:07:08] Leah Clionsky: Or even like, "Hey, you're doing it right." Like, "You're, you're fine. You're, you're doing enough." So just having someone outside of you can be extremely reassuring. And I think, um, people don't always consider how much being in the right or wrong school really affects kids' mental health and their behavior at home outside of the school environment.
[00:07:30] Leah Clionsky: Um, like we see this clinically a lot, where if a kid's in a school where they don't feel like they're, like respected, and they don't feel connected, or there are lots of friends issues, it starts affecting self-confidence and just the way they approach things even outside of that. Versus if they're in the right environment for them, like they're blossoming outside of that and feeling really good about themselves and connected.
[00:07:54] Leah Clionsky: So it, it really does matter the kind of environment your child is
[00:07:58] Dee Dee Halpin: When you realize that your child is spending more waking hours in that school than they are with you, um, it's so critical, I think. And so, yeah, we hear from families all the time that they're just-- they don't know what to do. They're just kind of stuck. And so getting-- just helping give them some energy to know what to do next, I think is real helpful
[00:08:21] Julie Blumberg: Yeah. When we hear that word miserable, my child's miserable, uh, we jump. I mean, we're ready to go because that no child should be miserable at school. It should be a place that they love going. And then exactly what you said, that home life, I mean, the-- my favorite thing about this job is hearing families say, "It changed all of our lives.
[00:08:40] Julie Blumberg: Our home life is so much better because my child is happy in school." It's life-changing
[00:08:45] Dee Dee Halpin: yeah.
[00:08:46] Leah Clionsky: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, you just watch things connect differently when they're having the time that they need to at school. Yeah. One of my kids right now is in a really, really good school environment for this kid, and I can see it. And, like, I, I'm just seeing, like, the happiness and the excitement radiate off at other times, and it's, it feels great as a parent.
[00:09:08] Leah Clionsky: I'm like, "I nailed it right now."
[00:09:11] Dee Dee Halpin: Yeah. Agreed
[00:09:13] Julie Blumberg: does. Then it's just about finding it, so
[00:09:17] Leah Clionsky: Yeah.
[00:09:17] Julie Blumberg: I think that's what we get to talk about today.
[00:09:20] Leah Clionsky: Yeah, there are so many choices and there are so many options, and people have such strong opinions and sometimes very judgmental opinions,
[00:09:28] Julie Blumberg: Oh, yeah
[00:09:29] Leah Clionsky: what did your parents do versus what you think you should do and your friends are doing and what your choices are.
[00:09:35] Leah Clionsky: So I guess, how would you approach a school search if someone is not so lucky to be, like, sitting in with you guys? Um, like what would be the first steps for a parent to independently start working on?
[00:09:48] Dee Dee Halpin: Yeah. And the first thing really is doing some research. And so we tell families, "If you're on those Facebook groups or you're listening to other people, that's great, do that." But just do it understanding that they're not thinking about your child when they're talking about that school. They're talking about their own experience.
[00:10:06] Dee Dee Halpin: And most people know three or four schools. We actually have a database of 475 plus private schools just in Houston. So, you know, th- that, that's an overwhelming number, and obviously that you... There is no one child or one family who would use all of, you know, any majority of that number. But, um, doing some online research and just seeing what's out there and listening to everybody and, and taking in what, uh, what resonates with you and sounds like it would work for your family and your child, um, is really important.
[00:10:43] Dee Dee Halpin: And most of the schools, you know, I didn't have this when I started my practice, but the schools have, have websites. Um, it's just like anything else if you're looking at, you know, a restaurant or a, or a resort or a hotel on the web- on a website. It may not look exactly like, you know, that website looks, but it's a starting point in just gathering some information about what's out there and what, what kind of I want to start looking at.
[00:11:11] Dee Dee Halpin: And, um, and then, you know, just asking questions, trying to talk to people, uh, who go to those schools, and getting an idea of whether it would fit your family. Um, just on a ba- on a kind of surface level at first, because eventually then you're gonna wanna go see the school, um, because that website's not gonna show you everything.
