We have had our children at an "elite" private school and at our parish school. We found the quality of the education to be stronger at the Catholic school, less bullying and meanness due to the strong emphasis on kindness and community, more structure and clearer expectations. At the private independent school there were more opportunities for non-academic activities (better art and music instruction, wider choice of electives) and more athletics. We gladly gave up the non-academic opportunities (we can get those outside of school) for the better academic instruction and kinder environment.

It all really depends. You can be in a class of students at a Catholic School who get all the teachings, but do not "live it", and you can be in a public school class that just happens to have really lovely children. The teacher also has a lot to do with it and can make or break the tone of the class for the year. Then it can all change the next year by the change in students and the teacher. And then there are many blends in between that set the tone for each class. In the end, it is very much like throwing a dart at it, so the only thing you can know for sure are the consistent teachings that you have at home. You just can not slack off at home. Home is where you need to put your focus.

Our DS started at a Catholic school this fall and we love it, especially DS. Great sense of community, total nurturing environment. The kids have a sense of responsibility and a commitment to treat each other well. He is assigned a middle school child who mentors him and takes him to Mass every Friday morning.

I have been impressed with the academics and the opportunties though our school.

In addition, I think that the families there are nice. There is also a sense that we are supposed to be kind to each other as adults.

We are in a very good school district in FFXC but I really thought the whole school in our neighborhood was just too big of an environment. In our Catholic school not only do I feel the principal knows who our child is, he knows a lot about him.

Like Poster 7:02, we have have experience with private and public schools (MCPS), and disgree with the last comment that one must attend private school to have small class size, sense of community, extra-curricular choices, etc. We found our public school provided those attributes better than the private schools, including a stronger academic program in math and sciences. The private schools did seem to have better English instruction. However, overall we have found our public schools and teachers to be as good, if not better in many instances, than what we found in private schools.

I went to Catholic, public and independent private schools and we also looked into all three options for our kids. In many, maybe even most, parts across the country, the academics at Catholic schools are better than public. From what I've heard from teachers and parents whose kids have been at both, that is not necessarily the case here. If you're in a good school district in this area, the academics are stronger in public. I know several people who even argue that the academics are better in the good DCPS (Lafayette, for example) than the Catholic schools.

At the Catholic schools, however, you get the emphasis on values and a strong sense of community. For many people, this is as, if not more, important than academics. You also have less bullying, problem kids who hold the class back, etc. Most Catholics have more opportunities for the extras like sports, PE, art and music as the public schools have cut these extras.

If you want academics plus small classes plus values plus community plus extras then you have to go to an independent private school.

I went through catholic schools right through college. We started out by sending our kids to catholic schools. We ended up switching our kids to public schools. We live in Fairfax County and could not be happier. The parents are so much kinder. There are so many options for our kids that they would not have in our catholic schools. As far as the moral upbringing of our kids, we feel that is our responsibility. Our children, like every child in their school, volunteers. We are very happy and we don't have the stress of tuition. We are able to save for college!

Love the structure, respect, discipline, small class groupings, and sense of community at our parish school. The kids are individuals, known by name to everyone, and they are held accountable for their work and their behavior. What we like best is the small bureaucracy. We can call and the principal knows both of us, and our kids, and our parents (who are also parishioners) and really has her finger on every little detail of the school.

Open Houses will be in the next few weeks. Go in and look around because they all are different. I don't know that I would be as happy with my kids at one of our neighboring schools but probably would be at the other. They each have a different style based on the principal and the community they draw from.

Anonymous wrote:I went to Catholic schools pre-k through HS, parish schools, independent Catholic and archdiocesan.

Things that Catholic schools do better:
-teach discipline, respect and responsibility. You are taught to respect yourself and others and be responsible for your actions.
-reading and writing: when I went to college, I was so far ahead of my peers because I had years of rigorous vocabulary, literature and Latin in addition to English.
-sense of community and social justice teachings. You are taught that there is more in this world than just you. That you should contribute to the greater good and help those less fortunate than you. You are taught that social injustices harm everyone, not just the target group (i.e. the poor, the sick, the elderly, children, racial/ethnic groups).
-you learn about world religions and are taught values
-you are held to a high code of conduct
-you develop close friendships with smaller classes
-you are taught about learning for knowledge's sake
-iron a shirt? check! Hem your skirt? check! polish your shoes? check! 25 years later, I am one of the only women my age that knows how to sew, iron properly and polish and repair my own shoes.

Went to Catholic school all throughout school - K thru 12

You don't actually really learn these things - it happens as a by product of the environment so it really depends on the school you choose. I went through 9 years with the same kids year after year and when that happens you naturally become more community oriented and its harder to actually be mean and disrespectful to other kids for too long.

Catholic school is great for the average kid who is "normal" both developmentally and socially but any outliers - they are in for a tough ride.

Catholic schools by and large aren't interested in teaching kids in a certain way so rote memorization is perfectly acceptable most of the time as a teaching method as are many other classic methods.

Anonymous wrote:I am debating on putting my 11 yr and 4 yr old in catholic school next year. Some say don't do it, it's a waste of money, some say your children will be sheltred and need to be able to be exposed to peer pressure.or yes, do it your children will get a better education. I'm so confused. I just want the best for my kids and to stay on the right path. I do my best to teach my kids to be responsible, manners, discipline and work hard and school comes first. Still undecided on what I should do

I think the 11 year old should have a lot to say in the matter.
The money -- depends, tuition is relatively low. But I don't think education is a "waste" of money.
Uh, yes, there's peer pressure at Catholic schools.
"Better" education is often in the eyes of the beholder or determined in hindsight. But most often depends on the particular teacher and peer group your kid has.
Go to the school and check it out, ask questions, go when the school is in session to see the students, try to get a feel for the place.
I still don't know the answer to your questions and I have one kid in high school (public all the way) and 2 kids in Catholic.

I am debating on putting my 11 yr and 4 yr old in catholic school next year. Some say don't do it, it's a waste of money, some say your children will be sheltred and need to be able to be exposed to peer pressure.or yes, do it your children will get a better education. I'm so confused. I just want the best for my kids and to stay on the right path. I do my best to teach my kids to be responsible, manners, discipline and work hard and school comes first. Still undecided on what I should do

[quote=Anonymous]My experience is with Montgomery County and I have found that the public school students, at least the higher level/honor level, are more advanced than the Catholic school students. This is especially true in the area of math and science. This is even true of the "top" Catholic high schools. [/quote]

And how exactly would you have gained this knowledge? Are you an Admissions person at a university?

I'm afraid your statement isn't very credible.

I don't doubt that there are a lot of bright kids in the Montgomery County schools especially in Math and Science. How many of this group are left if you take out the Asians?

My experience is with Montgomery County and I have found that the public school students, at least the higher level/honor level, are more advanced than the Catholic school students. This is especially true in the area of math and science. This is even true of the "top" Catholic high schools.

I went to Catholic schools for all of K-12. I hated Catholic grade school. Lots of kids were rich bullies. The priests and nuns would never have accepted the idea that these kids were bullies because they were huge brown nosers and their parents donated a lot of money. They were untouchable. Catholic high school on the other hand I loved.