Catholic School with Academic Rigor
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Anonymous
I would be careful about BS. The community can be quite small and insular. And although most go to the above named high schools, it is largely out of obligation and not because they are the most academically advanced kids. If you decide to apply/visit, definitely ask about the curriculum and how well their children do on the HSPT when applying to high school. It sounds like your child needs more stimulation and academic challenge to match his advanced abilities. For that reason, I would rule out BS. |
Anonymous
| *by obligation, I mean the Catholic high schools have a commitment to the feeder schools to carte blanche accept their students even if they tend to be on the mediocre side. Not a bad thing if you want a religious education from beginning to end but from those coming from the outside, don't expect this to be, for example, a school for gifted children. |
Anonymous
| Mater Dei |
Anonymous
That people don’t understand this is at the root of all the apparent confusion on this forum among many, who want the Catholic schools to offer them academic excellence and a lower price than secular alternatives. Catholic schools, especially those most often discussed here, are there to serve a community, not a narrow slice of the best students. They depend on the Catholic K8’s (parish based or independent) to provide them with an ongoing, year over year, stream of applicants. |
Anonymous
We had two boys go through Mater Dei. The benefited greatly from the experience. It wasn’t the academic “rigor” that helped them. The classes weren’t advanced. It was the insistence by the teachers that they do the work and absorb the material. The boys, for whatever reason, took direction from the male teachers better than they did the teachers at the parish or public schools they were in previously. There were fewer excuses accepted and eventually few excuses offered. |
Anonymous
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Catholic schools and academic rigor?
Math and Science lol no |
Anonymous
There you are! You’re late. We were worried you wouldn’t show and make your usual ignorant comment. Really inconsiderate to let us worry like that. |
Anonymous
|
Holy Child (Connelly School of the)
Georgetown Prep |
Anonymous
For OP's second grade boy? |
Anonymous
One must plan ahead. Find their feeders. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| Folks, Ward 4 is the eastern portion of NW DC. The northern part of the ward contains Shepherd Park and Takoma, and the southern part of the ward is Petworth. Commuting to Gonzaga or The Heights would be bonkers. By distance they’re 8-10 miles away, but city traffic on surface streets moves around 10-12 mph, even outside of rush hour. |
Anonymous
There is no such thing as a “Jesuit Catholicism, a Jesuit Catholic, or Jesuit Catholic values.” Not even the Jesuits would claim there is. If you don’t understand that, you’re missing the entire point of the Jesuit charism. |
Anonymous
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Many Catholic schools are wonderful for the average/typical child. Few Catholic schools really are setup to handle differentiation well (e.g., child ahead of grade or with LD challenges).
Choose the school very very carefully if DC is not typical in some dimension. And do not rely too much on DCUM’s opinions for this - visit several schools,, do shadow days if possible, and perform your own due diligence. |
Anonymous
| PPs comment fit Catholic schools of the 80s. Not the same today. It really depends on the school of the level of support that is needed. |