Name the best Catholic Middle School in MoCo

[Anonymous]

Looking for caring, experienced teachers, reasonable workload, and a good sense of school community. Extracurriculars beyond sports would also be a plus.

[Anonymous]

Where do you live?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t say there is one that is far outstanding above the rest. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Tell us the closest ones to you for specifics. There is not one particular one worth driving across the county for.

[Anonymous]

We are between Kensington and Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t say there is one that is far outstanding above the rest. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Tell us the closest ones to you for specifics. There is not one particular one worth driving across the county for.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are between Kensington and Silver Spring.

What’s your actual parish?

Which schools/parishes are closest to you?

Factor in not only the commute, but social groups/play dates, etc.

Name the schools and people can provide actual feedback.

If you are in Kensington, presumably Holy Redeemer is your parish.

[Anonymous]

Assuming you are looking at Parish schools and not independent Catholic schools? Is this for a boy or a girl?

[Anonymous]

It's for a boy and we're not Catholic, though husband attended Catholic schools growing up. So we're not affiliated with a particular parish.

[Anonymous]

If you're considering parish schools, then just lookup the schools nearest you and then see what, if anything, people have posted here about them.

[Anonymous]

It's pretty niche, but you can look into Avalon, which is all boys and goes through high school. Otherwise, the closest parish schools are probably Holy Redeemer or Holy Cross depending on where you are exactly. Holy Redeemer seems to have pretty good high school outcomes for students. St. John Evangelist and St. Bernadette's are other options in Silver Spring.

[Anonymous]

Holy Cross Garrett Park.

[Anonymous]

Recommend you consider The Heights School in Potomac.

[Anonymous]

Hello OP, I feel like people are just starting to list random Catholic schools in the area so perhaps it would be helpful if you share more details about your criteria. You specified Catholic middle school for a boy, but you're not Catholic. Does that mean you want an all-boys environment or are you open to co-ed? Are you looking at Catholic because of the relative affordability compared to independent schools? If that's the case, your best bets are probably some of parish schools mentioned, which tend to be more affordable though they may not all be as as strong when it comes to academic reputation.

Also, how far are you willing to travel and what's a reasonable commute for you?

[Anonymous]

I would not recommend The Heights for a non-Catholic.

[Anonymous]

For a non-Catholic this isn't going to be as easy as finding and selecting a school you like and then have your DCS attend.

Finding a spot may be difficult at the more desirable schools.

The schools have priorities. They will admit parishioners first and other Catholics second.

Schools like Holy Redeemer in Kensington have large parishes and lots of children of parishioners that go there.

The more desirable the school, the harder it is to get admitted.