Recommendations for parochial schools in Chevy Chase/Bethesda area?

[Anonymous]

I have a little boy who should start kindergarten in September 2009 and I'm trying to research schools early in hopes of actually avoiding the drama that was daycare/preschool wait lists...

I'm particularly interested in feedback on any of the Catholic schools in the Bethesda / Chevy Chase area. We are parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes, but haven't particularly bonded there and would be happy to find a nice parish with a good school. Can anyone offer any thoughts on the quality of the schools at: Little Flower parish; St. Jane de Chantal; or St. Bartholomew's? I'd love to hear positive or negative feedback.

Also, we're willing to travel a bit so if there are great parochial schools in any of the close neighborhoods (Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase, DC?? Holy Redeemer in Kensington??), please chime in.

Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

I'm a parishoner at St. Janes. I've heard nothing but good things about the school. I think we'll head to the public, Wyngate, but it's been a tough decision because both seem great. I attended the open house last year and was impressed. The class size is the only thing that gave me pause (its larger than in the publics). Those that attend say it works fine there.

[Anonymous]

Blessed Sacrament is very difficult to get into if you aren't a parishoner and the academics are average at best. Several friends have pulled their children out for other public and independent schools because they weren't learning as much as their friends at the local public elementary, Lafayette. The best Catholic is probably Holy Trinity in Georgetown, but that is likely too far for you.

[Anonymous]

I've had my kids attend both blessed sacrament and lafayette and hands down they prefer blessed sacrament. The Kindergarten isn't as rigorous as many public schools and is probably the academic gap that might be referred to. The student - teacher ratio though is maintained and guaranteed to be low. The classes in Lafayette have been growing in size over the last few years.

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

Woud Blessed Sacrament be a good for for an active boy?

[Anonymous]

We're very happy at Little Flower and have friends who are happy at St. Jane's which is bigger. We don't know anyone at St. Bart's or Blessed Sacrament (hear that is hard to get into - must be a parishioner). The schools all have a different "feel" that honestly is something that you need to figure out if it suits you personally. They all just finished a round of open houses but would probably send you info. I would plan to visit them all in the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We're very happy at Little Flower and have friends who are happy at St. Jane's which is bigger. We don't know anyone at St. Bart's or Blessed Sacrament (hear that is hard to get into - must be a parishioner). The schools all have a different "feel" that honestly is something that you need to figure out if it suits you personally. They all just finished a round of open houses but would probably send you info. I would plan to visit them all in the fall.

Do you have a boy or a girl at Little Flower? I really like Little Flower and Blessed Sacrament, but am worried about how my DS, who is active, would do in either school.

[Anonymous]

Blessed sacrament has relatively low number of siblings coming in next year in K so this is the year to try to get in as a non-parishoner or out of boundary parishoner. I think an active child will do great at the school but you need to tour/talk with school to make sure.

[Anonymous]

What do you mean by "active"? FWIW, catholic schools are still very traditional when it comes to classroom expectations. Many classrooms still have desks lined up in neat little rows whereas most public schools have desks organized like tables to facilitate more interaction and group learning. In catholic schools teachers can turn their backs on the kids to write on the board and old-school teachers tend to lecture rather than actively engage students one on one (FWIW -- before I am flamed -- I'm getting this from first-hand exerience as a product of local catholic schools k-12 as well as the parent of a kid in parochial school AND the sibling of a MCPS teacher with kids in catholic schools who has run down the line by line comparison with me ad naseum). We all know that catholic schools expect kids to act a certain way and actually follow through with disciplinary actions that public schools rarely bother with since they have their hands full with lots of kids with issues and ultimately cannot be selective in terms of students.

Finally, if "active" may translate into learning or behavior issues down the road, then public school would likely be your best bet since catholic schools cannot offer the myriad support services that MCPS can.

[Anonymous]

09:34 - Thank you for your response. It was really helpful.

[Anonymous]

I would NOT send any active child to Little Flower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would NOT send any active child to Little Flower.

From my visits of both schools, I got the sense that Little Flower was much more rigid (for lack of a better word) than Blessed Sacrament.

[Anonymous]

There have been many improvements at Little Flower - new basketball court/lovely playing field/effort to get and attract a variety of sports to the school through the CYO and t draw "active" boys. The academics and frankly the price are unbeatable. I think it is worth a second look.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're very happy at Little Flower and have friends who are happy at St. Jane's which is bigger. We don't know anyone at St. Bart's or Blessed Sacrament (hear that is hard to get into - must be a parishioner). The schools all have a different "feel" that honestly is something that you need to figure out if it suits you personally. They all just finished a round of open houses but would probably send you info. I would plan to visit them all in the fall.

Do you have a boy or a girl at Little Flower? I really like Little Flower and Blessed Sacrament, but am worried about how my DS, who is active, would do in either school.

I'm not that poster but I've had/had one of each at Little Flower with no concerns. The gym, outdoor space and amazing artificial turf field that's in use 24/7 are wonderful. They have great sports - basketball, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and the dads are really involved. But it's true as another poster said that it is a traditional Catholic school. Some teachers more so than others but overall there's a sense of orderliness and the way I see it, respect. And the kids do have fun! They just know that there is work to be done and they cannot be "active" at the expense of everyone else. I guess it all depends on one's definition of "active." I've heard that word used for kids (and I'm talking about my friends' kids so I don't mean this in a bad way!) when honestly I think a better word would be "impulsive" or I hate to say it possibly even "undisciplined." If a kid cannot control himself/herself in a group setting, a Catholic school (and a traditional one) probably isn't a good fit. These school are usually just too small compared to public schools to deal with "issues." There's a lot of classroom give and take but ultimately the teacher and the principal are the ones in charge. As parents I respect that and expect my kids to as well.

I'm sorry that 10:38 had such a bad experience/impression (not sure which) but that has not been my experience at all in the 8 years we've been there.