Any update on St. Bart's?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A multi-year closure isn’t feasible. Families in younger grades would leave in droves and then you’d be running the place even further into the red by having the same expenses going out yet less and less tuition coming in.

And unless a parish school has some magic money coming in from somewhere or is doing without any specials/technology/etc, none of them are operating viably with classes of 15-17. It’s just not possible.

St. Bart’s is surrounded by other good parish schools. The area is almost saturated in fact with Mercy, Lourdes, Little Flower, and Blessed Sacrament just minutes away and deChantal, Holy Cross, St. Raphael’s, St. Elizabeth’s, Victory, and Annunciation just slightly further. Just as all the St. Ann’s families who wanted to stay in Catholic school were accommodated, so too will these families.

You're being completely obtuse to the specific population of this school. Only Holy Cross is at all comparable in character. And schools can and do operate with those numbers, so it is indeed possible.
Further, a multi-year closure when families have agreed to tuition increases and raised funds is certainly possible. Also, what does it mean to be a viable school? None of them are paying for themselves, really. They're all subsidized. So why can't a school with a very significant LD inclusion program be subsidized more? We all know the church has the money. It's a choice to spend it on a fancy facility rather than the families/students. And with all the church has done with its money for far, far worse purposes, making this a dollars and cents decision with no consideration for the community is absurd.

I’m looking at the class sizes in the Strategic Data report for the ADW and I don’t see any other school operating with low class numbers like that across the board. In fact, two schools I know to be in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office because of enrollment decline (because yes, it is a multi-year process of consultation before it gets to closure) have higher numbers per grade. When St. Ann’s was in trouble there were parents out on the church steps week after week pitching for their school but it’s really, really hard to overcome a downward enrollment slide without a big change (like adding the early nursery. That’s a smart move.) They hopefully have looked into the reasons why more parishioners are not putting their kids in the school and tried to address that. Is it cost? Is it the quality of the academics/teaching/facility? Is it the character of the school? It has to be something. And just as important to why people are staying out is why people are coming in. You have to find what makes the school special and sell it. It would be great if an inclusion program could be subsided more but that’s not going to happen with declining finances in the parish. The less a school needs to be subsidized, the more viable it is. Everyone know Sunday collections are down everywhere so I’m sure St. Bart’s is feeling it too.

They’re going to feel it a lot more of they close the school. This parish family and others will be gone. We feel misled and betrayed.
Why can’t the inclusion program be better subsidized? The church just doesn’t want to. Not subsidizing it means we don’t care to educate those children to their potential.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A multi-year closure isn’t feasible. Families in younger grades would leave in droves and then you’d be running the place even further into the red by having the same expenses going out yet less and less tuition coming in.

And unless a parish school has some magic money coming in from somewhere or is doing without any specials/technology/etc, none of them are operating viably with classes of 15-17. It’s just not possible.

St. Bart’s is surrounded by other good parish schools. The area is almost saturated in fact with Mercy, Lourdes, Little Flower, and Blessed Sacrament just minutes away and deChantal, Holy Cross, St. Raphael’s, St. Elizabeth’s, Victory, and Annunciation just slightly further. Just as all the St. Ann’s families who wanted to stay in Catholic school were accommodated, so too will these families.

You're being completely obtuse to the specific population of this school. Only Holy Cross is at all comparable in character. And schools can and do operate with those numbers, so it is indeed possible.
Further, a multi-year closure when families have agreed to tuition increases and raised funds is certainly possible. Also, what does it mean to be a viable school? None of them are paying for themselves, really. They're all subsidized. So why can't a school with a very significant LD inclusion program be subsidized more? We all know the church has the money. It's a choice to spend it on a fancy facility rather than the families/students. And with all the church has done with its money for far, far worse purposes, making this a dollars and cents decision with no consideration for the community is absurd.

I’m looking at the class sizes in the Strategic Data report for the ADW and I don’t see any other school operating with low class numbers like that across the board. In fact, two schools I know to be in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office because of enrollment decline (because yes, it is a multi-year process of consultation before it gets to closure) have higher numbers per grade. When St. Ann’s was in trouble there were parents out on the church steps week after week pitching for their school but it’s really, really hard to overcome a downward enrollment slide without a big change (like adding the early nursery. That’s a smart move.) They hopefully have looked into the reasons why more parishioners are not putting their kids in the school and tried to address that. Is it cost? Is it the quality of the academics/teaching/facility? Is it the character of the school? It has to be something. And just as important to why people are staying out is why people are coming in. You have to find what makes the school special and sell it. It would be great if an inclusion program could be subsided more but that’s not going to happen with declining finances in the parish. The less a school needs to be subsidized, the more viable it is. Everyone know Sunday collections are down everywhere so I’m sure St. Bart’s is feeling it too.

