Any update on St. Bart's?

[Anonymous]

We were promised an answer today. Still have not heard.

[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.

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.

That's truly impressive that the parents and community raised $800,000 in three months to keep St. Bart's going. I was inspired to build a career in Catholic school fundraising nearly 20 years ago after learning about a similar school in Atlanta that had done the same thing. Good work, St. Bart's!

[Anonymous]

Desperate for an update. I am thinking that no news is not good news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Desperate for an update. I am thinking that no news is not good news.

Unfortunately I am starting to feel the same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Desperate for an update. I am thinking that no news is not good news.

I would think the parish/school would have to show ADW proof of bank deposits and legitimate new enrollments/reenrollments. I would think it takes time to confirm such things.

[Anonymous]

It was all prepared and verified prior to the meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like at every school, many of the parents who complain the most are the least involved. I have been working behind the scenes since we were first made aware of the situation. I will tell you that the current administration has been working tirelessly. The school has raised an incredible amount of money in 12 weeks. The school had a huge admission drain under the previous principal and has slowly but surely been re-building. Many of the parents who spend much time complaining are in for a rude awakening if they are forced to go to another school. The attention our children receive is unlike what I experienced in MCPS and another area parochial school. The staff and several committees have worked so hard since we were made aware of the dire situation and I pray for my kids that the school stays open. IMO it is completely unfair to put the blame on the current principal or pastor. There was one parent in particular who was outraged and threatened to pull her child at the beginning of the year because the class size of 15 was completely unacceptable to her as she was promised small class sizes.. As several others have pointed out on this thread, st. Bart’s has both the competition of many other great public and private schools in the immediate area. Less younger parents are focused on religion and current issues within the Catholic Church also don’t help.

You are right- Stop blaming the administrators and staff! They have worked hard and facilitated the raising of almost $1m in recent months! I only wish I could have sent my children their instead of the MCPS school that they endured- Common Core, ugh!
"Current issues", to say the least! Thanks for showing support and leadership ADW & US Catholic Church!
We know where the money went: "Catholic Church Shields $2 Billion in Assets to Limit Abuse Payouts", Bloomberg Businessweek, January 8, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-01-08/the-catholic-church-s-strategy-to-limit-payouts-to-abuse-victims

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like at every school, many of the parents who complain the most are the least involved. I have been working behind the scenes since we were first made aware of the situation. I will tell you that the current administration has been working tirelessly. The school has raised an incredible amount of money in 12 weeks. The school had a huge admission drain under the previous principal and has slowly but surely been re-building. Many of the parents who spend much time complaining are in for a rude awakening if they are forced to go to another school. The attention our children receive is unlike what I experienced in MCPS and another area parochial school. The staff and several committees have worked so hard since we were made aware of the dire situation and I pray for my kids that the school stays open. IMO it is completely unfair to put the blame on the current principal or pastor. There was one parent in particular who was outraged and threatened to pull her child at the beginning of the year because the class size of 15 was completely unacceptable to her as she was promised small class sizes.. As several others have pointed out on this thread, st. Bart’s has both the competition of many other great public and private schools in the immediate area. Less younger parents are focused on religion and current issues within the Catholic Church also don’t help.

You are right- Stop blaming the administrators and staff! They have worked hard and facilitated the raising of almost $1m in recent months! I only wish I could have sent my children their instead of the MCPS school that they endured- Common Core, ugh!
"Current issues", to say the least! Thanks for showing support and leadership ADW & US Catholic Church!
We know where the money went: "Catholic Church Shields $2 Billion in Assets to Limit Abuse Payouts", Bloomberg Businessweek, January 8, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-01-08/the-catholic-church-s-strategy-to-limit-payouts-to-abuse-victims

I know. It’s beyond hypocritical. The church saying they can’t afford to keep a school open that’s doing an excellent job educating a diverse set of kids, but they spend money on payoffs for crimes. Ridiculous and pathetic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Like at every school, many of the parents who complain the most are the least involved. I have been working behind the scenes since we were first made aware of the situation. I will tell you that the current administration has been working tirelessly. The school has raised an incredible amount of money in 12 weeks. The school had a huge admission drain under the previous principal and has slowly but surely been re-building. Many of the parents who spend much time complaining are in for a rude awakening if they are forced to go to another school. The attention our children receive is unlike what I experienced in MCPS and another area parochial school. The staff and several committees have worked so hard since we were made aware of the dire situation and I pray for my kids that the school stays open. IMO it is completely unfair to put the blame on the current principal or pastor. There was one parent in particular who was outraged and threatened to pull her child at the beginning of the year because the class size of 15 was completely unacceptable to her as she was promised small class sizes.. As several others have pointed out on this thread, st. Bart’s has both the competition of many other great public and private schools in the immediate area. Less younger parents are focused on religion and current issues within the Catholic Church also don’t help.

You are right- Stop blaming the administrators and staff! They have worked hard and facilitated the raising of almost $1m in recent months! I only wish I could have sent my children their instead of the MCPS school that they endured- Common Core, ugh!
"Current issues", to say the least! Thanks for showing support and leadership ADW & US Catholic Church!
We know where the money went: "Catholic Church Shields $2 Billion in Assets to Limit Abuse Payouts", Bloomberg Businessweek, January 8, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-01-08/the-catholic-church-s-strategy-to-limit-payouts-to-abuse-victims

I know. It’s beyond hypocritical. The church saying they can’t afford to keep a school open that’s doing an excellent job educating a diverse set of kids, but they spend money on payoffs for crimes. Ridiculous and pathetic.

C'mon, really? There are dioceses around the country, like Brooklyn, where if your school has fewer than 200 students, you get closed. ADW is much more flexible, and that consultation process has worked well in many cases (e.g. Holy Family, St. Jude's, St. Bart's). If your school has an enrollment of 120 students, and tuition pays for 50% of the cost of educating each child, that's not sustainable or financially healthy. If St. Bart's has met the targets, more power to the school, and I hope the school remains open.

[Anonymous]

Has there been an update from the school?

[Anonymous]

Nothing that I have seen. Someone has to know something.

[Anonymous]

Still waiting. Class-related emails to teachers haven't been returned and I'm trying not to read into that. Trying hard to have some hope!

[Anonymous]

This must be very stressful for the families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting. Class-related emails to teachers haven't been returned and I'm trying not to read into that. Trying hard to have some hope!

Why would teachers not be taking care of their current class duties at this point? All decisions aside, there are still 5 more months of THIS year. It’s irresponsible to not be responsive to current classroom-related things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Still waiting. Class-related emails to teachers haven't been returned and I'm trying not to read into that. Trying hard to have some hope!

Why would teachers not be taking care of their current class duties at this point? All decisions aside, there are still 5 more months of THIS year. It’s irresponsible to not be responsive to current classroom-related things.

I don’t know what the PP’s timeframe was, but my child’s teachers have been very responsive to normal homework type questions the last couple days. So maybe they just hadn’t gotten a response to an evening email by the next morning and were anxious. I have been really impressed by the grace the faculty has shown soldiering on as normal.