Catholic Schools

[Anonymous]

Listen to your gut OP, but also consider does your DD know any girls in the Catholic school? Transitioning socially can be a little tough, but people do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

We moved our kids away from FCPS and into Catholic schools for mostly the same reason: a combination of increasingly disorganized and subpar academic instruction and a political focus on kooky left-wing wokeness; the issues are related, as the time/effort/resources that are focused on wokeness detract from the core academics which are supposed to be the focus. We were also uncomfortable with a lot of the political nonsense that has been introduced in schools.

Our children--ranging from young elementary to high school teenagers--are all in Catholic school now, and we are so glad that we made the switch! We could never go back to the government-run-like-the-DMV public school after experiencing a true school community with teachers and a school administration that are responsive to parents and actually focused on education. The main difference is the basic approach of Catholic schools wherein they say "Parents are the primary educators of their children; we partner with parents to educate their children." To the extent that non-academic issues are discussed at all, it's all based on basic Christian values and all very age appropriate. Of course, it also helps that disruptive and disrespectful students are not tolerated, which makes for a safer and more enjoyable learning experience for all. We have also been relieved that the Catholic schools in this area use much less "electronic babysitting" (i.e., screen-time) for students and still use textbooks rather than sending students online for everything like we were seeing in public school.

For the record, my wife and I both grew up attending public school, and neither one of us thought that our children would ever attend private school. But honestly, the Catholic schools of 2022 remind me of what public school back in the 1980s/1990s used to be like -- a focus on academics, no political indoctrination in school, and a respect for parents when it came to teaching values.

It's a bit late in the summer to try to make the switch --- back when we switched, we had to really work hard to find schools with openings. Good luck with your decision and I hope it works out for you.

[Anonymous]

^^^
Thank you to the above poster. That feedback is very helpful. I never thought I’d send my kid to a private school, let alone a Catholic one, but I disagree with the focus on sexual identity at our local public school.

[Anonymous]

I had both my DC in Catholic schools grades k-8. I am going to caution that all Catholic high schools are alike. My daughter attended one her freshman year and the misogynistic behavior was appalling. She is transferring to our public school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had both my DC in Catholic schools grades k-8. I am going to caution that all Catholic high schools are alike. My daughter attended one her freshman year and the misogynistic behavior was appalling. She is transferring to our public school.

Should have read “not all” Catholic schools are alike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

LOL how exactly are MCPS "focusing on LGBTQ people this summer?"

Dude the whole MCPS social studies k-8 unit got revamped by LGBTQIA2+ and BLM activists. Check out the worksheets and the copyright groups on the bottom. Mass confusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

We moved our kids away from FCPS and into Catholic schools for mostly the same reason: a combination of increasingly disorganized and subpar academic instruction and a political focus on kooky left-wing wokeness; the issues are related, as the time/effort/resources that are focused on wokeness detract from the core academics which are supposed to be the focus. We were also uncomfortable with a lot of the political nonsense that has been introduced in schools.

Our children--ranging from young elementary to high school teenagers--are all in Catholic school now, and we are so glad that we made the switch! We could never go back to the government-run-like-the-DMV public school after experiencing a true school community with teachers and a school administration that are responsive to parents and actually focused on education. The main difference is the basic approach of Catholic schools wherein they say "Parents are the primary educators of their children; we partner with parents to educate their children." To the extent that non-academic issues are discussed at all, it's all based on basic Christian values and all very age appropriate. Of course, it also helps that disruptive and disrespectful students are not tolerated, which makes for a safer and more enjoyable learning experience for all. We have also been relieved that the Catholic schools in this area use much less "electronic babysitting" (i.e., screen-time) for students and still use textbooks rather than sending students online for everything like we were seeing in public school.

For the record, my wife and I both grew up attending public school, and neither one of us thought that our children would ever attend private school. But honestly, the Catholic schools of 2022 remind me of what public school back in the 1980s/1990s used to be like -- a focus on academics, no political indoctrination in school, and a respect for parents when it came to teaching values.

It's a bit late in the summer to try to make the switch --- back when we switched, we had to really work hard to find schools with openings. Good luck with your decision and I hope it works out for you.

Good to hear. Noticed the same thing on tours and talks last spring in Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cue the anti-Catholic crowd.

If it makes you feel better we could rename it the anti-hypocrisy crowd?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cue the anti-Catholic crowd.

If it makes you feel better we could rename it the anti-hypocrisy crowd?

