I think it would definitely be a great idea to spend some time in the school within your district - talk to the principal, go to a PTA meeting, talk to the kids even, volunteer in the programs that are important to you (I love working with my daughter's music teacher). However, if you do want to move your children to a school outside of your neighborhood, be prepared to spend a lot of time driving them around. We just moved to a new district, and although I don't have a problem with the school, they do not offer a full-day Kindergarten, and the school in our old neighborhood does. I opted to keep her at her school in our old neighborhood, even though it is a 30 minute drive to and from every day. The paperwork is simple enough, but since we were already enrolled in that school, it wasn't a problem to keep my daughter there for the remainder of the school year (as to not completely turn her world upside down with change!) I'm not sure what it would be like as someone who never lived in the district/wasn't planning on moving there, etc., but I'm sure the school districts would give you all the information you needed in order to make an informed decision. Everyone's idea of a good education is different, so take a look at all of your options closely - and if all else fails, you can move them to another school. Thank you for being concerned about their education though! Not enough parents are these days.