Anonymous wrote:Friend’s kids go to local Catholic school for 3rd grade and 5th grade. It seems like every other day they go to mass, have some prayer event, have a student assembly, etc. Do kids at these schools have enough instruction time for ACADEMICS?

How do they compete with public and non-religious schools whose total number of school days are the same (or more) but without all the religious extracurricular?

DC’s Episcopal school has 20-45 minutes each day for some kind of group thing—weekly chapel, school assembly, advisory meeting, club time, etc. It does not impact the academics. NCS (which is not DC’s school, but which I attended) has a weekly chapel (more like an assembly than a full religious service) and a weekly Cathedral service. No one is arguing NCS isn’t rigorous—quite the opposite, in fact. Yes, there is more focus on religion in terms of both academics and non-academic events at a Catholic school, but it’s not that unbalanced, and the religious focus is important to most of the students and families. Religion classes aren’t just an extra thing to get through, they are considered core curriculum just like math and English. It’s why Catholics want to sent their children there. I’m not Catholic and while we looked at a Catholic school we decided against it because the focus on religion was not right for us, but I do not understand this board’s general difficulty in grasping that the religion is the point for the Catholic families who attend, and non-Catholics need to accept and respect that or look elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:My kids have mass for approx 45 mins once a week.

My oldest is doing the math sequence that ends with geometry in 8th (pre-a in 6th, algebra in 7th).

They have focused on the fundamentals (math, grammar, writing, spelling).

I think the weakest area is specials (art, PE, music).

Also, quite a bit of homework. They give zeroes and there isn’t a ton of leeway if you mess something up.

My kids have mass for approx 45 mins once a week.

My oldest is doing the math sequence that ends with geometry in 8th (pre-a in 6th, algebra in 7th).

They have focused on the fundamentals (math, grammar, writing, spelling).

I think the weakest area is specials (art, PE, music).

My kid just started private HS coming from good PS-8th th DCPS/Charter schools. Straight A student, good standardized test scores. Her friends who came from Catholic middle schools are far more prepared for high school. Not only have they had more rigorous academic instruction, but they also know how to manage homework, turn work in on time, etc. DCPS gives way too much leeway, too many retakes, etc. I would not worry about Catholic school on an academic level if that's what you want for your kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Catholic school starts the day at 7:40 and ends at 3:20, our public elementary starts at 9:30 and ends at 3:30, so we have an extra nearly 2 hours a day of school time. We do one 2 hour long standardized test per year, seems like our public peers are spending more time in testing than we spend in mass. We start and end our school year earlier but we also have some days off for Catholic holidays, then again we have zero days off for Jewish, Muslim or other religious holidays.

Our kids do extremely well compared to their public peers academically, you really don’t need to have such grave concern for this neighbor of yours.

I have my complaints about public schools, but they don't have standardized testing weekly. It's maybe 4x per year.

Our school has probably 6 masses per year, very few schools have it weekly. And with so much extra time in school per day we would still come out way ahead.

ok, sure, but the PP made it seem like standardized testing at public schools was weekly. It's not.

Also, I kind of like knowing where my DC is. Grades only tell you so much.

Sounds like your kids should be in a school with a good amount of testing then, good for you. No need to criticize anyone who chooses a different option for their children, move along!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Catholic school starts the day at 7:40 and ends at 3:20, our public elementary starts at 9:30 and ends at 3:30, so we have an extra nearly 2 hours a day of school time. We do one 2 hour long standardized test per year, seems like our public peers are spending more time in testing than we spend in mass. We start and end our school year earlier but we also have some days off for Catholic holidays, then again we have zero days off for Jewish, Muslim or other religious holidays.

Our kids do extremely well compared to their public peers academically, you really don’t need to have such grave concern for this neighbor of yours.

I have my complaints about public schools, but they don't have standardized testing weekly. It's maybe 4x per year.

Our school has probably 6 masses per year, very few schools have it weekly. And with so much extra time in school per day we would still come out way ahead.

ok, sure, but the PP made it seem like standardized testing at public schools was weekly. It's not.

Also, I kind of like knowing where my DC is. Grades only tell you so much.

Agree, not weekly. BOY and EOY assessments are useful to see where kids are and where they end up. But how useful is the testing that takes days in the spring but doesn’t report results until the fall (6 mos later)? Some of the kids have changed schools before results are out. That does not tell me anything about where my kid is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Catholic school starts the day at 7:40 and ends at 3:20, our public elementary starts at 9:30 and ends at 3:30, so we have an extra nearly 2 hours a day of school time. We do one 2 hour long standardized test per year, seems like our public peers are spending more time in testing than we spend in mass. We start and end our school year earlier but we also have some days off for Catholic holidays, then again we have zero days off for Jewish, Muslim or other religious holidays.

Our kids do extremely well compared to their public peers academically, you really don’t need to have such grave concern for this neighbor of yours.

I have my complaints about public schools, but they don't have standardized testing weekly. It's maybe 4x per year.

