Personalities of Arlington Diocese High Schools
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Anonymous
| Pulling from the John Paul the Great high school thread, someone mentioned each of the Arlington Diocese High Schools (at least closer in ones: DJO, BI, Paul VI) reaching having their own personality. We are at a Diocesan K-8 and mostly curious if this is really true or if they are all pretty similar. Current parents of kids in these high schools, what do you think? |
Anonymous
| Bump |
Anonymous
| Personally, I do not believe this. The areas they are pulling from are fairly similar, esp BI and DJO. |
Anonymous
+1 I think it's more that the areas they're drawing from all have slightly different personalities and the schools on the whole resemble the area they're in. The community in Alexandria is pretty similar to Arlington but maybe a bit different than South Riding, for example. |
Anonymous
| I’m curious about this too. We have a DD who’s a little nerdy, bookish, and doesn’t play sports. At the K-8 she’s known the kids forever and she has some good friends. Are there a group of kids like this at all of these high schools? |
Anonymous
| The high schools are are all large enough to have plenty of kids in all areas of interest. That is not a concern. |
Anonymous
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I think they're all similar, with some slight differences in "personalities" ...
My kid went to DJO. We also looked at Ireton. The others were a bit too far away for us but we know families with kids there. My sense was that the academics are very similar, but in terms of extracurriculars DJO was slightly more sports-focused and Ireton was more arts/music/drama focused. PVI seems more like DJO in that respect. They're all good schools and I'm sure my kid would have been happy at any of them, however. |
Anonymous
This is the impression I’ve gotten about BI and DJO too. |
Anonymous
I'm a BI parent and I agree. |
Anonymous
Same. I will add though, that our K-8 was very middle class with lots of military families and ds is finding that there’s more wealth at BI than he is used to. Lots of international travel over every break and things like that. He did a couple of shadow days at JPG and really liked the school and the students. He found them to be more down to earth than the kids at BI and DJO. The commute would have been just too much for us though and in the end BI made a lot more sense. Luckily he’s settled in to a friend group and is very happy at BI, but the distinction is something to be aware of. If we lived closer to JPG, he probably would have gone there. |
Anonymous
I was just talking to a friend who toured both schools (we're at a different school altogether). She said that at the DJO tour the student guide talked exclusively about sports. BI was about the labs and other facilities, academics, and arts. Sounds like what you describe. |
Anonymous
| OP here—helpful insight. Thanks! |
Anonymous
I don’t have kids at either school, but would note the girls sports at BI have historically been quite good. I know things have changed, but their girls lacrosse team was a top WCAC team for many years. Their girls basketball team was fantastic this year. |
Anonymous
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DJO is about more than just sports. Take a look at the DJO decisions page and you will see just as much of a focus on academics as at other area diocesan schools. There is a wide variety of academic offerings and a robust theater and arts program. That being said, in terms of extracurriculars, many of the kids do play a sport (whether it is one of the no-cut sports or highly competitive varsity teams) to earn their PE credit rather than taking PE as a class at school.
I do think that the size of the high schools is a larger differentiator, as BI is significantly smaller than DJO, which is smaller than PVI since it has moved to its larger campus. 3 of my 4 kids loved O’Connell, with disruptions during Covid playing a big role for the one who struggled more. |
Anonymous
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We know families at all three and all seem to be happy with their choice. DC considered two of them but ended up choosing an independent Catholic. IMO, they’re much more similar than different.
All three: 1. Have a wide variety of learners from excellent students who go to top colleges to average/ below average students. 2. Have many different activities that appeal to kids with a wide range of interests and have very good sports teams. DJO and PVI have stronger programs for DC’s sport but all three would provide opportunities for athletes. 3. Incorporate Catholicism into the curriculum. 4. Are large enough to have kids with a wide range of interests and do not appeal to only a specific type of kid. If geographically all three could work, I would visit and see what you think. But, unless something really stands out to you, I probably would focus on the school that is closest to you. |