Thoughts on Bishop O’connell

[Anonymous]

My son played football there this fall and I was unimpressed by the student fans. They left all their trash strewn across the bleachers presumably to be cleaned up by janitorial staff. It really turned me off and speaks to the culture of the school.

My son's school had a lot of student fans attend as well and they managed to throw out their trash and leave the bleachers the same way they found them. (Like they do at all Home and Away games. And if they didn't, I know our administration would rightly be all over it.)

This may seem like a petty thing to some people, but this is the kind of stuff that sticks out to me when I go to schools for athletic events.

[Anonymous]

We were considering for our DS but the huge downside for us... Sports (basketball) is so competitive we doubt DS would ever play beyond the freshman team. DS is very good, upper tier AAU team, but not good enough for DJO.

[Anonymous]

I’m an O’Connell grad as are my children. Great school and community. My son entered as a sophomore when we moved back to DC from California. He made friends quickly and felt welcomed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son played football there this fall and I was unimpressed by the student fans. They left all their trash strewn across the bleachers presumably to be cleaned up by janitorial staff. It really turned me off and speaks to the culture of the school.

My son's school had a lot of student fans attend as well and they managed to throw out their trash and leave the bleachers the same way they found them. (Like they do at all Home and Away games. And if they didn't, I know our administration would rightly be all over it.)

This may seem like a petty thing to some people, but this is the kind of stuff that sticks out to me when I go to schools for athletic events.

I am sorry to hear that was your experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is a new freshman at DJO. We spent a lot of time researching schools and chose DJO for its academics and extracurricular activities, including but not limited to sports. We've been very happy so far.

We know quite a few DJO families and so we had the benefit of hearing from them before making our decision.

It's a Catholic school, and Catholic teaching is "conservative" by today's "woke" standards. But DJO seems to be a fairly typical Catholic school in that regard.

Just recirculating this thread...after being completely underwhelmed by both the APS High School Night and last night's virtual Wakefield session, I am wondering if it would be worth spending the money to attend O'Connell. I would love to hear from anyone chose DJO over the local APS schools or vice-versa. (And FWIW we love South Arlington are not trying to avoid Wakefield based on poverty or diversity--however, at the high school level APS class sizes are rather large and don't seem to have a great guidance counselor to student ratio.)

When my senior was in 8th grade (at K-8 Catholic School that tends to feed into DJO) we went the APS information night.

First off, it was so crowded (pre-Covid) we watched live stream from the lobby, and could have watched at home.

There were a lot of "your child could take this" or "your child could be eligible for...." but we chose DJO b/c it was smaller and a more personal approach was important to our family.

I have a ton of respect for APS and many people thrive there. Our decision was based on a "small pond" feeling. Don't regret it at all.

There was a problem last year, and I asked a more experienced mom out to lunch for advice. The guidance counselor called me back before the entrees arrived, and I spent our "lunch date time" finding closure on the issue. My lunch date said, "And that's what O'Connell does...".

It is just a very nice school, and I benefit from that as much as my children do.

I'd like to echo this post. We chose DJO over APS (Yorktown) for our now senior. DJO is not St Albans, Sidwell, Cathedral, Landon, etc., nor does it pretend to be. Our senior takes a very rigorous schedule of AP and honors classes and is excelling. We are thrilled with the teachers and the level of instruction, as well as the reasonable approach to instruction (they do a great job of actually teaching the material in class and do not overload with homework, as we hear at many schools, especially "prestigious" privates.

Now here is what I really love about DJO - the community. We are not devout Catholics by any stretch. In fact, in many ways we push back against a lot of what the church has come to stand for as an institution. While DJO is certainly on the conservative side, from a religion standpoint, our child is not afraid to express contrary opinions and never feels out of place. Our child is surrounded by teachers and administrators who truly care about these students and the kids know that. We had an older child who attended Yorktown and, the one thing I try to get my head wrapped around is the fact that fights in the hallways and elsewhere on campus were commonplace. That is not the case at DJO. One, they wouldn't put up with that. But two, it is not an environment that encourages that behavior. It is a diverse student body with a wide range of backgrounds, opinions, etc., but mutual respect thrives throughout the student body.

Last thing - their expanded services program is one of the best qualities of the school. It includes students with down syndrome, autism, and other =learning/behavioral issues. These students are well incorporated into the student body. My child has become a more compassionate, patient, and empathetic person because of this experience. I'll take that over prestige any day.

I would not hesitate to send an of my children to DJO.

I didn't know about the expanded services program! DJO is at the top of our list for HS and I'm even more interested now. DS2 attends a Catholic elementary in DC and DS1 attends a special needs private. I'd love for DS2 to be around more students like his brother, even if DS1's needs are too great for DJO.

