Private school recommendations - living in Bowie and commuting to DC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share their experiences in detail about St. Pius in Bowie, St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, and/or Holy Trinity in Glenn Dale? My husband and I are trying to make a decision we’ve narrowed it down to these three schools. I’ve read a lot of things about these schools already and the reviews are mixed. We toured Holy Trinity (pre-COVID) and liked what we saw however Glenn Dale is out of the way for us and St. Pius and/or St. Mary’s will be a much better commute for us. While we are both working from home now due to COVID, however this won’t be our situation forever. I will drive into DC and my husband will drive into Vienna daily for work. We are still considering Holy Trinity because the other two are catholic schools and we aren’t catholic so to ensure we are keeping our options open, Holy Trinity remains on our list even though it’s out of the way.

Here is some additional background:
We live in Upper Marlboro right off 301.
Our son will be four by the start of the 2021-22 school year and we are looking into the pre-k4 program.
We are not catholic and our local elementary school is absolutely out of the question.

One of our concerns is that we are not catholic, I’d like to know how non-catholic families are treated at St. Pius and St. Mary’s? We are looking for a school that is welcoming and offers a solid education for our son. I heard St. Ambrose is an awesome school however we had to rule them out because they don’t offer before and aftercare which we will need.

We are asking for why you love or hate these schools. We know that we will have to apply starting at the end of January especially if we want to try and get into one of the catholic schools. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

St. Piux - if you’re ok with religion, their program is pretty solid.
St. Mary’s - heavily religious. A lot of mass and religion everyday. It was too much to not be Catholic.
Holy Trinity - I have first hand. We attended for PreK and elected not to re-enroll for K! The new head of the Daisy Lane school bought her own curriculum with her. Not impressed. Also, I should have known better when my son had to do a 45/1 hour assessment for admission. A joke! Wasn’t my cup of tea. For what it’s worth, we live in Upper Marlboro as well by Rosaryville. Not a lot to choose from. There is Excellence Christian school but you have to be able to stomach the classrooms with no windows. I could not!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School of the Incarnation in Gambrills is great, but it would add to your commute because it’s in more or less the opposite direction from DC.

St. Pius X is much closer, and given that their “openings” sign stays up all year does not seem likely to be hard to get into. It is a good school for average to slightly perhaps above average students. Really smart kids will have a lot of time on their hands, at least in the lower grades.

This. 100%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share their experiences in detail about St. Pius in Bowie, St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, and/or Holy Trinity in Glenn Dale? My husband and I are trying to make a decision we’ve narrowed it down to these three schools. I’ve read a lot of things about these schools already and the reviews are mixed. We toured Holy Trinity (pre-COVID) and liked what we saw however Glenn Dale is out of the way for us and St. Pius and/or St. Mary’s will be a much better commute for us. While we are both working from home now due to COVID, however this won’t be our situation forever. I will drive into DC and my husband will drive into Vienna daily for work. We are still considering Holy Trinity because the other two are catholic schools and we aren’t catholic so to ensure we are keeping our options open, Holy Trinity remains on our list even though it’s out of the way.

Here is some additional background:
We live in Upper Marlboro right off 301.
Our son will be four by the start of the 2021-22 school year and we are looking into the pre-k4 program.
We are not catholic and our local elementary school is absolutely out of the question.

One of our concerns is that we are not catholic, I’d like to know how non-catholic families are treated at St. Pius and St. Mary’s? We are looking for a school that is welcoming and offers a solid education for our son. I heard St. Ambrose is an awesome school however we had to rule them out because they don’t offer before and aftercare which we will need.

We are asking for why you love or hate these schools. We know that we will have to apply starting at the end of January especially if we want to try and get into one of the catholic schools. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

Not being Catholic will not be a problem at St. Pius, but your kid’s day will include prayers and Catholic religious instruction, as well as attendance at Catholic services. That’s part of it being a Catholic school. The Blessed Mother and Saints will be mentioned. As a PP observed, however, the greater question is academic fit. St. Pius is not the best place for really smart kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share their experiences in detail about St. Pius in Bowie, St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, and/or Holy Trinity in Glenn Dale? My husband and I are trying to make a decision we’ve narrowed it down to these three schools. I’ve read a lot of things about these schools already and the reviews are mixed. We toured Holy Trinity (pre-COVID) and liked what we saw however Glenn Dale is out of the way for us and St. Pius and/or St. Mary’s will be a much better commute for us. While we are both working from home now due to COVID, however this won’t be our situation forever. I will drive into DC and my husband will drive into Vienna daily for work. We are still considering Holy Trinity because the other two are catholic schools and we aren’t catholic so to ensure we are keeping our options open, Holy Trinity remains on our list even though it’s out of the way.

