Any update on St. Bart's?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that Woods and the French School have submitted applications to rent the school?

Um, no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that Woods and the French School have submitted applications to rent the school?

Why would the French school apply? They have a huge campus near the Bethesda YMCA and St Barts would be a downgrade size-wise. Wouldn't it be same for Woods Academy? They seem to be in a pretty big facility (former MCPS elementary school) as well.

[Anonymous]

St Barts parish family here. We send our kids to public school since the schools in the St Barts catchment area (Bannockburn, Burning Tree, and I think a bit of Bradley Hills) are very good in their own right. We like a larger school and the resources it offers, and the price of MCPS is good too. But I absolutely see why St Barts is a good fit for certain families and their children. The facilities seem perfectly fine also, at least from what I see when I walk through them every week to drop off DD at CCD.

Does the school have a board of directors? Seems like some of the parents, if they were on such a board, could have a big positive impact. From what I'm hearing, it's the marketing and administration that's the weak point, while the education itself is quite good. This is typical in non-profits in any sector -- great at their mission, but pretty bad at all the "back-office" stuff that you need to run any organization.

I'm surprised there was no mention of the school at mass or in the church bulletin this weekend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We looked at deChantal and HR. It was an education in how incredible St. Bart's really is. Neither offer anything close to the environment, classroom quality, teaching engagement, or facilities at St. Bart's. We'd go Holy Cross if we need to. That's the closest equivalent.

Please tell us more about what is unique about St. Bart's! You've mentioned that it's a welcoming place for students with LD, but what else? What is similar about Holy Cross?

Not PP, but I will give you my perspective, which is hard to do because I do NOT want to put down any other schools. I think that our family wouldn't fit at another school very well. We're liberal (cafeteria) Catholics, really, in our politics and beliefs, and we don't really fit the stereotypical family. We have friends at more traditional parish schools, and they are good schools, but I don't dress like those moms, have a job that isn't like theirs, we don't belong to the same clubs, etc. St. Bart's really is more of a diverse community than the other parish schools I'm familiar with -- racially, economically, and in terms of typical/atypical learners. It isn't just that the school can accommodate LD's / ADHD, but that it's just normal there. There are really all kinds of kids, from the 99th percentiles, to the kids struggling with reading because of dyslexia. Racial diversity FAR exceeding the nearby public schools. And (maybe because it is tiny), the kids don't group up in cliques, and neither do the parents.
I also think that the attitude of the faculty toward students is very much of an accepting and loving attitude. They really do overall try to treat each child as family. Not to say there aren't issues -- of course there are. But it feels like a warm, friendly and open school.

It sounds nice - what do you think is holding the school back in terms of enrollment?

To be honest, poor administration, which is hard because they’re nice people. But there’s little to no effort by admin. And just that the surrounding area has great public schools. Also, “we’re the liberal catholic school” is kind of risky to say, because you risk irking the ADW and the portion of families who are more conservative (which is also significant — the school really is a mix in that way too).

Another family, seconding what this poster said. We switched from public, which was a bad fit for our kids, to St. Bart's without looking at other parochial schools. We're not Catholic but have never felt excluded or looked down on. Our kids have thrived in the smaller classes with teachers who do genuinely treat them like family, and who know the class dynamics so deeply. The teachers not only work closely with each child according to where they are, but have rules about inclusivity and make sure no one is left out in class or at recess. I guess one of the things we've learned to appreciate and value the most is that St. Bart's teaches values that many other schools don't. They are genuinely good kids who love and respect each other, their teachers, their school. Our kids don't have LDs, so I can't speak to that, but they've also never commented on or questioned the kids who leave class to see the resource teachers. Like the other poster said, it's just part of how things are at school.

What holds the school back? No one knows about it. The administration is really bad. They make no effort to get the word out, which HAS to be done given the saturation of other good schools in the area. They're nice people but pretty incompetent. It's frustrating because the families get along and we all want the school to succeed, and it doesn't feel like the admin cares. They all got shocked into action in October, but like other posters said it's the families who have put in the leg work to get things back on track.

We've looked at other schools, of course, because we've had to, and it's been eye-opening! We hadn't looked at other parochial schools before switching our kids and so we had no idea how amazing St. Bart's really is. We haven't seen another school that has everything St. Bart's has (loving, engaged teachers; a safe, beautiful campus; two recesses a day; LD resources; the accepting, progressive approach; specials twice a week instead of once), and so it's been extra discouraging to think that this great find may be closed. Everyone knows everyone at St. Bart's and that contributes to the supportive community. The kids have close friends but love meeting new people. The teachers know and love the kids. The curriculum is fantastic. It feels like a little bubble of sanity amid the chaos of school craziness. That may sound rote but it's true. We don't want to leave.

