Private vs. Catholic

[Anonymous]

My child was accepted at WES and Norwood. How do these schools compare with Catholic Schools (ie, Mater Dei, Blessed Sacrament, Little Flower, etc.)? I'm looking for real experiences.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious as well. We were just accepted to Blessed Sacrament for K, which surprised me because I thought it is super-competitive. We were really impressed with the school when we toured.

[Anonymous]

Blessed Sacrament is a fine school. And yes, it is very hard to get in. You usually need to be a current parishioner and/or one who has the ability and intent to donate lots of $$$$.

Mater Dei is also a fine institution. A cut above the basic parish schools.

That said, neither Blessed Sacrament nor Mater Dei is in the same category as Norwood or WES. BS/MD do not have the same resources as the latter. BS/MD do not have the same cachet as they do either (if that is important to you). BS/MD do not have an established pattern of exmissions to the best schools.

Go with either Norwood or WES. Congratulations.

[Anonymous]

I had a child in independent school and looked at Blessed Sacrament for upper grades. The curriculum at Catholic schools is a lot different from what you'd find at Norwood or WES. Daily religion means there's less time in the school day for other subjects. At Blessed Sacrament they use Saxon Math, most independent schools use something other than Saxon, many use Everyday Math. The books they read in English are different also. So if you think the content of the kids' learning is the same in Catholic and independent schools, you should be aware it's not. I have my own preference, yours might not be the same as mine. But if it were me I would definitely take a look at curriculum so that I could make a reasoned decision. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

That was such a good post, 12:00. I appreciate you raising the differences without imposing your own view and trashing the other.

[Anonymous]

We're parishioners of Blessed Sacrament living in Chevy Chase. So, we were seriously considering the school.

We ended up applying to WES, and choosing it instead. Our reasons had nothing to do with "cachet" or the odds of getting into a prestigious high school. We wanted a structured, traditional education for our child but one that seemed more academically challenging than Blessed Sacrament.

It turns out to have been the right choice for DC. He has some exposure to religion (the Episcopal faith and liturgy are so similar to that of the Catholic Church) -- weekly chapel and learns about a different virtue each month.

But the emphasis is overwhelmingly on academics. Our son's strongest interests are in science and art, and these are two areas where WES excels. But I don't think you can go wrong with either school. Blessed Sacrament is a warm and nurturing community -- and that holds a lot of weight in my book when talking about young children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was such a good post, 12:00. I appreciate you raising the differences without imposing your own view and trashing the other.

Yes, yes. So refereshing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That was such a good post, 12:00. I appreciate you raising the differences without imposing your own view and trashing the other.

Yes, yes. So refereshing.

Oops . . I mean "refreshing."

[Anonymous]

One thing to think about with the Catholic school track is that MOST of those kids go on to Cath. high schools, whereas WES and other privates have a wider variety of acceptances to other schools. Just a thought...

[Anonymous]

Any thoughts on Our Lady of Victory?

[Anonymous]

OP, I would go private. That is my personal bias. My dd is at Norwood. We could not be happier. NO complaints.

[Anonymous]

a fine point maybe, but isn't a Catholic school by definition a private school? in that the general public can't just show up on Sept. 3rd and expect to attend.

or said another way, why would an Episcopal school such as WES or Beauvoir be a 'private' school but a Catholic school would not be 'private'?

[Anonymous]

I like to think of "independent," a school with its own governing board, and "parochial," a school that's attached to a parish and does not have its own board. Catholic schools could be either independent (Stone Ridge, Georgetown Prep.) or parochial (Blessed Sacrament).

[Anonymous]

We have kids at independent catholic as well as one of the big independent schools. We have moved our children to catholic as they get older. We continue to re-evaluate for each child at different times. A lot of it is a very personal choice. For us its a balance between catholic values , academics, and what's best for the kids and family. Again, I realize that the feelings on this would vary greatly family to family, so not intending to offend anyone.

We have loved the academics and the depth in the arts and sciences at the independent schools, but have not always loved the culture of the values, even in religious oriented schools. Its not that its bad, just not where are values are. We find ourselves, like I believe most families, supplementing somewhere - in the arts, in experiences that expose our children to diversity. Sometimes, its a question of where you want to supplement.

However, I find the independent catholic schools often are more academically stronger or provide broader experiences than the parochial schools. You do need to examine it school by school.

Good luck in your decision.

[Anonymous]

All excellent posts. I have my 2 kids at blessed sacrament and so far they really love it. I think most parents are comparing public to parochial schools vs non parochial schools. BSS is around $7500 per kid. Norwood is around $24000 per year and i think WES is a bit higher. All parish schools are generally very family oriented. There are many families with 2, 3, 4 kids in the school (and they have a discount plan for more than 1 kid). And most live within 2 miles of the school again like public school. So you get some advantages of private school (no NCLB, religion taught, some extras) with some of the advantages of public school - local and family oriented. It also depends if you are comparing to DCPS or MCPS. It is correct that most kids go on to Catholic high schools. Not exclusivley and some leave to go to NCS, STA, public middle school before 8th grade. Also catholic private schools are cheaper. Gonzaga and Georgetown Visitation - considered the top catholic HS - are around $15-20K per year versus STA, NCS at over $30K. You are definitely going to have preference coming from a parish school than public school to those schools. If we could afford private school, we would definitely consider it but it just isn't possible for us financially.