Here is some additional background:
We live in Upper Marlboro right off 301.
Our son will be four by the start of the 2021-22 school year and we are looking into the pre-k4 program.
We are not catholic and our local elementary school is absolutely out of the question.

One of our concerns is that we are not catholic, I’d like to know how non-catholic families are treated at St. Pius and St. Mary’s? We are looking for a school that is welcoming and offers a solid education for our son. I heard St. Ambrose is an awesome school however we had to rule them out because they don’t offer before and aftercare which we will need.

We are asking for why you love or hate these schools. We know that we will have to apply starting at the end of January especially if we want to try and get into one of the catholic schools. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

Not being Catholic will not be a problem at St. Pius, but your kid’s day will include prayers and Catholic religious instruction, as well as attendance at Catholic services. That’s part of it being a Catholic school. The Blessed Mother and Saints will be mentioned. As a PP observed, however, the greater question is academic fit. St. Pius is not the best place for really smart kids.

I dont really understand the parochial school thing if you arent Catholic. While I would send my kid to a private school for a more classic education during middle and high school (if necessary), I absolutely would not send my preschool and elementary school kid to a parochial school with heavy Catholic/religious instruction. I have my almost 3 year old at St. Matthews, which has been mentioned a few other times. We love it. It is in a Methodist church but there is no religious instruction/mass/indoctrination. We will be staying for 3 years since my son wont be 5 until January of 2023, so he will enter K in August of 2023. Its an accredited early education center. https://www.stmatthewseec.org/our-program The programs are also competitive compared to the cost of daycares in the surrounding area, and have before/after care options along with pre-K and K.

I havent heard mixed reviews for St. Matthews, only good things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share their experiences in detail about St. Pius in Bowie, St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, and/or Holy Trinity in Glenn Dale? My husband and I are trying to make a decision we’ve narrowed it down to these three schools. I’ve read a lot of things about these schools already and the reviews are mixed. We toured Holy Trinity (pre-COVID) and liked what we saw however Glenn Dale is out of the way for us and St. Pius and/or St. Mary’s will be a much better commute for us. While we are both working from home now due to COVID, however this won’t be our situation forever. I will drive into DC and my husband will drive into Vienna daily for work. We are still considering Holy Trinity because the other two are catholic schools and we aren’t catholic so to ensure we are keeping our options open, Holy Trinity remains on our list even though it’s out of the way.

Here is some additional background:
We live in Upper Marlboro right off 301.
Our son will be four by the start of the 2021-22 school year and we are looking into the pre-k4 program.
We are not catholic and our local elementary school is absolutely out of the question.

One of our concerns is that we are not catholic, I’d like to know how non-catholic families are treated at St. Pius and St. Mary’s? We are looking for a school that is welcoming and offers a solid education for our son. I heard St. Ambrose is an awesome school however we had to rule them out because they don’t offer before and aftercare which we will need.

We are asking for why you love or hate these schools. We know that we will have to apply starting at the end of January especially if we want to try and get into one of the catholic schools. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

Not being Catholic will not be a problem at St. Pius, but your kid’s day will include prayers and Catholic religious instruction, as well as attendance at Catholic services. That’s part of it being a Catholic school. The Blessed Mother and Saints will be mentioned. As a PP observed, however, the greater question is academic fit. St. Pius is not the best place for really smart kids.

I dont really understand the parochial school thing if you arent Catholic. While I would send my kid to a private school for a more classic education during middle and high school (if necessary), I absolutely would not send my preschool and elementary school kid to a parochial school with heavy Catholic/religious instruction. I have my almost 3 year old at St. Matthews, which has been mentioned a few other times. We love it. It is in a Methodist church but there is no religious instruction/mass/indoctrination. We will be staying for 3 years since my son wont be 5 until January of 2023, so he will enter K in August of 2023. Its an accredited early education center. https://www.stmatthewseec.org/our-program The programs are also competitive compared to the cost of daycares in the surrounding area, and have before/after care options along with pre-K and K.

