Updated Info on Kensington & Bethesda Catholic Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP which of these do you live closest to? Several of them are similar enough that honestly just choosing proximity will help you decide. I agree with other posters that HR is more insular and would be better suited for a Catholic family living in the immediate vicinity actively participating in the parish.
My kids went to Holy Cross and we found it on the whole to be a good fit (it had its not so great moments, but so do May other schools). We found the principal to be very dedicated to the school and genuine in her desire to have her students succeed. They have a pretty good support system for the kids needing some help with dedicated resource teachers and a clear plan in place to help the students succeed. They have some extra curricular activities, and after care and before care available to make it easier for families with two working parents. My kids left with a very strong academic base and have been thriving at their high schools in various honor programs.
I would say it was money well spent.

I’d say we’re almost equal distance to both HR and Holy Cross, so either could be a good fit. Our work takes us towards DC which is why the other schools are a consideration as well. Thank you for your giving your personal experience on Holy Cross! I have had a couple people tell me that they had great elementary years there but then lots of trouble in middle school which caused them to leave. Can you speak to that at all? I realize nowhere is perfect but I’ve been told that by 2 separate families.

Parish Times publishes where kids at ADW schools go to HS in their May issues. Placement doesn’t necessarily indicate how strong a particular middle school is, but it gives you a sense for the types of schools kids end up applying to and attending.

http://www.parishtimes.com/archives.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP which of these do you live closest to? Several of them are similar enough that honestly just choosing proximity will help you decide. I agree with other posters that HR is more insular and would be better suited for a Catholic family living in the immediate vicinity actively participating in the parish.
My kids went to Holy Cross and we found it on the whole to be a good fit (it had its not so great moments, but so do May other schools). We found the principal to be very dedicated to the school and genuine in her desire to have her students succeed. They have a pretty good support system for the kids needing some help with dedicated resource teachers and a clear plan in place to help the students succeed. They have some extra curricular activities, and after care and before care available to make it easier for families with two working parents. My kids left with a very strong academic base and have been thriving at their high schools in various honor programs.
I would say it was money well spent.

I’d say we’re almost equal distance to both HR and Holy Cross, so either could be a good fit. Our work takes us towards DC which is why the other schools are a consideration as well. Thank you for your giving your personal experience on Holy Cross! I have had a couple people tell me that they had great elementary years there but then lots of trouble in middle school which caused them to leave. Can you speak to that at all? I realize nowhere is perfect but I’ve been told that by 2 separate families.

I'd be curious to know what issues the families you know had with/in middle school. We're there in the lower grades so don't have any direct experience but from what I've heard, there is a significant increase in the rigor and academic load starting in 6th grade and some kids have difficulty adapting to that... from what I've been told there is an adjustment that the kids in 6th grade need to make in tracking their work and assignments in the various classes. I've also heard that they are strict about not accepting late work in the middle school grades so this combination would seem to be a challenge for some, particularly kids with poor or not yet developed executive function.

One thing thing of note that I haven't seen previously mentioned - Holy Cross is the only Catholic that consistently has multiple kids participating the the Montgomery County Middle School Science Fair. This is a great opportunity and experience for the kids.

Another aspect that hasn't been specifically mentioned between HC and HR is sports. From what I've seen if your kids are sporty or you are a "sporty family" HR is has far better options and a larger extra-curricular(CYO) sports offering than HC. HC is a smaller school and in my estimation the student body is less into sports so there seem to be many instances where there just aren't enough kids/interest to put together teams for various age groups. They do offer and participate in CYO but depending on your child's age and sport choice, there may not be a team at HC where as at HR they seem to consistently field multiple teams for every age group for both boy and girls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are happy at St. Barts. The teachers are incredible and the community is warm and welcoming. Kids are kind. Lots of extracurricular activities. Not wild about the principal or the hyper focus on the turf field. We have not heard of any financial issues recently and they are operating in the black. Hope this helps!

OP - thanks for this! Opinions on St Barts seem very hot and cold, with the principal being a strong, main topic of conversation. Any particular/specific issue you see with him? (Aside from the new field) Just curious because otherwise, the school seems great. It’s too bad he’s created such a divide in the community.

There's no divide in the community. There's one person on here that never misses a chance to complain about him.

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