Sure, if I makes you feel better than being more accurately named a bigot. But you’d still be a bigot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

We moved our kids away from FCPS and into Catholic schools for mostly the same reason: a combination of increasingly disorganized and subpar academic instruction and a political focus on kooky left-wing wokeness; the issues are related, as the time/effort/resources that are focused on wokeness detract from the core academics which are supposed to be the focus. We were also uncomfortable with a lot of the political nonsense that has been introduced in schools.

Our children--ranging from young elementary to high school teenagers--are all in Catholic school now, and we are so glad that we made the switch! We could never go back to the government-run-like-the-DMV public school after experiencing a true school community with teachers and a school administration that are responsive to parents and actually focused on education. The main difference is the basic approach of Catholic schools wherein they say "Parents are the primary educators of their children; we partner with parents to educate their children." To the extent that non-academic issues are discussed at all, it's all based on basic Christian values and all very age appropriate. Of course, it also helps that disruptive and disrespectful students are not tolerated, which makes for a safer and more enjoyable learning experience for all. We have also been relieved that the Catholic schools in this area use much less "electronic babysitting" (i.e., screen-time) for students and still use textbooks rather than sending students online for everything like we were seeing in public school.

For the record, my wife and I both grew up attending public school, and neither one of us thought that our children would ever attend private school. But honestly, the Catholic schools of 2022 remind me of what public school back in the 1980s/1990s used to be like -- a focus on academics, no political indoctrination in school, and a respect for parents when it came to teaching values.

It's a bit late in the summer to try to make the switch --- back when we switched, we had to really work hard to find schools with openings. Good luck with your decision and I hope it works out for you.

I say this all the time. I also never thought I’d send my kids to catholic school when we moved back to NoVA. But they were the best choice in the last couple of locations we had lived in, so we decided to keep it up when we came here. I’m so grateful we did. It is much more similar to the education I got than what they’d get otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

We moved our kids away from FCPS and into Catholic schools for mostly the same reason: a combination of increasingly disorganized and subpar academic instruction and a political focus on kooky left-wing wokeness; the issues are related, as the time/effort/resources that are focused on wokeness detract from the core academics which are supposed to be the focus. We were also uncomfortable with a lot of the political nonsense that has been introduced in schools.

Our children--ranging from young elementary to high school teenagers--are all in Catholic school now, and we are so glad that we made the switch! We could never go back to the government-run-like-the-DMV public school after experiencing a true school community with teachers and a school administration that are responsive to parents and actually focused on education. The main difference is the basic approach of Catholic schools wherein they say "Parents are the primary educators of their children; we partner with parents to educate their children." To the extent that non-academic issues are discussed at all, it's all based on basic Christian values and all very age appropriate. Of course, it also helps that disruptive and disrespectful students are not tolerated, which makes for a safer and more enjoyable learning experience for all. We have also been relieved that the Catholic schools in this area use much less "electronic babysitting" (i.e., screen-time) for students and still use textbooks rather than sending students online for everything like we were seeing in public school.

For the record, my wife and I both grew up attending public school, and neither one of us thought that our children would ever attend private school. But honestly, the Catholic schools of 2022 remind me of what public school back in the 1980s/1990s used to be like -- a focus on academics, no political indoctrination in school, and a respect for parents when it came to teaching values.

It's a bit late in the summer to try to make the switch --- back when we switched, we had to really work hard to find schools with openings. Good luck with your decision and I hope it works out for you.

I say this all the time. I also never thought I’d send my kids to catholic school when we moved back to NoVA. But they were the best choice in the last couple of locations we had lived in, so we decided to keep it up when we came here. I’m so grateful we did. It is much more similar to the education I got than what they’d get otherwise.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cue the anti-Catholic crowd.

If it makes you feel better we could rename it the anti-hypocrisy crowd?

Sure, if I makes you feel better than being more accurately named a bigot. But you’d still be a bigot.

Being against hypocrisy is not bigoted

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cue the anti-Catholic crowd.

If it makes you feel better we could rename it the anti-hypocrisy crowd?

Sure, if I makes you feel better than being more accurately named a bigot. But you’d still be a bigot.

Being against hypocrisy is not bigoted

I’m with you in this, but I’m a hypocrite myself. I hate admitting it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

We moved our kids away from FCPS and into Catholic schools for mostly the same reason: a combination of increasingly disorganized and subpar academic instruction and a political focus on kooky left-wing wokeness; the issues are related, as the time/effort/resources that are focused on wokeness detract from the core academics which are supposed to be the focus. We were also uncomfortable with a lot of the political nonsense that has been introduced in schools.

