Reply to Any update on St. Bart's?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I really hope they stay open.  Our liberal Catholic family doesn't feel comfortable with other parish schools, so it fills a niche.  We will go public or independent otherwise.  There is also a significant population of students with learning differences (and a significant population without -- it's a true mix).  I really feel like shutting down with less than a year notice to families with kids with learning differences especially is cruel and harmful to those kids.[/quote]

It IS a unique and special place. The ADW warning seems to have been a wake-up call which, if the school stays open, will hopefully ensure it's managed better than it was to this point. We really hope it stays open. We're supposed to find out tomorrow and the kids are really anxious.[/quote]

Other area parochial schools expect to be absorbing some of the St. Bart's kids for next year. [/quote]
ADW closed a bunch of schools about 5 years ago  [St. Ann's in Tenleytown was one of the schools]
ADW announced the closing just after the DCPS lottery closed and it was a cluster as families were left trying to find places.   We are an ADW family and I would say that it is another example of how these decisions are made by people who are removed from the day to day and absolutely CLUELESS!

[/quote]

These decisions are years in the making.  They involve many meetings and goals that need to be met.  If the principal and pastor are not transparent with the community about it from the beginning then it can feel like a shock, but be real - as a parent you have to know your school is in trouble when classes get that small.  Being in denial doesn’t excuse your own due diligence.  St. Bart’s families will have ample notice to apply elsewhere if a decision is made in January.  I think they are giving them every shot to pull the potential numbers up, while still allowing an exit strategy if it doesn’t work out.[/quote]

Let's keep this fair. Imagine what it's like for families who moved here from out of state and didn't have time to dig deep into each school. The number of first-year families at St. Bart's is sad because all those families thought the school was a place their kids could stay. There was definitely a lot of magical thinking/denial by the administration and long-time families/parishioners, but you're right--they should not have been surprised. What they did NOT do was communicate in any way with the families. Everyone has been asked to commit to next year to keep the school's numbers up, but of course they need to have a backup plan in place. Per ADW rules, no ADW school is allowed to accept applications from St. Bart's families until the yes/no vote. That's left a LOT of people scrambling. [/quote]

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