[00:11:34] Dee Dee Halpin: So we call that the research phase of our, of a school search, and then we want you to really explore the schools. So, um, I don't know if Julie, you wanna talk about, about that
[00:11:45] Julie Blumberg: Sure. Yeah. So you wanna explore the schools. That can be, uh... You wanna figure out what kind of schools you wanna look at. There's all different types of schools. There's Reggio schools, Montessori, traditional, secular, micro, faith-based, public, charter. We could go on and on about the different types of schools, and there's more and more cropping up every single day.
[00:12:06] Julie Blumberg: And so that's one of the overwhelming pieces of a school search, is really honing in on what type of school do we wanna look at, because then you wanna look at more than one of those types of schools because you wanna decide, "Do I like that type of program for my child, or am I really liking the character of this school?"
[00:12:21] Julie Blumberg: And it's really important that you like both, you know, how the school feels and also how the teaching's being done. And so really getting in and deciding what does your child need. Um, and then you wanna start exploring, so you want to get into those schools. We right now in the greater Houston area are recommending often we find families needing to apply to six to eight of the right private schools if they don't wanna rely on their zone public school, um, or even if maybe they do but they wanna do a little bit more exploring and have options, 'cause that's what we want for every family.
[00:12:56] Julie Blumberg: Uh, we want them to really dive into a good number of schools because applications are up across the board, really across the country. We talk to a lot of different consultants all, all around. And so, um, you know, just keeping your options open. If you apply to one school, you're putting all your eggs in one basket.
[00:13:15] Julie Blumberg: And so if you're going to apply to those six to eight schools that we're recommending, you have to go visit more than that. So you're often going to visit 10, maybe 12 schools. You don't need to take your child with you to all of those. Um, but you need to get in there and start understanding the differences in the schools.
[00:13:31] Julie Blumberg: Get the feelings, ask the questions, you know, compose that list of questions that you're gonna ask. Maybe then at one school you learn a different question that you should be asking at the next school. Um, and so go through that process, make good notes, and really try to narrow down to the probably six to eight that you wanna apply to, depending on your situation.
[00:13:51] Julie Blumberg: Sometimes there are reasons that families might apply to one, two, three schools, but it really is so uniquely individualized. And we always say not one of our cases is the same as any other. Everyone always calls and says, "Oh, you've probably never heard this before." And in some way we have, but it's not exactly like every single search that we've done before.
[00:14:15] Leah Clionsky: Yeah. I like what you're saying about being there because there's a vibe check to a school that you just cannot... Like, I mean, I'm just thinking back to when I was looking for daycares when I was pregnant with my daughter, and there were some where I walked in and I was like, I... Like, it, it was just this vibe of, like, calm, and somewhere I would walk in and I couldn't even articulate sometimes why I hated it,
[00:14:37] Julie Blumberg: We, we call that listening to your gut. We're gonna rely on your gut over everything else. And so when you're doing this search, you've gotta listen to that gut exactly what you're talking about. Um, and it's so important. There was something else I was gonna say, but it escaped me for now. It'll come back
[00:14:53] Dee Dee Halpin: parents-- par- we want parents to feel at home at the school. You know, it has to be comfortable for the whole family, honestly. Um, and so 'cause I, I can recognize when it wasn't for me when I was raising my children. Um, but you know, it, there's, there is something to be said for a-- and vibe is a beautiful word to use because there's just an atmosphere in a school that you get a sense of, and you either feel okay about it and you can picture your child there or you can't.
[00:15:24] Dee Dee Halpin: Um, and s- you know, sometimes I can walk in a school and within five minutes I, I feel exactly what you're talking about, the positive or the negative. But if I'm feeling it, that doesn't mean the family is gonna feel it the same way. So we, we need to make sure those families are getting into enough schools to really get a sense of what they like and don't like.