They’re going to feel it a lot more of they close the school. This parish family and others will be gone. We feel misled and betrayed.
Why can’t the inclusion program be better subsidized? The church just doesn’t want to. Not subsidizing it means we don’t care to educate those children to their potential.

Many schools charge extra to provide extra services. It would be very hard to educate kids who need specific resources without funding. Maybe they should charge parents more to provide that like other schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is his job to understand. He is the head of school. The principal is the principal, an employee of the pastor. 1st is simple economics. Ccd is basically free. Public school...free. You get the community for free. Stupid when the school graduated 12 of the top 15 in ADW HSPT last year. That should be a header on every church bulletin. Yank the ccd prices way up and increase the commitment requirement and presto...more school enrollment.

This has been a huge part of the problem. No HOS, no oversight for how funds are allocated or spent. And NO marketing other than a banner on River Road that commuters barely notice. We have a Golden Apple teacher and fantastic education, especially for resource students, but none of that is marketing. Nothing is marketed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is his job to understand. He is the head of school. The principal is the principal, an employee of the pastor. 1st is simple economics. Ccd is basically free. Public school...free. You get the community for free. Stupid when the school graduated 12 of the top 15 in ADW HSPT last year. That should be a header on every church bulletin. Yank the ccd prices way up and increase the commitment requirement and presto...more school enrollment.

This has been a huge part of the problem. No HOS, no oversight for how funds are allocated or spent. And NO marketing other than a banner on River Road that commuters barely notice. We have a Golden Apple teacher and fantastic education, especially for resource students, but none of that is marketing. Nothing is marketed.

This is true. They didn’t even have a database of alumni contact info for donation outreach. Families and faculty are wonderful and volunteer way beyond reasonable expectations, but admin is lacking.

[Anonymous]

Obviously surrounding parochial schools know what is happening at St. Bart's. It is much easier for them to absorb students for next year than the other privates at this point. The application process is more flexible. It will really be a case of what they can absorb in terms of numbers on a class-by-class basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A multi-year closure isn’t feasible. Families in younger grades would leave in droves and then you’d be running the place even further into the red by having the same expenses going out yet less and less tuition coming in.

And unless a parish school has some magic money coming in from somewhere or is doing without any specials/technology/etc, none of them are operating viably with classes of 15-17. It’s just not possible.

St. Bart’s is surrounded by other good parish schools. The area is almost saturated in fact with Mercy, Lourdes, Little Flower, and Blessed Sacrament just minutes away and deChantal, Holy Cross, St. Raphael’s, St. Elizabeth’s, Victory, and Annunciation just slightly further. Just as all the St. Ann’s families who wanted to stay in Catholic school were accommodated, so too will these families.

You're being completely obtuse to the specific population of this school. Only Holy Cross is at all comparable in character. And schools can and do operate with those numbers, so it is indeed possible.
Further, a multi-year closure when families have agreed to tuition increases and raised funds is certainly possible. Also, what does it mean to be a viable school? None of them are paying for themselves, really. They're all subsidized. So why can't a school with a very significant LD inclusion program be subsidized more? We all know the church has the money. It's a choice to spend it on a fancy facility rather than the families/students. And with all the church has done with its money for far, far worse purposes, making this a dollars and cents decision with no consideration for the community is absurd.

I’m looking at the class sizes in the Strategic Data report for the ADW and I don’t see any other school operating with low class numbers like that across the board. In fact, two schools I know to be in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office because of enrollment decline (because yes, it is a multi-year process of consultation before it gets to closure) have higher numbers per grade. When St. Ann’s was in trouble there were parents out on the church steps week after week pitching for their school but it’s really, really hard to overcome a downward enrollment slide without a big change (like adding the early nursery. That’s a smart move.) They hopefully have looked into the reasons why more parishioners are not putting their kids in the school and tried to address that. Is it cost? Is it the quality of the academics/teaching/facility? Is it the character of the school? It has to be something. And just as important to why people are staying out is why people are coming in. You have to find what makes the school special and sell it. It would be great if an inclusion program could be subsided more but that’s not going to happen with declining finances in the parish. The less a school needs to be subsidized, the more viable it is. Everyone know Sunday collections are down everywhere so I’m sure St. Bart’s is feeling it too.

