Don’t Tour Schools. Audit Them.
How to choose a school without gambling on jargon.
Denver’s school-choice window opens on December 2, 2025 (yes, you read that right—December 2025).
For six weeks, parents become part-time curriculum analysts, psychics, and real estate researchers. You rank your top schools, hit submit, and hope for the best.
We’re there too—two former educators, staring at the same list. And here’s the truth: with nearly two decades in education, we still don’t always know what makes a school great.
Every open house promises joy, rigor, and a sense of belonging. Every website shows smiling students and a quote from the principal. It’s Zillow for schools.
Everything looks perfect until you walk inside.
Strong Learning Environments Look Different on the Surface, But Share the Same Foundation
Students thrive when classrooms are calm, routines are clear, and teachers guide before asking kids to work independently.
That foundation cuts across every school model—public, charter, private, Montessori, project-based. The setup matters more than the style.
Project Follow Through—the largest education experiment in U.S. history—found that classrooms with structured, sequenced teaching produced stronger results in reading, math, reasoning, and confidence.
The pattern was simple and powerful:
Teachers modeled clearly.
Students practiced together.
Then students worked independently.
Behind the scenes:
Lessons were content-rich and predictable.
Teachers made the thinking process visible.
Independence was earned, not assumed.
This wasn’t about scripts. It was about systems.
The Schools That Get Better Focus on Coherence, Not Flash
Decades later, TNTP’s Opportunity Myth found the same pattern: students tried hard, but rarely had access to grade-level work.
The problem wasn’t a lack of motivation—it was misalignment.
The systems that improved fastest didn’t chase innovation for its own sake. They focused on:
Picking good materials
Training teachers well
Coaching for rigor
Checking that students got real opportunities to grow
The lesson: it’s not about having the most exciting model. It’s about whether the pieces work together to deliver learning.
What to Ask on a School Tour to See What’s Underneath the Marketing
Skip the slogans. Ask real questions. Look for evidence of design, not performance.
Try these:
What curriculum do you use for reading, writing, and math?
How do teachers receive training to teach it effectively?
What does grade-level work look like here?
How do you know when a student is ready to work independently?
You don’t need a master’s degree to interpret the answers. Just listen:
Clear, thoughtful responses = coherence.
Vague, generic responses = spin.
If Your Kid Needs More Support, Structure Is the Most Important Thing
If your child comes from a home with college-educated parents, books, and strong routines, they can succeed in many environments. You can afford to take a risk on a looser model (say yes to that crunchy model with four recesses).
But if your child is catching up, navigating instability, or needs more adult guidance, then structure isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s essential: it’s oxygen.
This isn’t a critique of Montessori or expeditionary schools. The best ones are built on strong foundations.
But if adults skip that foundation—if they jump to independence without scaffolding—you get classrooms that feel exciting but don’t actually teach.
Good Schools Can Explain How They Work—And Prove It
No matter the model, strong schools can answer these four questions:
Do we use a clear, content-rich curriculum?
Are our teachers trained and supported to teach it well?
Do students get guided practice before they’re asked to go solo?
Can we show that students regularly work on grade-level material?
These aren’t just inputs. They are signs that the design is working.
If a school avoids the question or has no proof, that’s your answer.
A Tool to Help You Cut Through the Spin
We built a school visit checklist—clear, simple, field-tested, which we’re using, too.
👉 The BullshitED School Visit Checklist
And, rehearsed answers don’t scare us. Clarity—even when practiced—is better than confusion.
Clear Teaching. Daily Practice. Adults Who Know What They’re Doing.
I’m for innovation and outcomes. But I’ve learned: good schools don’t need magic. They need structure, focus, and adults who know how to build both.
Ask real questions. Walk into classrooms. Look for proof.
Forget the slogans. Start with what works.
Well said. We can’t have true educational choice unless every seat is high quality and parents can clearly understand what’s happening in classrooms. Innovation for its own sake is exhausting—real innovation should enhance academic excellence through clear systems, great teaching, and coherence that families can see and trust.