St. Leo's vs. St. Mark's

[Anonymous]

Hi!!

I am looking for an elementary school for my daughter. She has been accepted at St. Leo's (on Old Lee Highway, Fairfax). However, I have recently heard of St. Mark's (on Vale Road, Vienna) through this forum. Anyone care to comment on St. Leo's vs. St. Mark's? (In case you are wondering why these 2 schools, my husband and I work in DC, and these two schools happen to be en route to Vienna Metro.)

My primary concern is as follows: My daughter is young for her class, and I am looking for an academically-strong curriculum that is imparted in a warm, nurturing environment. This is our reason for not considering public school at this stage - the class-sizes are daunting.

TIA for your help.

[Anonymous]

Are you a parishioner at one or the other? Have you called St. Mark's to see if they even have room? Also, check the tuition rates as these vary among the Catholic schools and there is a difference at the parishioner level, non-parishioner but Catholic level and non-Catholic level. FYI my son goes to a Catholic elementary and while it is a warm environment the young ones in the class are still noticeable "young" because so many of the kids have late birthdays and are close to a full year older. It is not just an issue for the public schools.

[Anonymous]

Check out Our Lady of Good Counsel..right on your way and excellent school known for small class size.

[Anonymous]

St. Mark's does have room, for OLGC I will have to call back next week and see what the status is. At OLGC (I was told by the school) they have 30 students per class - even beyond public school - except they have a teacher and a full-time aide. St. Leo's class size is on par with public school at 26-28 students per class - but they have a part-time aide.

I did consider OLGC, but it is on the other end of Vienna - and we live in Chantilly.

[Anonymous]

There's also St. Timothy and St. Veronica in Chantilly. Most Catholic schools have 28-30 kids in the class at kindergarten and 1st grade with a teacher and aide in those classes. Class sizes get smaller as the kids get older.