How to research schools for kids

4 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **How to research schools for kids**

   Howdy folks.

   Looking to move to Japan with our 4.5 and 1.5 year old in Q3 next year on spouse of Japanese national visa. We are aware of the structure of schooling, when our oldest would be due to start school etc.

   We’re looking to send our kids to public primary schools in Fukuoka prefecture. But we don’t really know how to research schools. We’re not really focused on any particular part of the prefecture (preference for somewhere between Hakata and Kita-kyushu, on the JR Kagoshima line), so the presence of a particularly good school could sway us to a particular location.

   Again, not looking at international schools, but public schools. Any guidance would be appreciated!

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2. All schools teach the same curriculum. All schools are good and bad. 1/3 of the school staff changes yearly. What a school is like one year, can completely change the next.

   For example, the school my kids are at was thought of highly when they started. Now, it is considered one of the worst schools in the city over the last couple of years due to teacher and staff changes. Eventually, the view will change again, probably starting next year.

   That being said, a quick Google search would provide you with what you are looking for. https://www.gaccom.jp/en/

3. The only info you could prob sly find are class sizes. Try and find smaller classes, which likely means moving to the middle of nowhere. Teachers are rotated every few years, so there’s not really consistent performance tables.

4. I live in the area and have a half Japanese/half American first grader so I know a bit about the area. I’ll focus on schools and transit as that is what you are asking about but can answer other questions as well.

   Going from Shingu northwards I’ll cover what i know. All of these are along the train route from Hakata to Kita-kyushu as well as easy access to Route 3 which also runs from Hakata to Kita-Kyushu.

   Shingu, not sure about elementary schools but they have a very good high school. The city itself is a bit more urban as it’s closest to Hakata. Not too sure about trains, but they have a station, maybe 2.

   Koga, not sure about their elementary schools either but probably okay, seems a bit more spread out but has two train stations.

   Fukutsu, this is where we live. Two train stations that are convenient to the city center and some of the suburban neighborhoods. Schools are considered quite good but some schools are more crowded than others. A new elementary school is going to be built soon to help accommodate so many kids. High school is good but not exceptional like Shingu. Public kinder is good but simple Japanese style it’s also pretty small with only 1 pre-k and 1 kinder class which is nice so kids are not overwhelmed and just one of a couple hundred like some of the private kinder. I can give more specifics based on neighborhood and schools if you are interested or more info about the city itself if you want, but trying to keep it simple for now.

   Munakata schools are not considered very good. City is also spread out quite a bit and has two “business” areas that is separated by agricultural land making it a bit difficult to go from one area to the other. But they do have 3 train stations.

   North of Munakata, I am not sure because there is a bit of mountain and tunnels to go through to get there so it’s quite a bit separated from us.