Catholic Parish Schools: Bethesda/Ch Ch/DC/Potomac/Rockville and others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: "The academics are not as high as the big 3, but better than some of the other independents and some publics."

Which are the Big 3?

Name an independent with inferior academics to a parochial school. I don't think one exists in this area unless you're talking about a lesser-known school.

Independent schools are overrated, at the cost u should go atraight to college.

[Anonymous]

My sister's kids have been at St. Elizabeth's for years and they absolutely love it. Their academics are far superior to our VA Catholic school and my nephew graduated last May and had a great app process to High School. Neither kid(boy and girl) have ever complained about the strictness. I have been to several things there and loved the sense of community and the welcoming atmosphere - I would go visit if I were you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My sister's kids have been at St. Elizabeth's for years and they absolutely love it. Their academics are far superior to our VA Catholic school and my nephew graduated last May and had a great app process to High School. Neither kid(boy and girl) have ever complained about the strictness. I have been to several things there and loved the sense of community and the welcoming atmosphere - I would go visit if I were you.

plus they have some great parties, from my kids who attend a Bethesda Catholic school....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love my son to attend CS, as I did and my parents and so on...But the HUGE class sizes are a HUGE issue for me/my son.

It depends on the school. Holy Redeemer in College Park is huge. There are 32 kids in one class! But there are other schools where there are only 22 kids in one class.

Holy redeemer is in Kensington, not college park. It is a neighborhood type school with families going there for multiple generations. Holy redeemer class size his quite small. Around 20 per class.

There are a few non catholic kids and they do well. I love the school arts festival each year. The academics are not as high as the big 3, but better than some of the other independents and some publics. The school gets to know each kid very well. The placement in Catholic high school is good. This year more kids are going to GPrep and Visitation than in previous years.

If you want a small school that emphasizes the intrinsic value of each student I would recommend Holy Redeemer.

There is also a Holy Redeemer in College Park: http://www.holy-redeemer.org

[Anonymous]

Can anyone please share any knowledge of how academically-challenging yet nurturing The Woods Academy is? Are the facilities satisfactory? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: "The academics are not as high as the big 3, but better than some of the other independents and some publics."

Which are the Big 3?

Name an independent with inferior academics to a parochial school. I don't think one exists in this area unless you're talking about a lesser-known school.

Independent schools are overrated, at the cost u should go atraight to college.

says she who can't afford independent schools. We've been at independent, parochial (a supposed top one) and public. There is no comparison.

[Anonymous]

St. Elizabeth's is a great school. We transferred from another Catholic school in the area and feel we definitely made the right decision. They have 2 classes per grade that are usually full, but have assistants for both classes through 4th grade. The teachers are great and Mr. Spadoni, the Principal, is a phenomenal leader who is actively involved, is communicative and really strives to maintain the excellent reputation. The teachers teach subjects they are passionate about and you really see that in the instruction. They have lots of extracurricular activities, band, chorus, drama, art clubs, scouts, robotics, math and academic competitions and participate in CYO sports. They have something for everyone. We are so happy to be there and think our child's educational needs are very well met. I have friends who had children graduate from St. Es who said they were very well prepared for high school.

Yeah, the carpool can be frustrating but that is such a small issue from my point of view given all of the great things the school has to offer.

[Anonymous]

18:00 - agree on all points! OP - please come visit and ask to talk to parents if you have questions!

[Anonymous]

+!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has Blessed Sacrament had an unusually bad time with student bullying/teasing each other? I noticed quite a bit of info about their policy is posted on their website. If so, does this indicate a "cliqueish" parent community also? Also, I noticed that BS's class sizes seem to be smaller than some others (i.e De Chantal, Mercy). Does this translate into better academics? Right now we are looking to buy into either Blessed Sacrament, De Chantal or St. Barts parishes, so I would appreciate insights. Our older child is exceptionally strong academically (working about 2 years ahead of grade), creative, works well on collaborative projects and loves a challenge. Our second child is working on grade level and works best with lots of structure and attention. I would prefer a school with a lot of religious instruction/participation and we tend to be 'conservative' Catholics. Any advice anyone? We are open to considering other parishes.

DD goes there and I can tell you they are having a lot of bullying issues (especially bad at K level thanks to a few rotten apples). It is pretty sad really.

[Anonymous]

Bad at second grade too. We chose against BS for that reason even though our kids were baptized there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those researching Catholic schools might be interested in picking up a copy of the Parish Times newspaper, the one that came out last week. It has information on the 8th grade classes and their high school choices. As far as I know it is the best exmissions data one can get for the Catholic elementary schools.

Here's my take on some of the schools the original poster mentioned--

By reputation, I think Mercy is probably the best.
de Chantal is likely the best value - best Catholic education for the dollar (especially if you have multiple children in the school, in which case you benefit from generous tuition discounts)
Blessed Sacrament has a wonderful community and as noted it is not impossible to get into. (In recent years it has been very difficult - they give priority to parishioners living in parish boundaries and the boundaries are a very tight area in Chevy Chase)
Holy Redeemer has a strong community and is a solid school but I understand it is dealing with attrition to the wonderful public elementary school in the area. Holy Redeemer is now opening a pre-k to boost enrollment.
St. Bart's has a strong program.

If you decide to cross the river, St. Catherine of Sienna is intriguing. They have a Montessori program (which I think is the only Catholic parish to have one).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our Lady of Lourdes is in Bethesda. It looks great on paper, but is a terrible school. The principal is nasty and back-stabbing and only pays attention to the people who are big donors. There is NOTHING Cathlolic about this school. The teachers are liberal and it is reflected in their teaching. The gym teacher cusses in front of students and has lay of the land. If you have to send your kids there, it is beter for middle school and not for elementary.

wow. This comment is right on target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Lady of Lourdes is in Bethesda. It looks great on paper, but is a terrible school. The principal is nasty and back-stabbing and only pays attention to the people who are big donors. There is NOTHING Cathlolic about this school. The teachers are liberal and it is reflected in their teaching. The gym teacher cusses in front of students and has lay of the land. If you have to send your kids there, it is beter for middle school and not for elementary.

wow. This comment is right on target.

It can’t be that much on target considering that Lourdes has a new principal this year.

[Anonymous]

We just started at St. Peters Olney and I am shocked at the class size. When we applied they said 25 was their max, which made me unsettled. Now on the first day, we discover there are 29 and 28 in ds grade level and no plan to split into a third class for this grade level. Also, we attend this parish and see many, many faces we have not seen before. It seems they are packing them in for financial reasons? What are the class sizes you are used to at catholic k-8 schools?