Why don't Catholic Schools get more play on this board?

[Anonymous]

I read somewhere that parochial schools usually rank (academics, student scores, teacher qualifications, AP placement/pass rates etc) behind privates and public schools when the public school system is strong. The parochial schools often have fewer resources than privates or well funded public schools and tend to hold on to out dated curriculums. In areas beyond the metro section that has a market for strong private schools and where public schools are not very good, catholic schools still are popular and a good option. It would not make sense to go to a parochial school if your options were Arlington or Montgomery county public school or if you could afford a more expensive but better private school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not many Catholics in upper NW DC with children of school going age.

Really? Ever been to Mass at Blessed Sacrement? Or Holy Trinity?

Yes about 75% of those people don't live in DC. Just saying upper NW is predominantly Protestant and Jewish.

Hardly. Catholic population in DC is 21%. Jewish is 5%.

Look I have no dog in this fight as I am not Catholic and I think the Church does good things. However I do know that most of the parishoners esp at HTS aren't from DC, most are from Arlington. I don;t really care. I do meet many more Jews than Catholics on this side of town.

[Anonymous]

Not many Catholics in upper NW DC with children of school going age.


Really? Ever been to Mass at Blessed Sacrement? Or Holy Trinity?

Pew puts the number at 18% for all of DC. Does "upper" NW include heavily Hispanic Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights? unclear. If it does not include those zips, then the percentage of Catholics in 'upper NW DC' is lower than 18% for sure.

[Anonymous]

Catholic schools usually are not as good as really elite private schools, but it depends of course. That was my experience in Baltimore anyways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/08/educating-children-catholic-schools-doing/
There is no doubt about it the more prestigious private schools in this area score higher on tests and send their grad on to more prestigious colleges than the Catholic schools.

Of course, because prestigious privates hand-pick their student body by never letting the average and below average kids through the door. Catholic and public schools have to make do with the ones the privates leave behind.

[Anonymous]

I beg to differ with the 16:29 poster. We moved our kids from MoCo schools to catholic school. With all of the budget cuts in MoCo, we are absolutely better off where we are. We have 21 kids in a class with one teacher and a full time paraeducator. In MoCo we had 28 kids with one teacher and no aides. We have the latest technology- - that our county school did not have. In MoCo, it seemed like every little thing was cut from the budget, we don't worry about that where we are now. THe idea that a catholic school education in this area is less than public school is just not true.

[Anonymous]

Is it true that the archdioscese of washington sent out a letter to current parents of students in catholic schools -- asking them if they wanted to reenroll to sign some kind of statement saying that they wouldn't speak publicly against church teachings?

[Anonymous]

Catholic school mom here. Never heard of such a letter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it true that the archdioscese of washington sent out a letter to current parents of students in catholic schools -- asking them if they wanted to reenroll to sign some kind of statement saying that they wouldn't speak publicly against church teachings?

Another Catholic school mom. Not true!

I also want to be clear that Catholic schools charge around $7500 tuition per year (or less except HT) to parish members and a bit more to non parish members. This is less than what DCPS gives per pupil (NW current says $8400 and more per school). Non catholic private schools (and non parish catholic schools) around here charge $25K and more. So comparing the resources of these private schools with those of parish schools is not fair. Families who are not catholic consider catholic schools when their public school isn't acceptable. In our school there are only a few non catholic families. We have significant fundraising efforts to fund scholarships and technology/building improvements.

[Anonymous]

In light of the accusations of bigotry and hatred, I would like to point out a few things. Whether or not PPs want to acknowledge it, it is considered "common wisdom" by a large portion of the US population that Catholic schools do not, in general, provide a strong academic education. Of course there are exceptions to this, and several of those exceptions are here in the Washington area. This is not anti-Catholic sentiment or bigotry, as some PPs claim. Rather its the accumulated knowledge and experience of generations of educators, academics and others who have seen it first hand time and again.

There are reasons for this. The Catholic Church, which oversees *most* Catholic schools, is primarily focused on the indoctrination of young Catholics in their faith. That is what religious institutions/authorities do and this does not make the Catholic church "bad." Catholic schools are the front line in this effort (after all, CCD is only 1/week). Clearly, when this is a school's primary mission, it will impact everything else that goes on in that school.

Additionally, in the not-too-distant past, most teachers in Catholic schools were nuns. As we all know, nuns are women. Women have historically not been as well educated as men. In the past, most nuns entered a convent without the benefit of a college education. This was also partly due to economics and partly due to the age of most noviates. The Catholic church prepared these young females (nuns) to be teachers in Catholic schools. This education (of the nuns) was again, primarily focused on the teachings (dogma) of the Catholic church, academics being secondary. Unlike in public schools, there were no local or State education boards to write and enforce standards for teachers in math, English, social studies, science, etc... So, Catholic schools would end up with teachers who were less knowledgeable in the subject (other than religion, of course) than their counterparts in other schools.

[Anonymous]

We're not Catholic, not even Episcopalian, but are considering the small Catholic school in our neighborhood. I wish it cost $7500 a year! Try more like $20k But, the test scores coming out of that school are AMAZING. I understand that they teach all religions, not just Catholicism or Christianity. I could be wrong though because I haven't observed it myself. Anyway, I am more focused on the test scores than the religion. I don't understand the Catholic bashing, though. Sure, there are fruitcakes everywhere, including the vehment anti-Catholics on this board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In light of the accusations of bigotry and hatred, I would like to point out a few things. Whether or not PPs want to acknowledge it, it is considered "common wisdom" by a large portion of the US population that Catholic schools do not, in general, provide a strong academic education. Of course there are exceptions to this, and several of those exceptions are here in the Washington area. This is not anti-Catholic sentiment or bigotry, as some PPs claim. Rather its the accumulated knowledge and experience of generations of educators, academics and others who have seen it first hand time and again.

It's interesting but I completely disagree. You and your family or the small enclave where you grew up may think that but it doesn't apply everywhere to everyone. Esp in places where there is a high concentration of Catholics. And, I'm not a Catholic.

[Anonymous]

Not bigotry, just ignorance. Your profile of Catholic education is about 30 years out of date. You should talk to some of the "unqualified" teachers at parochial and independent Catholic schools around Washington, who have passed on higher public school salaries because they don't want to deal with all the NCLB testing requirements. But whatever. Some people will always see this is a competition.

[Anonymous]

If you're looking for a school with a liberal bent and strong academic focus, why don't you try StoneRidge? If you have a son or prefer a coed school, you could look into St. Elizabeth's in Rockville or Holy Trinity in D.C. There are many solid Catholic schools in the Washington region, but because there are so many strong non-Catholic schools as well, affluent non-Catholics have few reasons to seek out Catholic schools here. Less affluent non-Catholics who want to avoid public school are very attracted to Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

What about 19:48 who said that most Catholics don't know how to use the internet? Is that a bigot?