[00:15:46] Leah Clionsky: Right? 'Cause people are comfortable with different sorts of environments. Although sometimes, you know, if you're walking in and the teachers are all yelling at the students, you're like, "Hmm."
[00:15:55] Dee Dee Halpin: There's probably nobody that's looking for that.
[00:15:57] Leah Clionsky: Yeah. But I don't think this is-- Like, there's something going off.
[00:16:00] Dee Dee Halpin: I actually walked into a school one time with a client, and there were police there. Um, so we didn't stay very long. Um, you know, I, I-- and honestly, it probab- it could've been just such an odd time that we just hit at, hit it at the wrong time.
[00:16:16] Dee Dee Halpin: But I wouldn't have considered that school after, you know, 10 seconds of walking in the door. So,
[00:16:22] Leah Clionsky: I mean, also too, a- administrations change, and if that changes, it changes your entire school. So if you've ever been in a school through an ad- administration change where the person in charge leaves, right? Like, sometimes it's fine or better, and sometimes the entire thing... Like, the school you thought you were in is not the school you're currently in anymore.
[00:16:40] Dee Dee Halpin: absolutely
[00:16:42] Julie Blumberg: Or opposite to that, sometimes you go do this search because you just wanna know what else is out there. Maybe it's not a time that your child has to leave a school, and you go do this search and you are in the explore phase, and you're exploring and you're exploring, and you ultimately realize where your child is is the right fit, and that's, that's a great feeling to have, too
[00:16:59] Leah Clionsky: Right. It's reassuring. You're like, "Okay, I did it. You know, there's nothing I like better than this," and then you can just
[00:17:05] Julie Blumberg: Absolutely. Kind of like,
[00:17:06] Leah Clionsky: anything about it
[00:17:07] Julie Blumberg: it like scratches that itch, right? That you had to like make sure and then you feel better, so
[00:17:13] Leah Clionsky: Mm-hmm.
[00:17:13] Julie Blumberg: yeah.
[00:17:14] Dee Dee Halpin: Yep. Agree.
[00:17:15] Julie Blumberg: We wanna go into the A, the apply?
[00:17:17] Dee Dee Halpin: so the next thing is to apply. Um, and this is where families start to feel overwhelmed sometimes, um, because e- well, even if they've narrowed it to the six to eight schools that they really want to apply to, there's a lot of pieces to applying to a school. And it-- and especially for families, families who are working outside the home or are m- raising multiple children and, you know, those children are busy and doing so many activities, there's just so much going ar- going on, um, that it k- sometimes it's hard to really focus on how to get those applications done.
[00:17:54] Dee Dee Halpin: And every school asks for different materials. Every school has different deadlines for everything they ask for. Um, there are appointments to be made, sometimes for testing, sometimes for touring, sometimes for, um, for other information sessions that a school might have, and it can just start to look overwhelming.
[00:18:16] Dee Dee Halpin: It, you know, if, if... P- people are so busy these days, um, and it's gonna take some time for the parents, and it's gonna also take some time for the kids. Um, and Julie already mentioned if you're going on a school tour, you don't have to take your children. It's probably not a, uh, the best idea to take them on that first tour.
[00:18:35] Dee Dee Halpin: But they are going to have to go to the school and either do s- smaller children do some kind of school visit, maybe some kind of, um, informal assessment when they're at the school. Um, and for older children, they actually are interviewed, even for fifth graders applying to middle school. There's an interview, and that's very foreign for, for a 10 or 11-year-old to have an adult that they don't know asking them questions.
[00:19:00] Dee Dee Halpin: So, um, there's just a lot of pieces to every application, and that's where we hear from families that they're really, you know, they get concerned. So we help families track all those pieces and those deadlines because it's very hard to, for some families to keep up with it. You know, if you're someone that's super organized, you can do it on your own, um, but we provide help for families who feel like they could use
[00:19:25] Dee Dee Halpin: that.