+1. The only school that would be close to St. Bart’s in terms of size, diversity and inclusion would be Holy Cross. My kids were served well by going to St. Bart’s and I had both a child with LD and one without go there. I wanted a school that would work for both my children. The teachers genuinely cared about my children. My oldest child (high school) echoed a lot of what the pp said, that the school worked closely where the child was and managed to challenge kids wherever they were. My child said you never got the feeling the teachers only cared about a select few students whether it was the really top student or the one that struggled or the ones in between - they worked with all of them and cared about them all. The parents were friendly with each other. The kids in general got along.

Now with the enrollment issue, personally I think it was a combination of having 3 principals in the last 10 years, teacher turnover in key grades, and not being on top of some challenging situation in certain grades. In a small school, any unhappiness about a particular teacher or major social drama has a huge ripple effect as people will pull their child and their siblings and then another family will hear that their child’s best friend is leaving and why and start worrying if they should look elsewhere, then if it is staff related the parents of younger kids get worried etc. Now the next year it’s an uphill battle to not only replace the students lost, but attract new ones and they may be worried the size is too small or the gender ratio is too skewed. I also agree in the past the school didn’t do a great job advertising itself.

I believe if they are able to keep this momentum going they will stay open and they will have more structure around the business type side of things like advertising and making sure they have higher re-enrollment numbers and having the board take on more accountability for those things. I would encourage if anyone is considering St. Bart’s to visit the school and ask questions because there is so much that it does offer. Changing to any school has a certain leap of faith because any school can have the teacher change, the principal change, the queen bee/animal farm type kid start in your kid’s class and change the class dynamic. You have to feel confident that given the information you have at the time, it’s the right decision know and realize you can make a different decision if things change from there and you don’t foresee it improving.

Isnt St Barts still holding an Open House and encouraging people to apply? If they are on the verge of closing that creates a lot of uncertainty for applicants. Based on the testimonies from some of the parents I would be interested in applying but I'm not sure if it makes sense if they are facing closure.

It’s not like it’s a hard application. Why not apply and see what happens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised there was no mention of the school at mass or in the church bulletin this weekend.

Sounds par for the course in terms of admin competency and the pastor's involvement.

[Anonymous]

It seems they would have to tell families very soon if the school is closing next year. They'll already have to scramble if they want to get their children in other private schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems they would have to tell families very soon if the school is closing next year. They'll already have to scramble if they want to get their children in other private schools.

The entire school and parents just showed up for mass this morning to pray for the school to stay open. Parents have raised over $800k. If the ADW shuts the school down now, it will be because they just wanted to and were being dishonest about the reasons and intentions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems they would have to tell families very soon if the school is closing next year. They'll already have to scramble if they want to get their children in other private schools.

The entire school and parents just showed up for mass this morning to pray for the school to stay open. Parents have raised over $800k. If the ADW shuts the school down now, it will be because they just wanted to and were being dishonest about the reasons and intentions.

And if they get the thumbs up to continue, which I sure hope they do!, I hope all of their good testimonies helps put more bodies in the seats too. Ultimately that is what is going to keep a school going - solid enrollment. The best admissions rep is a happy parent telling their story out on the street. Talk it up at nursery schools and in the parish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems they would have to tell families very soon if the school is closing next year. They'll already have to scramble if they want to get their children in other private schools.

The entire school and parents just showed up for mass this morning to pray for the school to stay open. Parents have raised over $800k. If the ADW shuts the school down now, it will be because they just wanted to and were being dishonest about the reasons and intentions.

And if they get the thumbs up to continue, which I sure hope they do!, I hope all of their good testimonies helps put more bodies in the seats too. Ultimately that is what is going to keep a school going - solid enrollment. The best admissions rep is a happy parent telling their story out on the street. Talk it up at nursery schools and in the parish.

Exactly. It would seem raising emergency funds is a short-term fix. Without significantly increased and sustained enrollment they'll be back to a crisis in no time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems they would have to tell families very soon if the school is closing next year. They'll already have to scramble if they want to get their children in other private schools.

The entire school and parents just showed up for mass this morning to pray for the school to stay open. Parents have raised over $800k. If the ADW shuts the school down now, it will be because they just wanted to and were being dishonest about the reasons and intentions.

