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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, we are a Catholic family.  I attended Catholic school my entire life.  When we moved to Arlington we considered Catholic school.  But here’s the thing:  the public schools are better academically.  They just are, and always have been.

It’s so interesting that you think the Arlington middle schools are full of kids going wild and undisciplined.  The typical complaint by the middle school parents are that the schools are too strict.  That was our experience.  [/quote]

It’s not universally true that publics are better. I don’t want to start an argument, but I’ve worked in both public and Catholic. The Catholic schools I’ve worked in have been much better at writing instruction, for example. Also, students are able to focus better because discipline is stressed; therefore, teachers can get though more content.

I’ve also notice that professional development opportunities are stronger in the Catholic schools I’ve worked for. I’m encouraged to take classes for more reasons than simply recertification.

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I never said it was universally true.  I was talking about Arlington public middle schools and the local Catholic schools.  [/quote]

OP here. I don't have any direct experience with middle school in Arlington. Everything I've heard is from parents who's kids are in middle school. These are the things that have been worrying me:

1) Lower writing standards. Kids barely write. 
(2) Kids do not read novels in class and analyze them (though this seems to vary by school and whether class is an honors class). 
(3) disciplinary issues. Increase in bullying post covid, cell phones in schools lead to many distractions, taking pictures of kids using restrooms, drug use, increased mental health issues, weaker friendships & community.
(4) lowering of academic standards generally due to: 50% pass rate rule (though parent who was talking about this didn't live in Arlington county. Think she lives in fairfax), stander based grading, no more accountability for homework, grade based on exam only, no more accountability regarding showing up to class, no points for class participation, quizzes aren't graded.  I remember a letter from teachers in wakefield regarding this issue but I forgot what happened.

If I am misinformed please let me know! Would rather save the money[/quote]

You REALLY need to relax.  The bottom line is that with parents as over the top concerned and involved in the intricacies of their kids’ education as you appear to be the kids will be just fine.  I don’t think you need to send them to a school that devotes an hour a day to a religion that you don’t believe in to educate them.  [/quote]

OP, do not listen to this poster who clearly is an APS booster.  Most Catholic schools blow away all public schools in language arts.  I know from experience having had one transfer to Catholic HS from public middle school in a very good MCPS "W" cluster.  He was sorely not prepared for the level of writing expected of him in his new HS even though he always got high As in all subjects.  Luckily he caught up and got to be a pretty good writer in the end.  I am confident this would not have been the case if we sent him to public high school.

As for the religion classes, your child would not be expected to worship in the Catholic faith.  Only to learn about it and attended masses when they happen.  Think about it like you going to a mass for a wedding or funeral...you don't believe in it, but you are respectful.

Catholic schools 100% blow away public schools with regard to structure and discipline.  Don't let anyone try to convince you otherwise.  These kids gain soft skills that they would not get in public schools. They are expected to make more public presentations in class than in public school.  Kids from my daughter's Catholic school are always seemingly more polite and polished than her pubic school friends.  It is a stark difference.

[/quote]

You’re not an Arlington County parent.  You have no first hand knowledge of Arlington public schools.  You also have no first hand knowledge of Arlington Catholic schools.  Why should your opinion matter over someone who does?

I’m not going to respond point by point to your irrelevant post but will say this:  you say that the OP’s kids won’t have to practice the Catholic faith but just “learn about it.”  That’s right - and the kids will spend just as much time learning about it as they will spend learning math, science and language arts.  It’s a core subject in elementary schools in the Arlington Diocese.  That’s a lot of time spent on a subject of no interest to a non-Christian.  [/quote]

I’m a non-Catholic parent who sent my kids to a Catholic k-8 in this region. I was concerned about the 40 minutes of religion instruction a day. What I found out is that it operated as a 2nd language arts class. Yes, they read and wrote about biblical stories or the lives of saints. They were READING and WRITING. Her first research paper was in religion class, and her teacher walked the 5th grade class through the whole research and writing process. She did similar papers in 6, 7, and 8. Her papers were marked for content, citations, and grammar just like her Language Arts papers were.[/quote]

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