For employees with families, choosing the right school is a critical piece of the relocation puzzle.
Case in point: in one Realtor.com survey, 73% of home buyers said that school district quality influenced their housing search. That same survey found that 78% of buyers who bought homes in their school district of choice gave up other coveted home features—i.e., a garage, big backyard or updated kitchen—in order to seal the deal.
That’s because home values in top-ranked school districts are priced up to 49% higher than the national median, and houses in those districts sell faster than others.
In other words, finding a home in a great school district is generally more challenging—not to mention expensive—for relocating employees. Think about it: before they can even start a home search, they need to do their school research, identify their preferred district(s) and target specific neighborhoods accordingly. Whew!
That’s why assisting your employees with school searches will facilitate smoother, speedier moves—and why you should make this part of your relocation package, if it isn’t already.
Evaluating school systems involves weighing and comparing a number of factors. Fortunately, there are national rating systems that help parents do just that. Typically, these are based academic data points such as standardized test scores, state rankings, student-to-teacher ratios and graduation rates.
Beyond academic performance, many parents want to know about things like school district priorities, extracurricular activities/athletics—even the diversity of the student body. They may also care about PTA/PTO involvement, the logistics of transportation and the availability of before and after school care.
Of course, not every “good” school is the “right” school for any given family. For example, the availability of special services—such as a robust IEP system for kids with special needs or an advanced placement program for gifted students—may be a deciding factor.
It’s a lot of information to digest, especially for relocating employees on a tight timeline, but you can make it easier.