I havent heard mixed reviews for St. Matthews, only good things.

I agree. St. Matthews has a good kindergarten program. I could stomach Catholic for high school because kids can have the understanding of what applied to them or not. Elementary age I would do. St. Mary’s will tell you their school has the most actual Catholics in the area with 90% students being catholic and the staff.

[Anonymous]

Maybe the public schools are underwhelming because the wealthy people keep dodging them for privates, rather than fighting for and investing in their community schools. There’s no shortage of wealthy families living in Bowie and Annapolis, yet there is a major shortage of them enrolled in the public schools relative to their presence in the neighborhoods themselves. Most private schools in Anne Arundel County are mediocre anyways. Some even have lower SAT averages than many of the publics in AA County and probably PG County, and the list of colleges that the graduates go to at most of the AA privates are very underwhelming as well. Imagine paying all that tuition for Spalding or Indian Creek just for your kid to go to AACC, Towson, or Salisbury. Those privates weren’t made for families who value education. They were made for the kids of rich white business owners and CEOs who are not very educated themselves and live in giant waterfront homes. They were made for the population that is simply afraid of ethnic minorities and poor kids.

[Anonymous]

Elementary would NOT do was what I was saying

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the public schools are underwhelming because the wealthy people keep dodging them for privates, rather than fighting for and investing in their community schools. There’s no shortage of wealthy families living in Bowie and Annapolis, yet there is a major shortage of them enrolled in the public schools relative to their presence in the neighborhoods themselves. Most private schools in Anne Arundel County are mediocre anyways. Some even have lower SAT averages than many of the publics in AA County and probably PG County, and the list of colleges that the graduates go to at most of the AA privates are very underwhelming as well. Imagine paying all that tuition for Spalding or Indian Creek just for your kid to go to AACC, Towson, or Salisbury. Those privates weren’t made for families who value education. They were made for the kids of rich white business owners and CEOs who are not very educated themselves and live in giant waterfront homes. They were made for the population that is simply afraid of ethnic minorities and poor kids.

I’m sorry, what’s your point? You did not answer the posters question. People choose private for different reasons. I agree, at the high school level the public can be better in college output. However people don’t choose private for that alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the public schools are underwhelming because the wealthy people keep dodging them for privates, rather than fighting for and investing in their community schools. There’s no shortage of wealthy families living in Bowie and Annapolis, yet there is a major shortage of them enrolled in the public schools relative to their presence in the neighborhoods themselves. Most private schools in Anne Arundel County are mediocre anyways. Some even have lower SAT averages than many of the publics in AA County and probably PG County, and the list of colleges that the graduates go to at most of the AA privates are very underwhelming as well. Imagine paying all that tuition for Spalding or Indian Creek just for your kid to go to AACC, Towson, or Salisbury. Those privates weren’t made for families who value education. They were made for the kids of rich white business owners and CEOs who are not very educated themselves and live in giant waterfront homes. They were made for the population that is simply afraid of ethnic minorities and poor kids.

I’m sorry, what’s your point? You did not answer the posters question. People choose private for different reasons. I agree, at the high school level the public can be better in college output. However people don’t choose private for that alone.

You’re right, they choose it to keep their kids away from poor kids and minorities or do religiously indoctrinate their children, because why else would they send their kids to some mediocre private school where more than a quarter of the kids end up at the community college? An Annapolis private full of beach bum families who have money from a business is far more underwhelming than most of the public schools around here.

The name attached to OP’s post is easily searchable, and she’s a white, seemingly well-off attorney at the US Department of Education. Can’t believe someone who works in such a position would make snap judgements about schools she has probably never visited. She should know better of all people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share their experiences in detail about St. Pius in Bowie, St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, and/or Holy Trinity in Glenn Dale? My husband and I are trying to make a decision we’ve narrowed it down to these three schools. I’ve read a lot of things about these schools already and the reviews are mixed. We toured Holy Trinity (pre-COVID) and liked what we saw however Glenn Dale is out of the way for us and St. Pius and/or St. Mary’s will be a much better commute for us. While we are both working from home now due to COVID, however this won’t be our situation forever. I will drive into DC and my husband will drive into Vienna daily for work. We are still considering Holy Trinity because the other two are catholic schools and we aren’t catholic so to ensure we are keeping our options open, Holy Trinity remains on our list even though it’s out of the way.

