Annunciation Catholic School

[Anonymous]

I feel

[Anonymous]

I have been looking at the comments for the last day and I cannot believe what I'm reading. I am a current parent at Annunciation and I, as well as my child are happy. Has everything been perfect...No, but what is. Have I had issues, yes but I did what I needed to work them out. You can go somewhere else and everything may not be pleasant. I don't feel that the parent who likes the school is not a good Ambassador, but when you hear negative comments and you have a different experience you will react. I believe let everyone judge for themselves. Your experience may not be the next person's. Before we came there I heard things but what I heard I have yet to experience. Speaking of being competitive with other Catholic schools, they all have the same curriculum. Some may do a little more than others and some less. You speak of OLV, personally I didn't feel that it was a good fit for MY child, but for your child it may be. The work that they were doing my child's work was above that. Everyone is different. Whoever commented on behavior, that's not because of ACS that starts at home. Maybe discipline can be a little more strict but it's a work in progress, and I bet if it gets that way parents will complain about that. We have had our 8th graders get accepted to some of the top Catholic high schools and receive scholarships. All that I ask is if you're not happy that's fine and I wish you the best if you move on, but don't bash our school for your negative reasons. I wish you all the best.

[Anonymous]

From the admissions process on the website, it looks as if ACS accepts anyone. There appears to be no admissions testing just a visit and submission of transcripts and recommendations. Who do they not admit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From the admissions process on the website, it looks as if ACS accepts anyone. There appears to be no admissions testing just a visit and submission of transcripts and recommendations. Who do they not admit?

I don't think any archdiocesan k through 8 schools require testing

We looked at annunciation in 2005 or so and really liked it. We ended up not moving where we thought we would and had to go elsewhere. Maybe things have changed. Still is a nice parish. We've met some very nice and friendly people there when we go and get the donuts after the 1030 mass.

[Anonymous]

Ok, thanks.

[Anonymous]

A CURRENT ACS PARENT - this string of posts seemed to start with an innocent request which we have all likely made - can someone give any information on the experience at the school -- and has devolved into what seem to be very personal comments - calling each other bitter and hostile. For the orginal question posed, I will provide my experience and hope that it's helpful to you. We have two sons at ACS - one started in pre-k and the other started in K, and we've been there for two years. We chose Annunciation because the classes were wonderfully small in size, the teachers communicated their curricula to us on request, and I was very impressed at the maturity and poise of the upper grade kids we met. Since being there, we have become committed to the school- not because it's perfect in every single respect, but because our boys are thriving, there is a strong sense of community among the parents and at each turn where I have rasied a concern or question, it has been addressed or remedied immediately. As for academics, call me lax, but at ages 4 and 5 I didn't want our sons to endure testing in order to go to pre-k and K, or the pressures of being told whether they "got in" - I wanted them in an environment where their curiousity is nurtured and where they are academically challenged. At the end of pre-k, our youngest son was reading at an end of first grade/beginning of second grade level. Our older son has devoured his first grade math and his teacher recently told us a list of more challenging books and exercises to get for him. One of our sons has severe allergies, the teachers asked that I bring in the DVD on administering the Epi-Pen so that they could all be certain they knew precisely what to do if the need arose. May seem a small thing to many, demonstrates a level of caring that I very much appreciated (and yes, I know, cynics will say it's their job and they did it to protect agasint liability, but I still appreciated it!). ACS isn't perfect, I suspect there is not a single school that is. I also know, though, that even if a school doesn't work for one family, that doesn't make it a bad school. I also think that visiting these schools, with the comparison points that matter most to you for your family, is a far better indicator of whether you'll like a school for your child. When we checked out ACS, I not only spoke to parents during the open house, I followed up with parents whose kids would be in the same grade as mine - very informative. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A CURRENT ACS PARENT - this string of posts seemed to start with an innocent request which we have all likely made - can someone give any information on the experience at the school -- and has devolved into what seem to be very personal comments - calling each other bitter and hostile. For the orginal question posed, I will provide my experience and hope that it's helpful to you. We have two sons at ACS - one started in pre-k and the other started in K, and we've been there for two years. We chose Annunciation because the classes were wonderfully small in size, the teachers communicated their curricula to us on request, and I was very impressed at the maturity and poise of the upper grade kids we met. Since being there, we have become committed to the school- not because it's perfect in every single respect, but because our boys are thriving, there is a strong sense of community among the parents and at each turn where I have rasied a concern or question, it has been addressed or remedied immediately. As for academics, call me lax, but at ages 4 and 5 I didn't want our sons to endure testing in order to go to pre-k and K, or the pressures of being told whether they "got in" - I wanted them in an environment where their curiousity is nurtured and where they are academically challenged. At the end of pre-k, our youngest son was reading at an end of first grade/beginning of second grade level. Our older son has devoured his first grade math and his teacher recently told us a list of more challenging books and exercises to get for him. One of our sons has severe allergies, the teachers asked that I bring in the DVD on administering the Epi-Pen so that they could all be certain they knew precisely what to do if the need arose. May seem a small thing to many, demonstrates a level of caring that I very much appreciated (and yes, I know, cynics will say it's their job and they did it to protect agasint liability, but I still appreciated it!). ACS isn't perfect, I suspect there is not a single school that is. I also know, though, that even if a school doesn't work for one family, that doesn't make it a bad school. I also think that visiting these schools, with the comparison points that matter most to you for your family, is a far better indicator of whether you'll like a school for your child. When we checked out ACS, I not only spoke to parents during the open house, I followed up with parents whose kids would be in the same grade as mine - very informative. Good luck!

