Anonymous wrote:I think both of these schools are great. You can't go wrong. [b]The OLGC principal one year in the past 10 I think was fired and the new principal is more popular. You never know who the principal or teachers are going to be. Some are great and some can be problematic. They have an impact, but the curriculum and families remain pretty consistent from year to year. The parents and kids are very similar from one school to another. School start times are slightly different and school class sizes are slightly different, but the experience is similar. If you are interested in a catholic education, a strong academic foundation and extracurricular foundation, each of these schools will be solid. I do think the diocesan schools are a little stricter but in a good way. They have some oversight. Still OLGC has been around a long time and both of them were very popular choices during the pandemic and many families decided to stay. OLGC might feed more into O'Connell and Gonzaga and St. Mark a balance between O'Connell and Paul XI. I am not certain of this. You could ask where kids move on after graduation. Many return to public school for high school too.

Anonymous wrote:I think both of these schools are great. You can't go wrong. The OLGC principal one year in the past 10 I think was fired and the new principal is more popular. You never know who the principal or teachers are going to be. Some are great and some can be problematic. They have an impact, but the curriculum and families remain pretty consistent from year to year. The parents and kids are very similar from one school to another. School start times are slightly different and school class sizes are slightly different, but the experience is similar. If you are interested in a catholic education, a strong academic foundation and extracurricular foundation, each of these schools will be solid. I do think the diocesan schools are a little stricter but in a good way. They have some oversight. Still OLGC has been around a long time and both of them were very popular choices during the pandemic and many families decided to stay. OLGC might feed more into O'Connell and Gonzaga and St. Mark a balance between O'Connell and Paul XI. I am not certain of this. You could ask where kids move on after graduation. Many return to public school for high school too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.

Without sounding harsh, she’s a terrible administrator and super awkward/cold. She’s unwilling to impartially hear concerns and becomes very defensive. She treats students/ parents differently based on how much money they give/how much they volunteer. High staff turnover each year.

Yikes! Is this from your experience as a parent at the school? Any other feedback?

My kids go to St. Mark and I like the principal. I haven’t had the experience of the prior poster. It is a sweet little school.

Thanks -- I would love to hear more about your experience at St. Mark. How do you like the academics and culture of the school? Is there an overall vibe of strictness? I ask because a former parent there told me about their teacher asking about which kids went to mass, which did not, etc., and some messaging during mass. Do you think there are major differences between it and OLGC?

Academics - we have been very happy. In the lower grades, there really isn’t much differentiation. Good and bad that goes along with that. But the kids are getting a solid foundation in math, reading, writing, grammar, etc.

Teachers are very devoted. I feel like the whole school really cares about my kids. Not just academically. But as people. It is nice. It is a lovely community.

Families are nice and fun. Huge range of “Catholic-ness.” Many people who were just raised Catholic and don’t get too involved in the church to very strict Catholics. Same with politics. All across the spectrum.

I don’t think it is too strict. It is rule-based, though. And if the kids break the rules, they will hear about it (in appropriate ways).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.

Without sounding harsh, she’s a terrible administrator and super awkward/cold. She’s unwilling to impartially hear concerns and becomes very defensive. She treats students/ parents differently based on how much money they give/how much they volunteer. High staff turnover each year.

Yikes! Is this from your experience as a parent at the school? Any other feedback?

My kids go to St. Mark and I like the principal. I haven’t had the experience of the prior poster. It is a sweet little school.

Thanks -- I would love to hear more about your experience at St. Mark. How do you like the academics and culture of the school? Is there an overall vibe of strictness? I ask because a former parent there told me about their teacher asking about which kids went to mass, which did not, etc., and some messaging during mass. Do you think there are major differences between it and OLGC?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.

Without sounding harsh, she’s a terrible administrator and super awkward/cold. She’s unwilling to impartially hear concerns and becomes very defensive. She treats students/ parents differently based on how much money they give/how much they volunteer. High staff turnover each year.

Yikes! Is this from your experience as a parent at the school? Any other feedback?

My kids go to St. Mark and I like the principal. I haven’t had the experience of the prior poster. It is a sweet little school.

Thanks -- I would love to hear more about your experience at St. Mark. How do you like the academics and culture of the school? Is there an overall vibe of strictness? I ask because a former parent there told me about their teacher asking about which kids went to mass, which did not, etc., and some messaging during mass. Do you think there are major differences between it and OLGC?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.

Without sounding harsh, she’s a terrible administrator and super awkward/cold. She’s unwilling to impartially hear concerns and becomes very defensive. She treats students/ parents differently based on how much money they give/how much they volunteer. High staff turnover each year.

Yikes! Is this from your experience as a parent at the school? Any other feedback?

My kids go to St. Mark and I like the principal. I haven’t had the experience of the prior poster. It is a sweet little school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.

Without sounding harsh, she’s a terrible administrator and super awkward/cold. She’s unwilling to impartially hear concerns and becomes very defensive. She treats students/ parents differently based on how much money they give/how much they volunteer. High staff turnover each year.

Yikes! Is this from your experience as a parent at the school? Any other feedback?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.

Without sounding harsh, she’s a terrible administrator and super awkward/cold. She’s unwilling to impartially hear concerns and becomes very defensive. She treats students/ parents differently based on how much money they give/how much they volunteer. High staff turnover each year.

Anonymous wrote:They are very similar. OLGc has larger classes. What grade?

Anonymous wrote:I met the principal at St. Mark during the pandemic. Sadly, I was there for funeral.

She was very devoted to her students and when I asked about how she was managing Covid protocols, she talked about the feedback she got from her community and that she made decisions based on what her community valued.

I just found her to be warm and a great collaborator.