Catholic school but not Catholic? How to address this with school when applying?

[Anonymous]

It’s not dramatic. DH and I ARE Catholic, but when we enrolled Younger DD in an independent Catholic ES, we didn’t mentioned religion at all in the application. Her then-BFF who is Baptist didn’t mention religion either and was also accepted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visi says it’s faith centered first

Georgetown Visitation, founded in 1799, is a college preparatory school rooted in the Roman Catholic faith and Salesian tradition, committed to educating young women from diverse backgrounds. We are a faith-centered community dedicated to educational excellence, enriched by co-curricular and service programs.

Georgetown Prep says it’s Jesuit.

As a Catholic school, Prep helps young men to grow in their faith and understanding of the teachings of the Church and to learn to put their faith into action in the service of others.

So can we not pretend?

Prep says, “We believe that diversity makes us stronger, and that all voices deserve to be represented and heard. Because we are rooted in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, we welcome students from all backgrounds and all religions.”

You aren’t very familiar with the Jesuits, are you?

I’m very familiar with Prep. Regardless of what they say, when you take out the International students and the URMs, the school population is 95% Catholics.

30%+ of the Day students went to one Independent Catholic school. Much of the rest went to Parish K8’s like Mercy, Holy Redeemer, deChantal, St Barts, st E’s, and Blessed Sacrament)

I’ll match my familiarity with GP against anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visi says it’s faith centered first

Georgetown Visitation, founded in 1799, is a college preparatory school rooted in the Roman Catholic faith and Salesian tradition, committed to educating young women from diverse backgrounds. We are a faith-centered community dedicated to educational excellence, enriched by co-curricular and service programs.

Georgetown Prep says it’s Jesuit.

As a Catholic school, Prep helps young men to grow in their faith and understanding of the teachings of the Church and to learn to put their faith into action in the service of others.

So can we not pretend?

Prep says, “We believe that diversity makes us stronger, and that all voices deserve to be represented and heard. Because we are rooted in the Jesuit, Catholic tradition, we welcome students from all backgrounds and all religions.”

You aren’t very familiar with the Jesuits, are you?

I’m very familiar with Prep. Regardless of what they say, when you take out the International students and the URMs, the school population is 95% Catholics.

30%+ of the Day students went to one Independent Catholic school. Much of the rest went to Parish K8’s like Mercy, Holy Redeemer, deChantal, St Barts, st E’s, and Blessed Sacrament)

I’ll match my familiarity with GP against anyone.

There is a significant Episcopal minority at Prep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is there to address?

The Catholic religion is taught in these schools rightfully so. Not like it's not in the name.

Your kid will be taught their principals again rightfully so.

Not sure why this is a question OP by sending your kid you support the Catholic Church full stop.

Yes, it does. It takes up a lot of hours and mental space that could be othewrise occupied so that is something to consider when applying to a "Catholic School but not Catholic". It's really a substantial commitment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is there to address?

The Catholic religion is taught in these schools rightfully so. Not like it's not in the name.

Your kid will be taught their principals again rightfully so.

Not sure why this is a question OP by sending your kid you support the Catholic Church full stop.

Yes, it does. It takes up a lot of hours and mental space that could be othewrise occupied so that is something to consider when applying to a "Catholic School but not Catholic". It's really a substantial commitment.

Please don’t apply then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schooler here, they take all kinds. You are sending the kid for the academics.

You do get a discount if you get the child baptized!

Baptism is not a drive-through process.

(Not speaking to you, PP, but people that are of other Faiths may think they can take a dip and move on to cheaper tuition.)

The process of initiating takes time and discernment, especially after the age of 7.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is there to address?

The Catholic religion is taught in these schools rightfully so. Not like it's not in the name.

Your kid will be taught their principals again rightfully so.

Not sure why this is a question OP by sending your kid you support the Catholic Church full stop.

Yes, it does. It takes up a lot of hours and mental space that could be othewrise occupied so that is something to consider when applying to a "Catholic School but not Catholic". It's really a substantial commitment.

Please don’t apply then.

No probs if not Catholic. Applied, got in, saw what it’s about in terms of just how much Catholic Church teachings took up in terms of the time and mindshare (much more than presented at application time at the open houses, walked away. Never regretted it. Great choice for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The application will ask your religious affiliation. You will probably have a family interview where you can talk about the things you mentioned.

This. Also most parish-affiliated schools have different yearly rates depending upon your affiliation: parishioners of that parish pay the least; Catholics from other parishes pay more; non-Catholics pay the most (7k more than parish members in our parish)

[Anonymous]

Before Amy blocks me again, let me say this really shouldn’t be an issue at all. I think you’ll gain admittance easily in the middle school and you’ll be able to tell if your child continues to thrive. What you’re saying you’d be happy to do is far less that we would commit to in the interview, and we received an offer.