Those are really good points. We're CCD parents because the public schools in the area (Bannockburn, Burning, Tree, Bradley Hills -- Whitman district) are very good, and have the kind of resources you can only have at a larger school. Is it true some classes at St Barts were less than 10 kids?

Still, I'm not sure the pastor is at fault here. I wouldn't expect a priest to understand the parochial school field -- isn't that what the head of school is for?

Yes, the current 7th and 8th grades have 8-10 kids. The lower school's classes are 13-20, which is clearly healthier, and the pre-k and K pipeline is strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A multi-year closure isn’t feasible. Families in younger grades would leave in droves and then you’d be running the place even further into the red by having the same expenses going out yet less and less tuition coming in.

And unless a parish school has some magic money coming in from somewhere or is doing without any specials/technology/etc, none of them are operating viably with classes of 15-17. It’s just not possible.

St. Bart’s is surrounded by other good parish schools. The area is almost saturated in fact with Mercy, Lourdes, Little Flower, and Blessed Sacrament just minutes away and deChantal, Holy Cross, St. Raphael’s, St. Elizabeth’s, Victory, and Annunciation just slightly further. Just as all the St. Ann’s families who wanted to stay in Catholic school were accommodated, so too will these families.

You're being completely obtuse to the specific population of this school. Only Holy Cross is at all comparable in character. And schools can and do operate with those numbers, so it is indeed possible.
Further, a multi-year closure when families have agreed to tuition increases and raised funds is certainly possible. Also, what does it mean to be a viable school? None of them are paying for themselves, really. They're all subsidized. So why can't a school with a very significant LD inclusion program be subsidized more? We all know the church has the money. It's a choice to spend it on a fancy facility rather than the families/students. And with all the church has done with its money for far, far worse purposes, making this a dollars and cents decision with no consideration for the community is absurd.

I’m looking at the class sizes in the Strategic Data report for the ADW and I don’t see any other school operating with low class numbers like that across the board. In fact, two schools I know to be in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office because of enrollment decline (because yes, it is a multi-year process of consultation before it gets to closure) have higher numbers per grade. When St. Ann’s was in trouble there were parents out on the church steps week after week pitching for their school but it’s really, really hard to overcome a downward enrollment slide without a big change (like adding the early nursery. That’s a smart move.) They hopefully have looked into the reasons why more parishioners are not putting their kids in the school and tried to address that. Is it cost? Is it the quality of the academics/teaching/facility? Is it the character of the school? It has to be something. And just as important to why people are staying out is why people are coming in. You have to find what makes the school special and sell it. It would be great if an inclusion program could be subsided more but that’s not going to happen with declining finances in the parish. The less a school needs to be subsidized, the more viable it is. Everyone know Sunday collections are down everywhere so I’m sure St. Bart’s is feeling it too.

They’re going to feel it a lot more of they close the school. This parish family and others will be gone. We feel misled and betrayed.
Why can’t the inclusion program be better subsidized? The church just doesn’t want to. Not subsidizing it means we don’t care to educate those children to their potential.

Yes, many of us feel misled and betrayed. No one was upfront or honest with the families before October. Now families have been put in an untenable position and the kids know what's going on so they are understandably very anxious. The community at St. Bart's is the reason so much progress has been made in working toward the ADW's requirements. They've gone above and beyond what any school community should be expected to do. That wouldn't happen if it was just another parish parochial school. St. Bart's has been known as a hidden gem because it's a very special place, and the school community is a big part of that. 100% of the teachers contributed to. keep the school open. How many other schools have that dedicated a staff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Obviously surrounding parochial schools know what is happening at St. Bart's. It is much easier for them to absorb students for next year than the other privates at this point. The application process is more flexible. It will really be a case of what they can absorb in terms of numbers on a class-by-class basis.

That's not the whole issue. First, changing schools is tough on kids. Second, this isn't the typical population of parish school kids. Of course we can find some place to put them, but that doesn't mean it will be a good fit for that child.
Also, after this experience, I will never put my child in a Catholic parish school again. My trust is gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A multi-year closure isn’t feasible. Families in younger grades would leave in droves and then you’d be running the place even further into the red by having the same expenses going out yet less and less tuition coming in.

And unless a parish school has some magic money coming in from somewhere or is doing without any specials/technology/etc, none of them are operating viably with classes of 15-17. It’s just not possible.