PP, you are at ACS during the best years (Pre-K - 1st grade), the academic slide and poor quality begins to sink in after that. We spent four years at the school and left for a high performing public school and next year private school. I realized after the first month in the public school how behind my kids were academically because of the poor foundation they had received at ACS. I found the curriculum, and perhaps it is just the Archdiocese school's early curriculum, mediocre. Thankfully my kids are caught up now but I regret the years wasted at ACS. I was glad to learn the school will be getting new leadership and wish the remaining families the best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A CURRENT ACS PARENT - this string of posts seemed to start with an innocent request which we have all likely made - can someone give any information on the experience at the school -- and has devolved into what seem to be very personal comments - calling each other bitter and hostile. For the orginal question posed, I will provide my experience and hope that it's helpful to you. We have two sons at ACS - one started in pre-k and the other started in K, and we've been there for two years. We chose Annunciation because the classes were wonderfully small in size, the teachers communicated their curricula to us on request, and I was very impressed at the maturity and poise of the upper grade kids we met. Since being there, we have become committed to the school- not because it's perfect in every single respect, but because our boys are thriving, there is a strong sense of community among the parents and at each turn where I have rasied a concern or question, it has been addressed or remedied immediately. As for academics, call me lax, but at ages 4 and 5 I didn't want our sons to endure testing in order to go to pre-k and K, or the pressures of being told whether they "got in" - I wanted them in an environment where their curiousity is nurtured and where they are academically challenged. At the end of pre-k, our youngest son was reading at an end of first grade/beginning of second grade level. Our older son has devoured his first grade math and his teacher recently told us a list of more challenging books and exercises to get for him. One of our sons has severe allergies, the teachers asked that I bring in the DVD on administering the Epi-Pen so that they could all be certain they knew precisely what to do if the need arose. May seem a small thing to many, demonstrates a level of caring that I very much appreciated (and yes, I know, cynics will say it's their job and they did it to protect agasint liability, but I still appreciated it!). ACS isn't perfect, I suspect there is not a single school that is. I also know, though, that even if a school doesn't work for one family, that doesn't make it a bad school. I also think that visiting these schools, with the comparison points that matter most to you for your family, is a far better indicator of whether you'll like a school for your child. When we checked out ACS, I not only spoke to parents during the open house, I followed up with parents whose kids would be in the same grade as mine - very informative. Good luck!

PP, you are at ACS during the best years (Pre-K - 1st grade), the academic slide and poor quality begins to sink in after that. We spent four years at the school and left for a high performing public school and next year private school. I realized after the first month in the public school how behind my kids were academically because of the poor foundation they had received at ACS. I found the curriculum, and perhaps it is just the Archdiocese school's early curriculum, mediocre. Thankfully my kids are caught up now but I regret the years wasted at ACS. I was glad to learn the school will be getting new leadership and wish the remaining families the best.

It very well may be the curriculum of the Archdiocese - because we ran into the same issue when we moved our child from Blessed Sacrament to a DCPS - way behind.

[Anonymous]

I was shocked when the math teacher at the publci school told me my child did not have a math foundation.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, meant "a solid math foundation." I needed outside tutoring to get DS caught up in math. The teacher DS had at ACS was terrible at math. My husband would complain about how she was teaching DS fractions. It made no sense at all.

[bhomes]

As a prospective parent, we were quite impressed with Annunciation. We watched the students using laptops and tablets in the classrooms. The community seems very internationally diverse. On the tour, the teachers were full of enthusiasm and happy to answer questions. One of the most satisfying parts of the school is the small class sizes. Because the class sizes are capped at 16 I feel that my children will be able to thrive with more individual attention. We are hoping to be accepted into this progressive community.

[Anonymous]

There is no such cap, not sure who told you that. There were 19-20 kids in my DS' 3rd grade class and an imbalance of boys. What progressive community? Please explain.

[Anonymous]

bhomes wrote:As a prospective parent, we were quite impressed with Annunciation. We watched the students using laptops and tablets in the classrooms. The community seems very internationally diverse. On the tour, the teachers were full of enthusiasm and happy to answer questions. One of the most satisfying parts of the school is the small class sizes. Because the class sizes are capped at 16 I feel that my children will be able to thrive with more individual attention. We are hoping to be accepted into this progressive community.

Are you sure you are talking about the same school? We are at Annunciation currently and calling it an international community is a stretch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From the admissions process on the website, it looks as if ACS accepts anyone. There appears to be no admissions testing just a visit and submission of transcripts and recommendations. Who do they not admit?

I don't think any archdiocesan k through 8 schools require testing

We looked at annunciation in 2005 or so and really liked it. We ended up not moving where we thought we would and had to go elsewhere. Maybe things have changed. Still is a nice parish. We've met some very nice and friendly people there when we go and get the donuts after the 1030 mass.

That's not exactly true, according to my experience.

My DS went through the Admissions Process in Holy Trinity, OLV and Annunciation.

Only at Annunciation was not requested testing.

[Anonymous]

I recall Annunciation had admissions testing when we applied for our child several years ago but stopped doing it for what reason I do not know except to avoid eliminating applicants.