Our children--ranging from young elementary to high school teenagers--are all in Catholic school now, and we are so glad that we made the switch! We could never go back to the government-run-like-the-DMV public school after experiencing a true school community with teachers and a school administration that are responsive to parents and actually focused on education. The main difference is the basic approach of Catholic schools wherein they say "Parents are the primary educators of their children; we partner with parents to educate their children." To the extent that non-academic issues are discussed at all, it's all based on basic Christian values and all very age appropriate. Of course, it also helps that disruptive and disrespectful students are not tolerated, which makes for a safer and more enjoyable learning experience for all. We have also been relieved that the Catholic schools in this area use much less "electronic babysitting" (i.e., screen-time) for students and still use textbooks rather than sending students online for everything like we were seeing in public school.

For the record, my wife and I both grew up attending public school, and neither one of us thought that our children would ever attend private school. But honestly, the Catholic schools of 2022 remind me of what public school back in the 1980s/1990s used to be like -- a focus on academics, no political indoctrination in school, and a respect for parents when it came to teaching values.

It's a bit late in the summer to try to make the switch --- back when we switched, we had to really work hard to find schools with openings. Good luck with your decision and I hope it works out for you.

I say this all the time. I also never thought I’d send my kids to catholic school when we moved back to NoVA. But they were the best choice in the last couple of locations we had lived in, so we decided to keep it up when we came here. I’m so grateful we did. It is much more similar to the education I got than what they’d get otherwise.

I went to Catholic schools in the 70s and 80s from first to twelfth grades. I stopped going to church in my 20s and never thought I would send my kids to Catholic schools. But slowly as an adult I realized the importance of the values instilled and the strength of the education I received. I've come full circle and now I'm all in on Catholic schools for my son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering sending our daughter to a Catholic school for middle school. We had planned on MCPS but are concerned with the subject matter they are focusing on this summer. I have no issue with LGBTQ people or their rights but as a parent, I feel that these types of discussions are my role to frame and discuss at home, not at school, and especially not with preteens. How are the Catholic schools handling these issues?
Also, academically how do they challenge students who need enrichment?

We moved our kids away from FCPS and into Catholic schools for mostly the same reason: a combination of increasingly disorganized and subpar academic instruction and a political focus on kooky left-wing wokeness; the issues are related, as the time/effort/resources that are focused on wokeness detract from the core academics which are supposed to be the focus. We were also uncomfortable with a lot of the political nonsense that has been introduced in schools.

Our children--ranging from young elementary to high school teenagers--are all in Catholic school now, and we are so glad that we made the switch! We could never go back to the government-run-like-the-DMV public school after experiencing a true school community with teachers and a school administration that are responsive to parents and actually focused on education. The main difference is the basic approach of Catholic schools wherein they say "Parents are the primary educators of their children; we partner with parents to educate their children." To the extent that non-academic issues are discussed at all, it's all based on basic Christian values and all very age appropriate. Of course, it also helps that disruptive and disrespectful students are not tolerated, which makes for a safer and more enjoyable learning experience for all. We have also been relieved that the Catholic schools in this area use much less "electronic babysitting" (i.e., screen-time) for students and still use textbooks rather than sending students online for everything like we were seeing in public school.

For the record, my wife and I both grew up attending public school, and neither one of us thought that our children would ever attend private school. But honestly, the Catholic schools of 2022 remind me of what public school back in the 1980s/1990s used to be like -- a focus on academics, no political indoctrination in school, and a respect for parents when it came to teaching values.

It's a bit late in the summer to try to make the switch --- back when we switched, we had to really work hard to find schools with openings. Good luck with your decision and I hope it works out for you.

I say this all the time. I also never thought I’d send my kids to catholic school when we moved back to NoVA. But they were the best choice in the last couple of locations we had lived in, so we decided to keep it up when we came here. I’m so grateful we did. It is much more similar to the education I got than what they’d get otherwise.

I went to Catholic schools in the 70s and 80s from first to twelfth grades. I stopped going to church in my 20s and never thought I would send my kids to Catholic schools. But slowly as an adult I realized the importance of the values instilled and the strength of the education I received. I've come full circle and now I'm all in on Catholic schools for my son.

I must be the fourth person to chime in that we’re not Catholic, but sent our kids to both Catholic and Episcopal schools. The Episcopal schools tend to be what one might call “woke,” but not at the expense of challenging academics. I think Presbyterian, Quaker, and Jewish schools are the same. They all hold kids to high standards, enforce discipline, and focus on social / emotional learning and values / ethics, typically with respect for those who are not of the same religious beliefs. Public school felt like throwing my kids to the wolves.