Our school has probably 6 masses per year, very few schools have it weekly. And with so much extra time in school per day we would still come out way ahead.

ok, sure, but the PP made it seem like standardized testing at public schools was weekly. It's not.

Also, I kind of like knowing where my DC is. Grades only tell you so much.

Wow. The OP just shouts “Bigot!” Very loudly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Friend’s kids go to local Catholic school for 3rd grade and 5th grade. It seems like every other day they go to mass, have some prayer event, have a student assembly, etc. Do kids at these schools have enough instruction time for ACADEMICS?

How do they compete with public and non-religious schools whose total number of school days are the same (or more) but without all the religious extracurricular?

And yet graduates of these Catholic schools are as a well prepared for high school and college and law and medical school as are the graduates of public and other private schools.

Sounds like the premise of your question is flawed.

np... but that could be said of public schools that private school parents look down as a dumpster fire.

So, you have private and public school students ending up in the same place.

I am a former parochial school parent. Former because my kids moved on to high school.

I didn’t send my kids to Catholic school because I thought they would “end up” in a different place a than they would in public.

Anonymous wrote:Look, let’s call a spade a spade. The OP is a bigot and a bad friend. She has no idea what her friend’s kids are doing in school.

Absolutely true, and why does anyone not in these schools care? My family has been in Catholic schools for generations, it’s worked out really well for us and that’s where I send my kids. At no time have I inquired into the schedule of our local Jewish day school to generate my critique of our differences. If you don’t think your kids would benefit from a Catholic education that’s fine, it’s not for you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It depends on the school but there are mixed views on that. Many people find that the basic writing and math skills taught in Catholic schools give them a stronger foundation than public schools when the kids get to high school.

What seems to lack is a broader degree of differentiation that you might get in public schools. Few if any K-8 Catholic kids get to Geometry for example. Advanced learners who might be in AAP and students at the other end of the spectrum don't necessarily have their needs met.

Catholic schools are a good fit for a run-of-the-mill student who also wants a religious component to their education.

It took me all of two seconds to prove you wrong. Of course Catholic schools offer geometry. Here’s a typical example:

https://www.ihm-school.com/academics/eighthgrade.cfm

How many Catholic schools do you actually have experience with? What qualifies you as an expert on Catholic education?

I'm a Catholic who looked at multiple diocesan schools for my kids and this was feedback I heard from school parents as one of the negatives. Yes, some schools offer it but most kids don't have access to it, is what was shared with me by parents at at least three different schools near me.

Our k-8 school in the Arlington diocese offers it. I think it’s a fairly common offering in this area.

I don’t think it’s great for most kids though. I think it’s better for them to get a strong foundation in math fundamentals than rush through to finish geometry before they even hit high school. It’s an odd focus people have these days.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Catholic school starts the day at 7:40 and ends at 3:20, our public elementary starts at 9:30 and ends at 3:30, so we have an extra nearly 2 hours a day of school time. We do one 2 hour long standardized test per year, seems like our public peers are spending more time in testing than we spend in mass. We start and end our school year earlier but we also have some days off for Catholic holidays, then again we have zero days off for Jewish, Muslim or other religious holidays.

Our kids do extremely well compared to their public peers academically, you really don’t need to have such grave concern for this neighbor of yours.

I have my complaints about public schools, but they don't have standardized testing weekly. It's maybe 4x per year.

Our school has probably 6 masses per year, very few schools have it weekly. And with so much extra time in school per day we would still come out way ahead.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our Catholic school starts the day at 7:40 and ends at 3:20, our public elementary starts at 9:30 and ends at 3:30, so we have an extra nearly 2 hours a day of school time. We do one 2 hour long standardized test per year, seems like our public peers are spending more time in testing than we spend in mass. We start and end our school year earlier but we also have some days off for Catholic holidays, then again we have zero days off for Jewish, Muslim or other religious holidays.

Our kids do extremely well compared to their public peers academically, you really don’t need to have such grave concern for this neighbor of yours.

I have my complaints about public schools, but they don't have standardized testing weekly. It's maybe 4x per year.

But mass is like 45 minutes once a week. Standardized testing interrupts instruction for multiple complete days. I agree that the number of hours when instruction is disrupted for testing is probably more for mass.

— former public school teacher with kids in parochial school

Look, let’s call a spade a spade. The OP is a bigot and a bad friend. She has no idea what her friend’s kids are doing in school.

Anonymous wrote:Our Catholic school starts the day at 7:40 and ends at 3:20, our public elementary starts at 9:30 and ends at 3:30, so we have an extra nearly 2 hours a day of school time. We do one 2 hour long standardized test per year, seems like our public peers are spending more time in testing than we spend in mass. We start and end our school year earlier but we also have some days off for Catholic holidays, then again we have zero days off for Jewish, Muslim or other religious holidays.

Our kids do extremely well compared to their public peers academically, you really don’t need to have such grave concern for this neighbor of yours.

I have my complaints about public schools, but they don't have standardized testing weekly. It's maybe 4x per year.