And if they get the thumbs up to continue, which I sure hope they do!, I hope all of their good testimonies helps put more bodies in the seats too. Ultimately that is what is going to keep a school going - solid enrollment. The best admissions rep is a happy parent telling their story out on the street. Talk it up at nursery schools and in the parish.

Exactly. It would seem raising emergency funds is a short-term fix. Without significantly increased and sustained enrollment they'll be back to a crisis in no time.

Yes and no. First of all, they have sustained enrollment over the last couple years. The decline came before that, and it's been turned around. Second, they're adding a PK-3's class that will increase enrollment. Third, after surveying the families, they've also added a tuition increase so that the cost better matches a school with such a low student-teacher ratio and can maintain smaller class sizes. Though, of course, tuition is still MUCH less than non-parish schools. So while yes, they do need to increase/sustain enrollment, they don't really need to get up to the numbers at other parish schools.

[Anonymous]

When will they make the official announcement?

[Anonymous]

Update?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems they would have to tell families very soon if the school is closing next year. They'll already have to scramble if they want to get their children in other private schools.

The entire school and parents just showed up for mass this morning to pray for the school to stay open. Parents have raised over $800k. If the ADW shuts the school down now, it will be because they just wanted to and were being dishonest about the reasons and intentions.

I agree 100%. If the ADW shuts us down now it will be a huge disappointment. We did what we were told needed to be done. We exceeded the goal that seemed almost impossible. They asked and we delivered. It will reveal that they knew all along what their plans were and didn’t ever think we had a chance of meeting the very ambitious goal that was set. This waiting game is hard for the parents but also not fair to do to the students. The older kids are all aware of the situation. Also not fair to the staff who have been doing their job seamlessly under uncertain times. Pretty certain most of the staff members aren’t eligible for retirement and still need to work. Unfair all around.

[Anonymous]

The meeting was this afternoon. No news yet.

[Anonymous]

St. Bart's has had consultations with the Archdiocese of Washington each of the last two years. Last year, the parents got together and raised $85,000 through a small-window Annual Fund. This year, the school had to show the ability to raise $750,000 plus increase enrollment 40%. These are very high targets, of course, but the parish has invested about $2 million in the school building and operations in recent years, and one does not expect that such a level of investment could continue. The school did start publishing a newsletter for alumni and parents last spring and has published two issues so far.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hope they stay open. Our liberal Catholic family doesn't feel comfortable with other parish schools, so it fills a niche. We will go public or independent otherwise. There is also a significant population of students with learning differences (and a significant population without -- it's a true mix). I really feel like shutting down with less than a year notice to families with kids with learning differences especially is cruel and harmful to those kids.

It IS a unique and special place. The ADW warning seems to have been a wake-up call which, if the school stays open, will hopefully ensure it's managed better than it was to this point. We really hope it stays open. We're supposed to find out tomorrow and the kids are really anxious.

Other area parochial schools expect to be absorbing some of the St. Bart's kids for next year.

ADW closed a bunch of schools about 5 years ago [St. Ann's in Tenleytown was one of the schools]
ADW announced the closing just after the DCPS lottery closed and it was a cluster as families were left trying to find places. We are an ADW family and I would say that it is another example of how these decisions are made by people who are removed from the day to day and absolutely CLUELESS!

These decisions are years in the making. They involve many meetings and goals that need to be met. If the principal and pastor are not transparent with the community about it from the beginning then it can feel like a shock, but be real - as a parent you have to know your school is in trouble when classes get that small. Being in denial doesn’t excuse your own due diligence. St. Bart’s families will have ample notice to apply elsewhere if a decision is made in January. I think they are giving them every shot to pull the potential numbers up, while still allowing an exit strategy if it doesn’t work out.

That's nonsense. There is *not* ample time to apply elsewhere if a decision is made in January. Independent school admissions deadlines are OVER by this time. Middle school magnet applications were due months ago. There are many kids with learning differences at this school, and GT/LD kids as well. Not just any school is going to be a good fit. And, no, you don't know the school is in imminent trouble when the classes get that small. There are many schools with small classes, and they're not in trouble. A child's class with 15 kids or 17 kids does not seem "too small" compared to other private schools, especially if one is not "in the know" in the local Catholic school community. And if this was so obvious, why on Earth wasn't the principal or pastor saying anything about it? New families coming in in the last two years were absolutely not told until this point. No, what we were told was that we could trust them with our kids. If it's so out in the open, why not disclose? And why renovate the Parish hall with the stated purpose of being needed for the school and students?