Here is some additional background:
We live in Upper Marlboro right off 301.
Our son will be four by the start of the 2021-22 school year and we are looking into the pre-k4 program.
We are not catholic and our local elementary school is absolutely out of the question.

One of our concerns is that we are not catholic, I’d like to know how non-catholic families are treated at St. Pius and St. Mary’s? We are looking for a school that is welcoming and offers a solid education for our son. I heard St. Ambrose is an awesome school however we had to rule them out because they don’t offer before and aftercare which we will need.

We are asking for why you love or hate these schools. We know that we will have to apply starting at the end of January especially if we want to try and get into one of the catholic schools. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

Not being Catholic will not be a problem at St. Pius, but your kid’s day will include prayers and Catholic religious instruction, as well as attendance at Catholic services. That’s part of it being a Catholic school. The Blessed Mother and Saints will be mentioned. As a PP observed, however, the greater question is academic fit. St. Pius is not the best place for really smart kids.

I dont really understand the parochial school thing if you arent Catholic. While I would send my kid to a private school for a more classic education during middle and high school (if necessary), I absolutely would not send my preschool and elementary school kid to a parochial school with heavy Catholic/religious instruction. I have my almost 3 year old at St. Matthews, which has been mentioned a few other times. We love it. It is in a Methodist church but there is no religious instruction/mass/indoctrination. We will be staying for 3 years since my son wont be 5 until January of 2023, so he will enter K in August of 2023. Its an accredited early education center. https://www.stmatthewseec.org/our-program The programs are also competitive compared to the cost of daycares in the surrounding area, and have before/after care options along with pre-K and K.

I havent heard mixed reviews for St. Matthews, only good things.

Thank you for your input. Here’s the thing, in PG County the only private school options are schools that are faith based. While there is one private school (Friends Community School) that is not faith based, they are located on the opposite side of PG and too far out of the way. So while we would love the option not to send our child to a parochial school, our options are limited. I’ve heard great things about St. Matthews as well but we are looking for a K-8 school. I don’t want to have to send our child to one school for kindergarten then another for elementary, middle etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can anyone share their experiences in detail about St. Pius in Bowie, St. Mary of the Assumption in Upper Marlboro, and/or Holy Trinity in Glenn Dale? My husband and I are trying to make a decision we’ve narrowed it down to these three schools. I’ve read a lot of things about these schools already and the reviews are mixed. We toured Holy Trinity (pre-COVID) and liked what we saw however Glenn Dale is out of the way for us and St. Pius and/or St. Mary’s will be a much better commute for us. While we are both working from home now due to COVID, however this won’t be our situation forever. I will drive into DC and my husband will drive into Vienna daily for work. We are still considering Holy Trinity because the other two are catholic schools and we aren’t catholic so to ensure we are keeping our options open, Holy Trinity remains on our list even though it’s out of the way.

Here is some additional background:
We live in Upper Marlboro right off 301.
Our son will be four by the start of the 2021-22 school year and we are looking into the pre-k4 program.
We are not catholic and our local elementary school is absolutely out of the question.

One of our concerns is that we are not catholic, I’d like to know how non-catholic families are treated at St. Pius and St. Mary’s? We are looking for a school that is welcoming and offers a solid education for our son. I heard St. Ambrose is an awesome school however we had to rule them out because they don’t offer before and aftercare which we will need.

We are asking for why you love or hate these schools. We know that we will have to apply starting at the end of January especially if we want to try and get into one of the catholic schools. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, thank you so much in advance!

St. Piux - if you’re ok with religion, their program is pretty solid.
St. Mary’s - heavily religious. A lot of mass and religion everyday. It was too much to not be Catholic.
Holy Trinity - I have first hand. We attended for PreK and elected not to re-enroll for K! The new head of the Daisy Lane school bought her own curriculum with her. Not impressed. Also, I should have known better when my son had to do a 45/1 hour assessment for admission. A joke! Wasn’t my cup of tea. For what it’s worth, we live in Upper Marlboro as well by Rosaryville. Not a lot to choose from. There is Excellence Christian school but you have to be able to stomach the classrooms with no windows. I could not!

