How to pick the best high school for your child:

1. Do not think too much about environment-Most schools are big enough that any child can find his or her way.

2. Prioritize academics, course offerings, and college admissions statistics

3. Location, location-forcing your child to commute more than 30 minutes per day creates added stress and can contribute to illness and fatigue. When in doubt-pick the local option

4. Don’t follow the crowd-Do not automatically look at the same 3 or 4 high schools that other parents are looking at. There may be more options that you should consider. Also, if a high school is flooded with applicants from a single middle school, admissions criteria can be more stringent.

5. Involve your child in the decision-all middle schoolers have opinions on where they want to go to high school. Make sure your child feels that this is really his/her decision.