Anonymous wrote:Went to open house last week. Can't shake the feeling of something just being off there. Especially k-2. Any thoughts?

Everyone knows that school choice is about fit. If you live in any major east coast city (Boston, Manhattan, and DC), you know that every school has its own culture. Just because you feel that something is "off" doesn't imply the a school has poor leadership or is not academically challenging. Any school head or admissions director will tell you that "fit" is very important to a child's social and academic well being. Children, their families, and the faculty and staff comprise of the culture of a school. (Doesn't the same rule apply with job seeking?) If the school didn't feel good to you, it may be that you and your family are not a good fit.

Went to open house last week. Can't shake the feeling of something just being off there. Especially k-2. Any thoughts?

Actually, the school suffers from weak leadership. The principal is too old and set in her ways; inflexible to change. She only hires friends and family from within her network. The kids learn next to nothing in the upper grades. If you're concerned about persueing academic excellence regardless of where your kids may or may not attend high school, you should avoid DeChantal at all costs. Hopefully, the new pastor will catch on to her and usher her to the exit door before long.

How do the k kids handle the ridiculously long day?

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone sent kids through St Jane de Chantal? Have visited recently and the principal wasn't very welcoming. Any thoughts on the academic strengths of the school vs. the other private and public schools nearby?

The principal is actually quite nice. She is a bit aloof but she is a nice person. What you will find is that she is principled and a strong leader for the school. You may not always agree with her, but she always has the best interest of the kids and the school front and center. After 11 years at the school, I have always found her to be fair, honest and of great integrity. The kids are sought after at the local Catholic high schools and they pretty much have a 100% placement rate for their 8th graders. If your kid want's a Catholic high school slot, deChantal is a good starting point.

We are really happy there.

Anonymous wrote:What percentage of k kids stay through 8?

My son graduated in 2012. A few left in 3rd for Heights, a handful went public at one point or the other but the majority stayed the whole 9 years. They were, and still are, a very close knit group of kids.

Anonymous wrote:They have an open house coming up. Auberge try another visit.

What was "Auberge" supposed to be before autocorrect fixed it?

What percentage of k kids stay through 8?

They have an open house coming up. Auberge try another visit.

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone sent kids through St Jane de Chantal? Have visited recently and the principal wasn't very welcoming. Any thoughts on the academic strengths of the school vs. the other private and public schools nearby?

Let's see, my DC loves it there, it's a very active school community, Mrs. H is fine but could be serious at times, their explacement is excellent so the academics must be okay, class sizes are large, bullying is not tolerated, and classes r switched up every year avoiding cliques. There's a lot of history amongst the parents, their parents went there, brothers, cousins etc., so one may interpret them as being cliquey, but it's just they've know each other for years... There's a lot of other choices close by, St. Barths, BS, LF, etc.. others would chime in. HTH

Some neighbors of ours say that the class size actually starts out in K in the 30-32 range, and drops over the years as parents pull thier kids out due to thier dissatisfaction. The current class 8th grade class is only about 40 (2 classes of 20), but has has been annually replenished with kids who have moved into the area from out of town whose parents are desperate to avoid the public schools.

She is not so nice, we decided agianst it, There are a group of people who suck up to her but she really needs to go. Friends there have 30 in a class.

When we visited 3 years ago I was put off by the class size. When I asked the principal what the "cap" was she said there was not one in place and she had no intention of doing so. The K classes were 29 and 30.

Has anyone sent kids through St Jane de Chantal? Have visited recently and the principal wasn't very welcoming. Any thoughts on the academic strengths of the school vs. the other private and public schools nearby?