[00:19:25] Julie Blumberg: just, we just remind you time and time again, anyone listening, the, the number one thing that schools can do is say, "Sorry, you didn't meet the deadline." Um, and so if that's something that's really important to you to be able to apply to that school, you've gotta meet those deadlines. Now, searches also happen at off points of the year, right?
[00:19:43] Julie Blumberg: Like, not just when there's deadlines, and there's still different, uh, application pieces and things that the schools need. It's just not as hard and fast of a deadline for those.
[00:19:53] Dee Dee Halpin: It's just a faster process, so it has to get done. And that is finding time to do it is-- can be difficult, um, especially if you're applying to six to eight schools. That's a, we know that's a lot. Um, we have had a few families who chose to do more than that, um, and that's, that's fine too. Certainly helps them feel more c- more apt to get the options that they're looking for, but not everybody has time to do all of that.
[00:20:21] Leah Clionsky: It's like a-- I'm having flashbacks from applying to college before it was online, right? Before there was a Common App, 'cause that's how old I am, you know? And that was overwhelming then, so I can see, especially if you didn't expect to walk into that level of paperwork and scheduling, not knowing that would make it feel a lot more overwhelming.
[00:20:42] Leah Clionsky: So just being prepared that that's gonna be part of this process.
[00:20:46] Dee Dee Halpin: Yep,
[00:20:47] Julie Blumberg: Absolutely. And, and remembering that, you know, your child has to be involved too. So if you're trying to drag your child along to 12, 13, 14 schools, that may be a little harder to get their buy-in with
[00:21:01] Leah Clionsky: Yeah
[00:21:03] Dee Dee Halpin: that kids focus on things parents aren't focusing on. Um, we even recently had a family tell us that their child found a girlfriend at their, at their school visit. We-- Small children get enamored with the playground. Older kids will talk about the lunch. Um, it's fine that that's something that they liked, but it's not gonna be typically the reason for choosing a school.
[00:21:27] Dee Dee Halpin: So, um, you know, we tell families to listen to their children, but make sure the children know they're gonna make the decision. Um, because yeah, we d- we don't want them to look at something very minor that they loved about a school and then reject the other schools.
[00:21:43] Leah Clionsky: Right. You can't pick the school based on the dessert options. Like that's not that is not the criteria.
[00:21:49] Dee Dee Halpin: That's right
[00:21:50] Julie Blumberg: That, that leads us right into the final one, decision, decide. Um, and so your final step after you've done all your applications, there's kind of a little bit of a waiting period to then find out what are your options. Um, you know, your options, again, remember, could be where you currently are, if you can stay.
[00:22:08] Julie Blumberg: Option could also be your zoned public school. That's your only guaranteed option. But our hope is that families going through these searches have more than one option, and they feel really confused. And so, um, then you have to make that decision. And we work with families to make that decision. We work with all of the families we've gone through the school search with, if it's not standout clear.
[00:22:28] Julie Blumberg: Uh, and we've also worked with families who have come to us and said, "I did this search on my own. Uh, we were really successful, and now we're really torn." Because again, that outside perspective that's not mom or dad, or the student in some cases, um, helping make that decision can really be helpful. Um, you really wanna think about, you know, what is important to your family, and why are we, you know, making that decision?
[00:22:51] Julie Blumberg: A lot of times, I, I think this is actually, I mentioned earlier, I forgot about something I was gonna say, but you're exploring these options, and you go see something that you thought you would never go see because you heard this thing about the school, or you were never gonna do that type of school, or that would never work for your child, or it didn't work for your best friend's kid.
[00:23:11] Julie Blumberg: But then you walk in on the tour and you see it, and it's like, "Oh, okay. Maybe this would work." And so then a lot of times families can find themselves with that being one of their options. And really sitting down and examining everything and thinking about your child, your family, your decision, and not all that outside noise, that's when that comes in, with that decision piece.
