Blessed Sacrament, DC

[Anonymous]

Can anyone who applied to Blessed Sacrament in DC give me a sense of how hard it is to get in to the kindergarten program.

thank you.

[Anonymous]

Not to hijack your question, but I'd also be interested in hearing how hard it is for a parishoner to get into 1st grade if they did K someplace else?

[Anonymous]

I believe about half the K spots (60 total) go to siblings. Of course that varies from year to year. If you are a parishioner who contributes regularly to the parish (envelopes or automaticlly via faith direct) and are in boundary, you should get in (eventually - might be waitlisted). I've never heard of someone not getting in with that background. Most parishioners out of boundary get in I think too. If you aren't a parishioner, I'm not sure for K. Third grade and beyond it probably opens up. First grade - very difficult to get it! Not many people drop from K to 1 and i think they might add 1 child per class in total. That would likely go to siblings ...

My child got into BS as K this year as a sibling.

[Anonymous]

Are you happy with the school so far? We are parishioners who live out of bounds and plan to apply for K next year.

[Anonymous]

Yes we are. It is a parish school but works hard to do lots of extras. I think the student teacher ratio is quite low for parish school. The HSA is extremely active and money is raised to do all the extras while keeping the tuition reasonable. The school is appreciative of every child's gifts and capabilities. My kids like it there alot and have made a lot of good friends. Most families live within 2 miles of the school. It is a small school - under 500 kids for grades k-8 so the kids all seem to know each other. There are 3 classes per grade which is a nice size - not too big or small. I really like the teachers and they seem to stay a while. The new field should be open next year so there will be extra space to play - something that people had wanted for a while.

[Anonymous]

Thanks so much for your response. I appreciate it.

[Anonymous]

I was recently on a parent tour at a local public elementary, and many Blessed Sacrament parents were there touring the school. It was very clear that a number of parents were displeased with the Blessed Sacrament and considering pulling their children out. What's going on there?

[Anonymous]

We were just accepted as a new family to the K class - I'm interested in feedback as well...

[Anonymous]

bump

[Anonymous]

I know several families with kids at Blessed Sacrament. I think it is viewed as a good Parish school. Down-sides include lack of outdoor space (they are working on this with their Field of Dreams project) and some problems with bullying. I think the kindergarten is not viewed as being very rigorous, although I'm not sure how significant that is considering it's just kindergarten. I think the academics ramp up significantly in first grade.

[Anonymous]

I agree with PP - the K is not very rigorous. It is a very fun year that develops their school behavior, social skills, and forms friendships. I don't think alot of the parents however agree with that philosophy as the kids are generally older and have experienced alot more school than years ago. There is a new principal coming in next year (yet to be determined) and they have collected feedback from the parents on what they would like to see in the this person. I imagine this is on the top of the list for improvements.