This information is exactly what we are looking for. Thank you so much for your feedback! I also 100% agree with you regarding Excellence Christian School. There is no way we can stomach sending our child to a school where classrooms have no windows.

[Anonymous]

Ah gotta love when a DCUM thread turns woke. Look at all schools but (last time I checked) it’s still a free country. Pick the school that works for your kid. I went to public school in another state and I bought that whole everyone should do public b.s. - until kids went to public in Maryland (MCPS). What an utter s**show. Now private and homeschool. To answer your question - a woman I worked with swore by Holy Trinity. She said the campus and kids were great. Child is still there. Kid was wicked smart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe the public schools are underwhelming because the wealthy people keep dodging them for privates, rather than fighting for and investing in their community schools. There’s no shortage of wealthy families living in Bowie and Annapolis, yet there is a major shortage of them enrolled in the public schools relative to their presence in the neighborhoods themselves. Most private schools in Anne Arundel County are mediocre anyways. Some even have lower SAT averages than many of the publics in AA County and probably PG County, and the list of colleges that the graduates go to at most of the AA privates are very underwhelming as well. Imagine paying all that tuition for Spalding or Indian Creek just for your kid to go to AACC, Towson, or Salisbury. Those privates weren’t made for families who value education. They were made for the kids of rich white business owners and CEOs who are not very educated themselves and live in giant waterfront homes. They were made for the population that is simply afraid of ethnic minorities and poor kids.

I’m sorry, what’s your point? You did not answer the posters question. People choose private for different reasons. I agree, at the high school level the public can be better in college output. However people don’t choose private for that alone.

You’re right, they choose it to keep their kids away from poor kids and minorities or do religiously indoctrinate their children, because why else would they send their kids to some mediocre private school where more than a quarter of the kids end up at the community college? An Annapolis private full of beach bum families who have money from a business is far more underwhelming than most of the public schools around here.

The name attached to OP’s post is easily searchable, and she’s a white, seemingly well-off attorney at the US Department of Education. Can’t believe someone who works in such a position would make snap judgements about schools she has probably never visited. She should know better of all people.

Do you have kids? Where are they in school? Since you called out op you should at least self identify. So if she was black and poor she’s allowed to go private, then? Pg county has failed its students for decades due to mismanagement and poor leadership. It’s on the leaders to turn around the school system and get parents to opt back in, stop blaming parents for things beyond their control, and asking them to use their kids as guinea pigs.

[Anonymous]

We have a lot of friends with kids at St. Ambrose in Cheverly. They all seem happy with the choice. Although there are a lot of Cheverly kids there, there are also a lot of kids who come in from Bowie so you might be able to carpool
It would be right on your way into DC though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you have kids? Where are they in school? Since you called out op you should at least self identify. So if she was black and poor she’s allowed to go private, then? Pg county has failed its students for decades due to mismanagement and poor leadership. It’s on the leaders to turn around the school system and get parents to opt back in, stop blaming parents for things beyond their control, and asking them to use their kids as guinea pigs.

If you feel so strongly about PG schools and are a PG resident, then fight for change instead of dodging the publics for privates. You pay for those public schools, and no school ever turned around when the wealthy residents in the community abandoned them. I always hear about all these wealthy people in PG and Annapolis sending their kids to privates, and it always makes me wonder how different these schools would be if these parents sent their kids to public and actually advocated for change. Improving the public schools not only benefits people of all incomes, but it will improve your property values as well. Bowie would have some of the highest-performing schools in the state if wealthy families (regardless of their race) enrolled their kids and advocated for change in them.

And again, as horrible as PG might be, the privates around here are even worse. Annapolis area privates weren’t designed to be rigorous and intellectually stimulating. They were designed as an escape for white people who don’t want to send their kids to school with minorities. Private school enrollment in Anne Arundel County jumped and many new privates opened when legally mandated segregation ended.

OP is willing to make all these sweeping generalizations about Bowie schools without even talking to anyone who sent their kids to them or conversing with the staff at the school, yet she is willing to embrace these mediocre privates with $35k/year tuitions without second thought.