St. Bart’s is surrounded by other good parish schools. The area is almost saturated in fact with Mercy, Lourdes, Little Flower, and Blessed Sacrament just minutes away and deChantal, Holy Cross, St. Raphael’s, St. Elizabeth’s, Victory, and Annunciation just slightly further. Just as all the St. Ann’s families who wanted to stay in Catholic school were accommodated, so too will these families.

You're being completely obtuse to the specific population of this school. Only Holy Cross is at all comparable in character. And schools can and do operate with those numbers, so it is indeed possible.
Further, a multi-year closure when families have agreed to tuition increases and raised funds is certainly possible. Also, what does it mean to be a viable school? None of them are paying for themselves, really. They're all subsidized. So why can't a school with a very significant LD inclusion program be subsidized more? We all know the church has the money. It's a choice to spend it on a fancy facility rather than the families/students. And with all the church has done with its money for far, far worse purposes, making this a dollars and cents decision with no consideration for the community is absurd.

I’m looking at the class sizes in the Strategic Data report for the ADW and I don’t see any other school operating with low class numbers like that across the board. In fact, two schools I know to be in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office because of enrollment decline (because yes, it is a multi-year process of consultation before it gets to closure) have higher numbers per grade. When St. Ann’s was in trouble there were parents out on the church steps week after week pitching for their school but it’s really, really hard to overcome a downward enrollment slide without a big change (like adding the early nursery. That’s a smart move.) They hopefully have looked into the reasons why more parishioners are not putting their kids in the school and tried to address that. Is it cost? Is it the quality of the academics/teaching/facility? Is it the character of the school? It has to be something. And just as important to why people are staying out is why people are coming in. You have to find what makes the school special and sell it. It would be great if an inclusion program could be subsided more but that’s not going to happen with declining finances in the parish. The less a school needs to be subsidized, the more viable it is. Everyone know Sunday collections are down everywhere so I’m sure St. Bart’s is feeling it too.

Those are really good points. We're CCD parents because the public schools in the area (Bannockburn, Burning, Tree, Bradley Hills -- Whitman district) are very good, and have the kind of resources you can only have at a larger school. Is it true some classes at St Barts were less than 10 kids?

Still, I'm not sure the pastor is at fault here. I wouldn't expect a priest to understand the parochial school field -- isn't that what the head of school is for?

Yes, the current 7th and 8th grades have 8-10 kids. The lower school's classes are 13-20, which is clearly healthier, and the pre-k and K pipeline is strong.

Also, the retention rates for the last two years have been on par with or better than average. If you look back over 5 years, it's much worse, but that clearly was turned around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A multi-year closure isn’t feasible. Families in younger grades would leave in droves and then you’d be running the place even further into the red by having the same expenses going out yet less and less tuition coming in.

And unless a parish school has some magic money coming in from somewhere or is doing without any specials/technology/etc, none of them are operating viably with classes of 15-17. It’s just not possible.

St. Bart’s is surrounded by other good parish schools. The area is almost saturated in fact with Mercy, Lourdes, Little Flower, and Blessed Sacrament just minutes away and deChantal, Holy Cross, St. Raphael’s, St. Elizabeth’s, Victory, and Annunciation just slightly further. Just as all the St. Ann’s families who wanted to stay in Catholic school were accommodated, so too will these families.

You're being completely obtuse to the specific population of this school. Only Holy Cross is at all comparable in character. And schools can and do operate with those numbers, so it is indeed possible.
Further, a multi-year closure when families have agreed to tuition increases and raised funds is certainly possible. Also, what does it mean to be a viable school? None of them are paying for themselves, really. They're all subsidized. So why can't a school with a very significant LD inclusion program be subsidized more? We all know the church has the money. It's a choice to spend it on a fancy facility rather than the families/students. And with all the church has done with its money for far, far worse purposes, making this a dollars and cents decision with no consideration for the community is absurd.

I’m looking at the class sizes in the Strategic Data report for the ADW and I don’t see any other school operating with low class numbers like that across the board. In fact, two schools I know to be in consultation with the Catholic Schools Office because of enrollment decline (because yes, it is a multi-year process of consultation before it gets to closure) have higher numbers per grade. When St. Ann’s was in trouble there were parents out on the church steps week after week pitching for their school but it’s really, really hard to overcome a downward enrollment slide without a big change (like adding the early nursery. That’s a smart move.) They hopefully have looked into the reasons why more parishioners are not putting their kids in the school and tried to address that. Is it cost? Is it the quality of the academics/teaching/facility? Is it the character of the school? It has to be something. And just as important to why people are staying out is why people are coming in. You have to find what makes the school special and sell it. It would be great if an inclusion program could be subsided more but that’s not going to happen with declining finances in the parish. The less a school needs to be subsidized, the more viable it is. Everyone know Sunday collections are down everywhere so I’m sure St. Bart’s is feeling it too.