[Anonymous]

Is there any parental choice in whether a freshman is placed in honors versus regular classes if their HSPT scores are high but not stellar? DC has had straight A's all through middle school with the exception of a B+ in Algebra, but is not a good standardized test taker. Is there a cut-off of scores below which DJO requires the student take regular versus honors, or can the parent make the final decision?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there any parental choice in whether a freshman is placed in honors versus regular classes if their HSPT scores are high but not stellar? DC has had straight A's all through middle school with the exception of a B+ in Algebra, but is not a good standardized test taker. Is there a cut-off of scores below which DJO requires the student take regular versus honors, or can the parent make the final decision?

For better or for worse, the parental decision making happens later but not in 9th grade.

If the teacher sees the child is bored in class and masters material quickly, they can advocate for a change, but course selection is more of a 10th grade thing.

[Anonymous]

It has an incredible performing arts wing. Wish other schools took note of PA in their facilities updates!

[Anonymous]

^^^ sorry I mean Good Counsel. Wrong catholic school!

[Anonymous]

Bumping this thread. We are looking at this school from southern Fairfax Co. Most of the kids in this area would go to BI, so wanted to see if anyone out there could speak to whether my kid would be an outlier (and have to travel farther to see friends on weekends, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son played football there this fall and I was unimpressed by the student fans. They left all their trash strewn across the bleachers presumably to be cleaned up by janitorial staff. It really turned me off and speaks to the culture of the school.

My son's school had a lot of student fans attend as well and they managed to throw out their trash and leave the bleachers the same way they found them. (Like they do at all Home and Away games. And if they didn't, I know our administration would rightly be all over it.)

This may seem like a petty thing to some people, but this is the kind of stuff that sticks out to me when I go to schools for athletic events.

Yeah, you’re right, you’re being petty all right

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son played football there this fall and I was unimpressed by the student fans. They left all their trash strewn across the bleachers presumably to be cleaned up by janitorial staff. It really turned me off and speaks to the culture of the school.

My son's school had a lot of student fans attend as well and they managed to throw out their trash and leave the bleachers the same way they found them. (Like they do at all Home and Away games. And if they didn't, I know our administration would rightly be all over it.)

This may seem like a petty thing to some people, but this is the kind of stuff that sticks out to me when I go to schools for athletic events.

Yeah, you’re right, you’re being petty all right

Nope, I don’t think PP is being petty at all! Actions show character and lack thereof. If you can’t take 2 minutes to throw out your trash you are a self- centered, spoiled SOB. It’s like those ppl who can’t be bothered to put their shopping carts back at grocery stores!

[Anonymous]

DJO had the most unhelpful, checked out “student ambassadors” at the open houses we went to last year of any school we visited. Talked among themselves, didn’t offer assistance, looked as if we were interrupting them or bothering them if asked where a room was or wanted to ask anything about their experience at the school, even though that’s supposedly why they were there. The admin team was nice but we were very underwhelmed by all of our interactions with students, and ended up pulling our kid’s application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son played football there this fall and I was unimpressed by the student fans. They left all their trash strewn across the bleachers presumably to be cleaned up by janitorial staff. It really turned me off and speaks to the culture of the school.

My son's school had a lot of student fans attend as well and they managed to throw out their trash and leave the bleachers the same way they found them. (Like they do at all Home and Away games. And if they didn't, I know our administration would rightly be all over it.)

This may seem like a petty thing to some people, but this is the kind of stuff that sticks out to me when I go to schools for athletic events.

Yeah, you’re right, you’re being petty all right

Nope, I don’t think PP is being petty at all! Actions show character and lack thereof. If you can’t take 2 minutes to throw out your trash you are a self- centered, spoiled SOB. It’s like those ppl who can’t be bothered to put their shopping carts back at grocery stores!

My guess is her son’s team lost the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son played football there this fall and I was unimpressed by the student fans. They left all their trash strewn across the bleachers presumably to be cleaned up by janitorial staff. It really turned me off and speaks to the culture of the school.

My son's school had a lot of student fans attend as well and they managed to throw out their trash and leave the bleachers the same way they found them. (Like they do at all Home and Away games. And if they didn't, I know our administration would rightly be all over it.)

This may seem like a petty thing to some people, but this is the kind of stuff that sticks out to me when I go to schools for athletic events.

Yeah, you’re right, you’re being petty all right

Nope, I don’t think PP is being petty at all! Actions show character and lack thereof. If you can’t take 2 minutes to throw out your trash you are a self- centered, spoiled SOB. It’s like those ppl who can’t be bothered to put their shopping carts back at grocery stores!

My guess is her son’s team lost the game.

DP, and please stop as it doesn't reflect well on you or the school to be defensive. Our family is looking at DJO and this thread has been really interesting to us both the positive and negative statements. It's okay that someone had a negative perception of the school, it doesn't mean sour grapes on their part.