St John's High School vs BCC

[Anonymous]

We are trying to decide whether to stay in DC long term. The cost of moving to Montgomery county is about the cost of sending our 2 elem aged kids to St Johns for High school. We aren't thrilled with charters or Wilson or School without Walls options. So I'm wondering if anyone has looked into how St John's (on Military road in DC) compares with BCC. Academically, socially, athletically as well as exmissions.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered Washington Latin Charter?

[Anonymous]

Yes we have. We aren't convinced that learning Latin is worth the effort.

[Anonymous]

We are huge fans of St John's, especially their athletics. Don't know anything about BCC to compare it with SJ. We have friends who left Visitation and Bullis for SJ and also seem happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes we have. We aren't convinced that learning Latin is worth the effort.

Based on your response to considering Washington Latin PCS, I find your understanding of the school incredibly shallow. It is not about learning Latin - is about offering a classical curriculum - providing a strong foundation in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and critical thinking.

What don't you like about Wilson or School without Walls? Without understanding this I think it is hard to offer you guidance.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Don't get me wrong - I like Wash Latin and think its a great school but the languages aren't what we are looking for. They take Latin as their primary language and then add either French or Chinese. We aren't especially interested in Latin for our children and Spanish is our preferred second language. Also right now it is not a high school. I believe it stops at 10th grade.

I'm not really looking for more information on Wilson or School without Walls.

[Anonymous]

My husband graduated from St John's in 1998. His graduating class only had about 85 people in it. He loved the school. St John's has great athletic program. Especially baseball. It is a Roman Catholic school so they do have Scripture classes. Sorry, I don't know anything about BCC.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in the area and went to BCC. Moved back to the neighborhood and know teachers at BCC as well as friends who send kids there. I definitely think that it compares at least as well to St. John's if not better in terms of academics. Check for yourself about stats like # and kind of AP classes, and the IB program which BCC has and is considered very competitive. Also non-athletic extra-curics such as music and literature opportunities, etc. Might also look at average SAT scores, but the social/economic status average might be different enough to skew any utility to such a comparison. Exmissions from BCC are good. See the Bethesda magazine issue that compares BCC/Whitman/Blair, etc. on college destinations.

That said, St. John's is quite a different school from BCC -- religious, military, greater focus on athletics, size difference, and a stronger alum network probably. I personally would send my kids to BCC over SJ, but at least 50% of that choice would have to do w/ the special characteristics of SJ that don't at all fit my family. It's really too hard to compare the two, they're so different.