Pre-K in Bethesda, MD with openings - St. Bartholomew's
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bhenry
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St. Bartholomew Catholic School in Bethesda has openings in their Pre-K program (4-5 year olds). If anyone is looking for a good Pre-K program, I highly recommend St. Bartholomew’s. Our youngest child (of 4) was in the Pre-K program the first year the school opened the class. He was extremely well-prepped for Kindergarten and, in many ways, a step ahead of his older siblings. The program is a 4-year old academic program where the children learned wonderful socialization skills and basic skills needed for reading and math. I found that the curriculum in this program was challenging, yet fun. The curriculum was wonderfully creative in engaging the children in a variety of ways that kept them interested and eager to learn more.
For more information, please go to following: http://www.stbartholomew.org/school/ |
Anonymous
| The school seemed odd. The new person in charge has zero clue of the schools needs. He has gone in way above his head. Joingin now is not a good idea. We opted for public due to this. |
Anonymous
| Kids haven't even come through the doors and you've written the principal off? I hope other people will give this new person a chance at least. St. Bart's is a nice school with good people. |
Anonymous
| Are there many non- catholic families there? |
Anonymous
| There are several non-Catholic families at St. Bartholomew's. |
Anonymous
| What happened to the old principal? |
Anonymous
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My son was there a few years ago....he got to the third grade and we found he didn't even have the basic skills for reading despite what the teachers kept telling us. Not a great school AT ALL. We oved him, hired tutors, worked with the new school for two years to get him on track. St. Bart's is an academic disaster.
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Anonymous
Good to know -- we were considering it, but in dealing with the church side of things, it felt a bit disorganized. I think they were a MD blue ribbon school (whatever that means) or something, as I recall seeing that on the building. What's the story with that? Just good test scores or some kind of anomaly? |
Anonymous
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Blue Ribbon schools are something they apply for...they aren't awarded because of any standards or anything. So it really doesn't mean much. Also the teachers there, I found, weren't certified by the state - didn't fill even the basic standards. After my son's issues, I learned the Maryland Board of Education doesn't oversee or regulate the academics of private schools. So just because you're paying tuition doesn't mean you're getting what you think you're paying for...and it does mean you have NO recourse when things are subpar.
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Anonymous
| I have had a child graduate from St. Bartholomew's and attend private Catholic high school and found my child to be well-prepped for the rigors of a college prep high school. I still have a child there and have been extremely happy with my younger child's progress. The school instills strong Christian values in the daily curriculum. The new Principal clearly has a vision for the school which will strengthen the curriculum and make the students even more well-prepped for of high school. I would also say that the current staff at the school is the strongest I've ever seen. If we thought the school was lacking, we would have switched. That fact is that our oldest child did very well there and continued to flourish beyond the time at St. Bart’s which is a testament to the solid base received during the years at St. Bart's. Our younger child is also doing very well. I have recommended the school to several friends looking to start their child’s education and many have chosen St. Bart’s. |
Anonymous
Yes Blue Ribbon must be applied for, but a school must meet a threshold (I believe it is 85%) of performance on a national standardized test. The only exception is schools receiving No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon Awards but I doubt St. Bartholomew or any school in Bethesda would qualify in that category. It is a long process to apply and many schools don't have the resources to pursue it, but it isn't something you can even apply for unless you have the statistics to back it up. Also, please know parochial schools are not flying blind just because they are accredited differently. From the ADW website - "Elementary and Secondary Accreditation Schools in the Archdiocese of Washington receive accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a division of AdvancED. In addition, they must meet the new National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools." http://www.advanc-ed.org/company-overview. The curriculum standards of the Archdiocese (here: http://site.adw.org/curriculum-standards) have always been in line with those of the public schools in the states they serve. At least when I was teaching a few years ago, ADW's standards were actually based on Indiana standards which were one of the highest ranked in the country. All ADW teachers must be state certified or have a clear and concise timeline for certification. All schools certainly implement differently and you can judge a school accordingly, but please don't trash them all because of your bad experience. There are wonderful schools with strong faculty and administration that do a fabulous job with very impressive outcomes. |
Anonymous
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What a weird comment about the new principal! All I hear is how thrilled everyone is with his work. A bit of jumpy reaction to someone new. He's very hands on and our family is very happy with how things are being run.
My DC is doing awesome at St. Bart's -- has learned so much and is flourishing. Kind of wondering what kind of parents don't have a clue their kid can't read until 3rd grade? Is it really a school issue at that point? It's pretty easy to tell what your kid knows and what they're doing if you talk to them! |