GreatSchools: The Parents' Guide to K-12 Success
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Our Story

A former teacher, Bill Jackson founded GreatSchools in 1998 to catalyze a force that he believed was vital to the process of achieving excellence in education - parent involvement.

Bill launched GreatSchools.net because he believed that:

  • When parents make informed choices, students and schools benefit
  • Students are more successful when parents are actively involved in their education
  • Schools improve when parents advocate for high-quality teaching and learning

Since then, GreatSchools has evolved into a national, independent nonprofit organization committed to helping parents like you choose schools, support your children's education and improve schools in your community. More than 25 million users visited GreatSchools.net in 2005. Our content powers the Internet's leading media organizations including AOL, Yahoo!, Knight Ridder, the Los Angeles Times and more than 85 top Web sites nationwide.

Our Mission: To improve K-12 education by inspiring parents to get involved.

We Help Parents Like You...

Choose the best school for your child

GreatSchools helps parents choose the best school by providing comprehensive profiles for more than 120,000 schools nationwide. Other parent-friendly features include exclusive ratings, parent reviews, powerful search and compare tools, and helpful advice.

See a sample school profile
Review answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Support your child's education

As you guide your child from kindergarten through high school, you'll face unexpected challenges and hurdles. Some may be unique to you and your child, others are faced by virtually every parent. Either way, you don't have to go it alone - GreatSchools has resources that can help.

Our personalized email newsletters provide school updates, grade-by-grade learning tools and seasonal advice on education topics. Learn more

GreatSchools' online library features hundreds of articles that help parents navigate the K-12 process, including advice from experts and real parents. Visit our library

Read our editorial and advertising policy

Improve schools in your community

GreatSchools is currently conducting pilot programs to organize and support parents advocating for education excellence in their communities. In San Francisco, GreatSchools is helping parents in five schools to better support their own children's education and to advocate for quality teaching and learning for all children. In Dayton, Ohio, GreatSchools is helping low-income parents make better-informed school choices in order to drive local demand for high-quality schools.

Learn more about the GreatSchools Network

More About GreatSchools

GreatSchools would not be possible without the support of foundations and corporations that understand the importance of parent involvement in a child's education. Major funders include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Pisces Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

GreatSchools.net
301 Howard Street, Suite 1440
San Francisco, CA 94105
Fax: (415) 977-0704