They’re going to feel it a lot more of they close the school. This parish family and others will be gone. We feel misled and betrayed.
Why can’t the inclusion program be better subsidized? The church just doesn’t want to. Not subsidizing it means we don’t care to educate those children to their potential.

Yes, many of us feel misled and betrayed. No one was upfront or honest with the families before October. Now families have been put in an untenable position and the kids know what's going on so they are understandably very anxious. The community at St. Bart's is the reason so much progress has been made in working toward the ADW's requirements. They've gone above and beyond what any school community should be expected to do. That wouldn't happen if it was just another parish parochial school. St. Bart's has been known as a hidden gem because it's a very special place, and the school community is a big part of that. 100% of the teachers contributed to. keep the school open. How many other schools have that dedicated a staff?

This is very true. The faculty are really talented and dedicated. They do go above and beyond not just to save the school but for the kids individually. Staying after school to help kids who are struggling, etc. There's no extra pay for that, they just do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously surrounding parochial schools know what is happening at St. Bart's. It is much easier for them to absorb students for next year than the other privates at this point. The application process is more flexible. It will really be a case of what they can absorb in terms of numbers on a class-by-class basis.

That's not the whole issue. First, changing schools is tough on kids. Second, this isn't the typical population of parish school kids. Of course we can find some place to put them, but that doesn't mean it will be a good fit for that child.
Also, after this experience, I will never put my child in a Catholic parish school again. My trust is gone.

+1

We switched from public to private to attend St. Bart's. We took a chance and placed our trust in the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously surrounding parochial schools know what is happening at St. Bart's. It is much easier for them to absorb students for next year than the other privates at this point. The application process is more flexible. It will really be a case of what they can absorb in terms of numbers on a class-by-class basis.

That's not the whole issue. First, changing schools is tough on kids. Second, this isn't the typical population of parish school kids. Of course we can find some place to put them, but that doesn't mean it will be a good fit for that child.
Also, after this experience, I will never put my child in a Catholic parish school again. My trust is gone.

+1

We switched from public to private to attend St. Bart's. We took a chance and placed our trust in the school.

Most if not all area parochial schools are very stable so that's not really fair. But I can see why you might feel that way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously surrounding parochial schools know what is happening at St. Bart's. It is much easier for them to absorb students for next year than the other privates at this point. The application process is more flexible. It will really be a case of what they can absorb in terms of numbers on a class-by-class basis.

That's not the whole issue. First, changing schools is tough on kids. Second, this isn't the typical population of parish school kids. Of course we can find some place to put them, but that doesn't mean it will be a good fit for that child.
Also, after this experience, I will never put my child in a Catholic parish school again. My trust is gone.

+1

We switched from public to private to attend St. Bart's. We took a chance and placed our trust in the school.

[PP here] We are long-time parishioners and we will leave the parish as well if they close the school, and we will not attend another parish school. We would no longer be able to trust the leadership of the parish or the ADW's commitment to our children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Obviously surrounding parochial schools know what is happening at St. Bart's. It is much easier for them to absorb students for next year than the other privates at this point. The application process is more flexible. It will really be a case of what they can absorb in terms of numbers on a class-by-class basis.

That's not the whole issue. First, changing schools is tough on kids. Second, this isn't the typical population of parish school kids. Of course we can find some place to put them, but that doesn't mean it will be a good fit for that child.
Also, after this experience, I will never put my child in a Catholic parish school again. My trust is gone.

+1

We switched from public to private to attend St. Bart's. We took a chance and placed our trust in the school.

Most if not all area parochial schools are very stable so that's not really fair. But I can see why you might feel that way.

That doesn't help, when they have treated us like this. This isn't a school decision. This is an ADW decision.

[Anonymous]

About 30 years ago the ADW shut Immaculata Preparatory School, one of the most academically rigorous all-girls high schools in the DC area. It wasn't for lack of enrollment. They wanted to sell off the prime real estate. That's not the case with St. Bart's but it also shows you where the ADW comes from on these things.