Our situation was that we left when we had an option that was certainly a better fit. But I think your rationale for prioritizing Catholic makes sense. This particular school was very heavy handed particularly on the minutiae of lesser importance, like the homework on saints (not for the squeamish) and I couldn’t imagine saddling our DC with so many hours of non academic work.

The other thing that gave us pause is that apparently by school’s own counsel, by the time of high school, the peer group really narrowed to be almost exclusively Catholic and Catholic schools. That’s very different from the other DC private schools. But I’ve noticed that the advice was right and these two worlds of teenagers really don’t interact too much.

After you get an offer, ask to see the curriculum and homework assignments, and check the time commitment and the timings of it (if your child plays outside sports) and see if justifiable.

I think it’s a great option for the fees but it’s worth knowing fully what you’re signing up for, and probably not necessary to overpromise at the interview to gain admission.

[Anonymous]

My class at a local Catholic high school probably had 10 non Catholics tops. Of about 225.

At DC's K-8, they ask parent and child's religions on the application. I don't think there's 1 non-Catholic child in DC's class.

These schools are overwhelmingly Catholic. First day, maybe first hour, everyone will be doing the sign of the cross in unison and saying the prayers and creeds or whatever altogether, and if your kid doesn't, they will feel very awkward.

And we get pro-life emails and requests to reach out to elected officials to promote Catholic political views.

So if that's all your cup of tea, sure go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are non-religious and not Christian but would like to enroll our still-elementary aged child in a Catholic school for his middle school and high school years. Schools in my area give preference to Catholic families, but will admit non as well. We are ok with him getting a religious education and don't care if he ends up believing any of it or if he is like us and just dismisses it all. But how do we address this with the school when the ask why we want to send our child there? Honestly it's because we maintain high standards for academics and behavior in our home and like that the Catholic schools do as well. We don't know any non-religious people who have gone this route. Are we totally crazy for thinking this is a good fit? Do Catholic schools care too much as long as we pay tuition and our child attends religious services when required? We have ruled out the regular secular private schools in our general area due to the cost, commute, and so-so reputation.

Sorry, correction. We would commit to far less than you are saying you would, in our interview. And we got an offer. The fit you’ll have to track over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were not asked why we were looking at O’Connell when we are not Catholic. I don’t think they care, because anyone applying has to understand that it will be a Catholic-based education, they will not change anything for someone who isn’t Catholic, and be ok with that. They assume you know what you are getting into.

Exactly. We were tempted but the hours spent regurgitating some pretty holy stuff wasn’t worth it.

PP, by “regurgitating some pretty holy stuff,” are you actually referring back to a Catholic high school? I toured a number of Catholic elementary, middle and high schools in DC and Maryland, and while I did see rote repetition of dogma at Catholic elementary and middle schools , I did not observe this at the high school level, with the possible exception of prayers or call and response meditations that may precede and conclude certain events, but which the student is not obligated to “regurgitate.” Our kid sits quietly as the others pray or repeat. There was one extracurricular trip that included a worship service, and our son had the option to ask to be excused from attendance, or again, to sit quietly and skip Communion.

You nailed it. It wasn’t the Christian values or the Church doctrine, which I actually like. It was the rote repetition of dogma, and the hours and hours spent on non-academia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My class at a local Catholic high school probably had 10 non Catholics tops. Of about 225.

At DC's K-8, they ask parent and child's religions on the application. I don't think there's 1 non-Catholic child in DC's class.

These schools are overwhelmingly Catholic. First day, maybe first hour, everyone will be doing the sign of the cross in unison and saying the prayers and creeds or whatever altogether, and if your kid doesn't, they will feel very awkward.

And we get pro-life emails and requests to reach out to elected officials to promote Catholic political views.

So if that's all your cup of tea, sure go for it.

Oh, wow. Things have changed a lot then. It used to be more diverse back when.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My class at a local Catholic high school probably had 10 non Catholics tops. Of about 225.

At DC's K-8, they ask parent and child's religions on the application. I don't think there's 1 non-Catholic child in DC's class.

These schools are overwhelmingly Catholic. First day, maybe first hour, everyone will be doing the sign of the cross in unison and saying the prayers and creeds or whatever altogether, and if your kid doesn't, they will feel very awkward.

And we get pro-life emails and requests to reach out to elected officials to promote Catholic political views.

So if that's all your cup of tea, sure go for it.

This has not remotely been my experience as a former Catholic school student, or now as a Catholic school parent. There are plenty of non-Catholic Christians, and a good amount of non-religious families. And we have never received anything about abortion, or requests to “reach out to promote Catholic political views” (wtf)

It apparently depends on the school.

[Anonymous]

We enrolled eldest DD into Catholic school (I was Christian, not Catholic). I'd say it was about 80% Catholic. She decided she wanted to be Catholic too. She is getting confirmed next month.