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[quote=Anonymous]There are positive things, nice people, and good teachers at OLGC. On the whole, the child I enrolled there graduated with a satisfactory education (above average in writing and grammar) and had a decent experience. But I am glad to be leaving, as our enjoyment of the school and parish community has notably decreased over the past several years. Once your kid starts here - or at any school - you as a parent know that it's just difficult to move them absent something really significant. For the reasons below, I don't think I would start/stick with OLGC if I had it to do over again, because I don't really feel it was worth the cost, as compared to public school or even another Catholic school.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

- OLGC is a Salesian parish and school, and the school is attended by a good number of non-Catholics, so it's on the liberal end of the spectrum for Catholic schools in NoVA. Not that this is a bad thing -- just something to be aware of if it matters to you. The (Catholic) religious curriculum (especially in middle school) is pretty strong.
- Expect MANY random half-days and days on which their version of after-care is cancelled or ends early. Generally, this school's scheduling and setup for parent participation are not conducive to households with two working parents or single-parent households where that parent works full-time.
- Beginning 2026-27, there's a new policy on tuition: If you change your mind about sending your kid to OLGC on or after the June 1 immediately preceding the school year for which you enrolled your child (for any reason - an unexpected move, a family emergency, etc.), they've pledged to come after you for the FULL TUITION for the following school year (during which your child will not be attending OLGC) - even though they also say they have a waitlist for most grades, so it would seem likely &quot;your spot&quot; would be filled anyway.
- Tuition will increase every year. Fees will increase every year.
- Class sizes are too large. The minimum we saw was 25 (with a continued push to meet the diocese cap of 30) students per classroom - those numbers are excessive for a public school, much less a private one charging $12K+ per year.
- Elementary classrooms have an aide half-time if lucky; no aides in MS. They have said they're trying to improve this; however, I am not optimistic because.....
- ....there is a high rate of teacher turnover here. We've seen 2 or more teachers leave each year; and in most years, at least one quits mid-school year. Attrition is natural, and teaching careers look different now compared to 20 years ago. But for an established private school that offers some of the most competitive salaries in the diocese and only has 2 teachers per grade level to lose several teachers every year -- including teachers willing to break their contracts midyear -- is significant. That speaks to problems with recruitment and hiring, problems with retention, and problems supporting educators who are struggling.
- Promises of differentiated learning are disingenuous at best. Aside from varied-level math instruction (beginning in upper elementary), these promises simply cannot be fulfilled. None of the staff (with the exception of the one MS math teacher, who is great) have the time, resources, expertise, or experience to differentiate their curriculum or instruction, yet admin continues to promise to meet current and incoming students &quot;where they are at.&quot; Because that is impossible, each classroom has a bunch of kids, on both ends of the spectrum, whose needs are not being met. This results in behavioral issues that are not adequately addressed (most teachers do not have classroom control skills) and detract from the education of the class as a whole.
- Students with significant behavioral issues are frequently allowed to run roughshod over teachers and peers and to hold hostage the learning of their entire class with misdeeds, meltdowns, and arguments. The administration will not turn away problematic students (e.g. kids who they know have been asked to leave another Catholic school in the diocese) or children with learning differences, despite the fact that this school is not properly equipped to handle kids who need the kind of push-in and pull-out behavioral or educational services they'd receive in public school.
- Disciplinary measures are selectively enforced. Favorites of the principal and children from wealthy families are given special treatment; others bear the brunt.
- Family culture is increasingly cliquish. The previous head priest was solely focused on increasing revenue, and because of this, wealthy families are given preferential treatment w/r/t teacher selection, school and parish programs (including CYO sports), discipline, admin responsiveness, etc. That socioeconomic class-focused attitude does trickle down to the kids. The Westwood Country Club set is on the ascent here - families who know their dollar won't go real far at Flint Hill, Potomac, Langley, or Congressional (where everyone is wealthy) - but they have gotten word that they can pretty much pay to play at OLGC, and they dig it. They vocally resent the &quot;free-riding&quot; they feel is being done by families that don't or can't contribute generously to the &quot;Wildcat Fund&quot; - which they view as taking advantage of the donations and assets provided by country-clubber largess. I get that this is how the world works - it is just depressing to see that dynamic played out so obviously in an elementary/middle school setting.
- Twice now, the parish's finance council has attempted to roll out a new tuition policy that withholds the in-parish discount from families that didn't donate, during the previous year, a certain amount in a certain way to the church. This does not take into account tuition/school expenses, cash contributions made without labeled envelopes, or historic (&gt; 1-year-old) donations to the church. Both times, the effort has failed spectacularly, requiring the previous head priest to issue a formal retraction. Whatever the justification may be for the policy itself, I would note here that it's odd the parish staff has (twice) issued a school policy without providing proper notice to the school administrators - i.e. the people responsible for defending and enforcing that policy. There's a fracture in communications between school staff and parish staff, and it's had some serious consequences.
-To a previous question on this post: No, the bullying families have not been exited, nor will they be due to reasons indicated above.

In closing, I'd like to stress again these points:

**For parents of children with any kind of special learning need: I would strongly recommend against enrolling at OLGC. If you are set on Catholic school, you might consider Holy Spirit in Annandale or All Saints in Manassas.

**OLGC could be a good fit for you IF:

#You are, or are seeking to become, a member of Westwood CC or a part of the wealthier social scene in Vienna generally and are willing to donate (preferably publicly) significantly to the school and parish each year, on top of your tuition expenses.

--You are committed to being a visible part of the school and parish community, attending Mass regularly at OLGC and volunteering at least 10 hours a year at the school in a capacity that can be verified by at least one staff member or other parent (Keep a written record of those hours and witnesses. Ask me how I know.), AND
--You donate a documented, regular (at least yearly) amount to the school activities/Wildcat fund, and the parish, AND the Bishop's Lenten Appeal credited to OLGC, AND
--Your child is an average to above-average student who will likely do fine in an environment where they can coast through mostly unnoticed.[/quote]

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