Anonymous wrote:When people say catholic schools, I think they are talking about "parochial" schools, not independent schools that are catholic. So Avalon is not in the group of Catholic schools that are not a good value--neither is Stoneridge.

Oh, and are you going to tell that the Pope isn't Catholic either?

Anonymous wrote:which is so, so wrong on so many levels

You know, I think that is debatable. My kids are in private and we pay tuition in full for both and it makes things tight otherwise. Still, it's a choice we have made. We make more than $300,000 but not by much. Folks on the private school bread get really worked up about this but, as long as the poorest families get the most aid, and get it first, I don't really have a problem with the remainders trickling up to other HHI range families. My concern would be if my kids were at a school that did not have need blind admissions. I believe that all applications should be viewed equally, as in not ranking by in ability of the family to pay.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools. Reasonable tuition. Good value.

Catholics don't have the kids at the bottom of the class in public, which pushes up their average scores/level of rigor. However, they also have large class sizes, and some use outdated curriculum and techniques. The big regret that my Catholic school grad friends have is the lack of rigor and critical thinking in their classes.

Why wouldn't Catholic schools have 'kids at the bottom of the class"? It's not applicant based. Don't they take all parishioners?

which is so, so wrong on so many levels

Wrong again.

Financial aid is available to two income families, within certain parameters, making upward toward $300,000/annually at many private schools in the area. Most people have absolutely no idea how much financial aid is available.