Any update on St. Bart's?

[Anonymous]

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/schools/parents-community-rally-to-save-st-bartholomew-catholic-school-in-bethesda/

[Anonymous]

HI a 2 tier rate was mentioned earlier. The article states "Cahill said the group surveyed St. Bartholomew families to see what they would be willing to pay. It was about evenly divided between the old tuition level and the new one. Some will stay at the old rate for a “grandfathered year,” "

So after 1 year all will be at the new rate?

It seems half are staying at the old rate for a year will this be of concern re an exodus after a year?

the ADW also want to get enrollment to about 200 - it seems 160 is break even.

[Anonymous]

"...in an email to Bethesda Beat that 102 students have registered for next year out of 115 eligible for re-enrollment. Another 16 new students have enrolled so far." So that's 117. The pastor says they need to hit 160 to break even, and that's for next year, which is the only year the ADW has committed to keeping the school open. This is a tough spot to be in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Is there any talk among the parish about removing the pastor in seeking better management?

Look, I don't know the pastor personally, but he has a good reputation. His brother is a bishop and their dad was a prominent deacon. The diocesan system asks a lot of its pastors. They are in charge of the spiritual formation of their flock as well as administrative functions, including school management. Very few people have this large skill set. I think that the US is the only country in the world with parochial schools. Thank St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for that. In other countries, religious orders or more recently, lay groups, run schools.

Several other countries, including Canada, Spain, Italy, and Germany funnel public funds towards religious schools. Parents don't have to pay taxes for public schools AND pay additional huge funds for Catholic schools on top of that.

If you have a problem with the pastor's management, it's a US-wide problem, not a personal problem.

Amen. I thought the pastor and principal were a bit unfairly attacked in this forum previously.

There should have been a board in place years ago. Regardless, neither the pastor nor the principal communicated AT ALL about the fact that the school was on the brink of being closed. There was no warning. Families knew that numbers were low, but we had faith that the principal and admissions staff were on it.

This is untrue. Have you ever been to a State of the School address? The numbers have been available and it has been a major theme for the past several years that we had to get our numbers up. You are either not an involved parent or have had your head in the sand. Parents have been constantly reminded about the need to recruit friends, family and neighbors in order to keep our school afloat. It doesn’t take a genuine to do the math either. You know what you are paying in tuition...multiply that by the students in your children’s classes and you had no clue about a serious issue with a balance budget?

That's not fair at all. It really depends on how long you've been there. New families came in this year and were given no clue whatsoever. Even coming in last year, if you missed one state of the school address, you didn't know anything. It was never put in writing anywhere and never talked about publicly. If you weren't around the school a lot you didn't know. And also, why spend all that money on the renovation if they expected to close? That was very , very strange.

So true! And what's with the tuition shaming? Are you coming down hard on families who get financial aid, too? Or is it just the families who can't absorb a bump for multiple children with 9 weeks of warning? Be kind.

[Anonymous]

https://cathstan.org/news/local/editors-notebook-a-catholic-school-worth-celebrating-and-saving

[Anonymous]

Bump, any update now that the COVID crisis has hit?

[Anonymous]

No change due to COVID: School is open, planning for September opening just like everyone else. (Though small class sizes make it a little easier to deal with social distancing requirements.). I'm a St Bart's parent, and it really did a fantastic job with distance learning. And just had a sweet end-of-year car parade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No change due to COVID: School is open, planning for September opening just like everyone else. (Though small class sizes make it a little easier to deal with social distancing requirements.). I'm a St Bart's parent, and it really did a fantastic job with distance learning. And just had a sweet end-of-year car parade.

The class sizes will definitely be small enough--lots of kids are leaving and they have to recruit a LOT of students if they're going to be allowed to stay open after the 20/21 school year. That's tough given their tuition increase. Also, one of the star teachers is leaving for Landon.

I respectfully disagree with how they handled DL. Our experience was really bad. The music teacher kept singing songs from Song of the South on the weekly all-school calls.

[Anonymous]

Just wanted to say I learned so much from this thread.

I'm not a St. Bart's parent, but was/am seriously considering it for my LD DD. I've heard wonderful things, but the financial situation is giving me pause. We can't afford a regular private school and thought Catholic might be a more affordable way to go, if it was also a good fit for her.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this thread. Does anyone know if St. Bart’s has any openings? It is not clear from the website.

[Anonymous]

I called. They don't ha e openings for this year but are accepting for next year.

[Anonymous]

They are def full up and in person 5 days a week 8-12 noon plus a couple virtual specials in the afternoon. It’s been going great for our Pk and older kid.

[Anonymous]

I agree. St. Bart's has done a great job with being back to in-person.

[Anonymous]

I'm bumping this thread because we are thinking of applying to St. Barts this year. Any updates on whether the archdiocese is still considering closing them?

[Anonymous]

We're a parishioner but not in the school (because they had no spaces). I think ADW will not put the hammer down on any school this year given Covid.