[00:23:37] Julie Blumberg: And so, um, just, you know, finding the best way for your family to make that decision, whether it's a pro/con list, whether it's working with your priorities, whether it's working with an outside source or someone who knows your child well to be that person that's not mom or dad. We don't make a decision for families, but we usually, nine times out of 10, can help them get there.
[00:23:58] Julie Blumberg: Um, and, and quite
[00:23:59] Dee Dee Halpin: listen to what they tell us actually and say, "Here's what I'm hearing from what you're saying." Um, you know
[00:24:07] Julie Blumberg: Every now and then we'll push back a little bit. Like one time we had a client and mom wanted one thing, dad wanted the other, and there was this third option that really just landed in the middle, and they weren't considering it at all. And enter Julie Blumberg, and I said, "Well, what about this?"
[00:24:23] Julie Blumberg: And, uh, it really got them thinking. And so, you know, making that deciding decision, that, that exciting decision is exciting. And we also tell families, like, once the decision made is made, it just feels better. Um, you know, don't look back, go forward, be excited about it. Um, and, and it, it takes a big weight off your shoulders.
[00:24:46] Julie Blumberg: Sometimes you get to start that school the very next day if it's a middle of the year search, but sometimes you're waiting until from about March to August to get started, and so you can start getting to know families. You can start getting to know the school, participating in some of the programs. Um, and it really just builds that excitement for the family
[00:25:03] Leah Clionsky: Yeah. Yep, you have to ultimately decide something. Not deciding is also a choice. It's the choice to stay where you are, right? So
[00:25:11] Julie Blumberg: Yes. Well, that, that's a decision still, but, um, you
[00:25:15] Leah Clionsky: it's all this
[00:25:15] Julie Blumberg: that decision and not sit on it for so long
[00:25:18] Dee Dee Halpin: Yeah. We also talk to families about being grateful sometimes when schools don't take your child and it becomes not an option, because sometimes that really means they wouldn't be providing what your child needs. And, um, and so we have to talk families through that, 'cause I-- You know, it stings sometimes when you're thinking a school is really gonna work and they don't accept your child.
[00:25:42] Dee Dee Halpin: Um, but often there's... Yeah, and you may never know exactly why, but usually there's a reason and, uh, and it's probably not the right option if they're, if they say no
[00:25:54] Leah Clionsky: Yeah. I've seen that clinically where school is highly encouraging a child to leave, and the parents are like, "What can we do to make it work?" And I'm like, "You do not want your child to be at a school where the school does not want your child there. Like, they're not-- This is not gonna go well for your kid."
[00:26:11] Dee Dee Halpin: You're constantly, you know, trying to climb out of a hole and that-- and the child is too. So it's not a good experience for
[00:26:18] Leah Clionsky: No, it's not a good experience. Yeah.
[00:26:21] Julie Blumberg: And
[00:26:21] Leah Clionsky: I'm so glad...
[00:26:23] Julie Blumberg: Oh, sorry. Remember, you're making this decision for the right now, and it doesn't have to be for the forever. So you're making the decision based on the child you know right now, based on what you know about the school right now, and then you may make another change. Even if the school could continue on for your child, you may realize that your child needs or is ready for something different, and that's okay too.
[00:26:43] Julie Blumberg: And so we work with families a lot through that too
[00:26:47] Leah Clionsky: Well, this is incredibly useful. If people are listening to this saying, "You know, I really want some help. Like, I don't wanna do this by myself," how can they contact you?
[00:26:57] Julie Blumberg: Sure. They can reach out through our website. We have an inquiry form, houstonschooloptions.com. Um, believe it or not, our Instagram is also another great resource space, and you can reach out through there. It's just Houston School Options on Instagram or Facebook as well. Um, and all of our information's on our website
[00:27:17] Leah Clionsky: Amazing. Yep, so if you're stuck here and you know, "I don't know that I want the same school next year that I have this year," reach out now. and Julie are so incredibly helpful, and I so appreciate you guys being on the show. And, um, I appreciate you listening to the podcast, and I'm excited to talk to all of you next time