Anonymous wrote:We had a bad experience at Queen of Apostles and would not recommend.

Curious if you can elaborate on the bad experience? At least what type of experience?

We had a bad experience at Queen of Apostles and would not recommend.

I have heard very good things about Angelus Academy. But yes, conservative.

OP - we did preschool at another smaller Catholic and thought we’d send our kids to the other smaller school, rather than St Mary’s, for the same reasons as you.

After touring the different Catholic portions, we realized that the larger school really equates to more resources and more differentiated learning paths. Also, the individual class sizes at St Mary’s ended up being smaller than at the other “smaller” catholic schools (where some of the grades had upwards of 30 kids). We’ve had class sizes of as few as 22.

Anonymous wrote:Not smaller by any means (it’s actually the largest in the diocese), but St Mary’s offers differentiated learning for reading and math at every grade level. They also have good resource programs, pulling kids out for semi-private help with math, reading and OT - something that the other Catholics we toured did NOT have.

We have three kids there, and have found that they’ve met each child’s needs perfectly.

Thanks for this! St Mary's is our parish, but their class size has me somewhat concerned. I am glad to hear that do more of the differentiated learning than I thought they did. I definitely think their size allows them to offer more than some of the other schools.

Not smaller by any means (it’s actually the largest in the diocese), but St Mary’s offers differentiated learning for reading and math at every grade level. They also have good resource programs, pulling kids out for semi-private help with math, reading and OT - something that the other Catholics we toured did NOT have.

We have three kids there, and have found that they’ve met each child’s needs perfectly.

My neighbor raves about Angelus Academy. The family is extremely conservative, so I suspect the school might be as well. However, I have no direct experience. We are Catholic and liberal politically and we went with a non-religious private school for k-8 and Jesuit high school.

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine has children at Queen of Apostles in Alexandria and has nothing but great things to say about the school

I had a child there for middle school and it was a great choice for us. Don't let the small school/not as fancy facilities fool you, it's a good spot.

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine has children at Queen of Apostles in Alexandria and has nothing but great things to say about the school

Everyone I know who went there is glad they selected it. Their principal has a great reputation and the parents I know volunteer a lot and have high standards for behavior for their own children.

The catch you may find is that enrollment is up in NOVA Catholic Schools, across the board. Some people came for the open schools during Covid and stayed because it worked for them.

I'd ask what the maximum class size is, (ideally) and under what circumstances they'd increase those. Twins? Returning military? A large family?

My kid started as the 16th kid in 3rd grade and it was great. A school down the road closed and suddenly they were in a class of 24.

It was still great, but small could mean under 30 or small could mean 12. If you are looking for a teacher:student ratio that is low, ask about it on the tour or in a follow up.

FCPS used to use 30 as a typical class size. APS shoots for smaller.

Anonymous wrote:A friend of mine has children at Queen of Apostles in Alexandria and has nothing but great things to say about the school

Thanks! I think we might go tour here. From what I can tell, they may have smaller class sizes.

A friend of mine has children at Queen of Apostles in Alexandria and has nothing but great things to say about the school

Anonymous wrote:St Rita’s is a lovely small school.

It’s small but I wouldn’t say they offer differentiated learning. Pretty conservative and lots of rote learning.

There’s also Blessed Sacrament k-8, but I’ve heard mixed reviews. It’s similar in size to St. Rita.

The Catholic School k-8 in the Alexandria that seems to get consistently positive feedback is St. Louis.

St Rita’s is a lovely small school.

Does this exist? We would love a Catholic education for DC, however we are worried the larger class sizes in our parish school will not work well for her. Are there any that have smaller class sizes or a more differentiated learning curriculum? Willing to go to outside Alexandria to neighboring areas.