Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Anselms is also in an unsafe neighborhood

I guess to some, "middle class" equates to "unsafe". The area is perfectly safe, just a bit off the beaten track for those who rarely stray east of 16th Street.

St. Anselm's still runs a bus from VA, and one from MoCo as well.

Actually I think it's "anything near or in Prince George's County" equates to "unsafe".

Why would anyone send their kid to private school in an unsafe area? you send your kid to private to avoid the you know what....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St Anselm's neighborhood is much safer than Gonzaga's neighborhood. Sursum Corda is the real deal.

Gonzaga is a safe place. The reputation of the school and the respect for it that the people of the neighborhood have for it are well known.

Boys learn how to navigate in the City or in any city.

No school is perfectly safe. Parents should try and restrain their obsession with safety.

The life experience of attending a school like Gonzaga is far superior to the life experience that boys get in hermetically-sealed hot houses.

Gonzaga is not safe. Are you serious? Have you ever been around that neighborhood? You are seriously comparing the safety of the Gonzaga campus to other private schools?

I have heard that O'Connell's scores are brought down vs. Ireton b/c O'Connell accepts more kids with mild or greater learning disabilities, but that for the middle/top kids there's not a big difference. I have a kids with mild LD's and I am looking at O'Connell for the future.

Anonymous wrote:St Anselms is also in an unsafe neighborhood far from what would be thier natural recruitment area of upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, etc. This is the same reason why Carroll High has declined so much in recent decades.

Let me guess. You live in someplace like fairfax.

In any case, did you mean to say here that St Anselms has "declined" in recent years for the "same" reasons as Carroll (a school which I know nothin about), the reason being that St Anselms isn't in, say, north bethesda? Please clarify if you're still reading.

Anonymous wrote:St Anselm's neighborhood is much safer than Gonzaga's neighborhood. Sursum Corda is the real deal.

Gonzaga is a safe place. The reputation of the school and the respect for it that the people of the neighborhood have for it are well known.

Boys learn how to navigate in the City or in any city.

No school is perfectly safe. Parents should try and restrain their obsession with safety.

The life experience of attending a school like Gonzaga is far superior to the life experience that boys get in hermetically-sealed hot houses.

St Anselms is in an unsafe nighborhood. Notice in last week's paper the Catholic U. students who were mugged at gunpoint INSIDE thier off-campus home only 3 blocks from St Anselms. They better run a bus into there because no one in thier right mind would venture there on public transportation. The poster didn't say Gonzaga was in a safe neighborhood, only that St Anselm's is in an unsafe neighborhood. If you don't believe me, then walk by yourself from the campus to the Brookland subway station after dark and report back on how safe you feel.

St Anselm's neighborhood is much safer than Gonzaga's neighborhood. Sursum Corda is the real deal.

Anonymous wrote:St Anselms is also in an unsafe neighborhood

I guess to some, "middle class" equates to "unsafe". The area is perfectly safe, just a bit off the beaten track for those who rarely stray east of 16th Street.

St. Anselm's still runs a bus from VA, and one from MoCo as well.

As an Ireton parent I would say give it a look. My son was an elementary and middle school (public) honor student. He's just taking the regular (not Honors) curriculum at Bishop Ireton and finds it plenty demanding. The school definitely takes the "whole person" approach from what I have seen, but the academics are def. better than many publics. Just examples, but this year I know he has read The Odyssey, Siddhartha and Things Fall Apart. None of which are 'easy' reads - their history teacher is fantastic - put on a mock trial of Julius Caesar and runs a Roman Forum fair (like RenFaire but with each student assigned a classical personage.) And for students who want even more challenge there are options: honors track and AP classes. The school is also Catholic in just the right measure (for us) -- I am Catholic, my husband is not and I would rather encourage my son to learn the traditions yes, but mostly contemplate the big questions (e.g. who am I? do I believe in God?) more than just be instructed in doctrine.

St Anselms is also in an unsafe neighborhood far from what would be thier natural recruitment area of upper NW, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Kensington, etc. This is the same reason why Carroll High has declined so much in recent decades.

St Anselms is more for the neerdy boy not involved in sports. Many Catholics won't even consider it precisely because they allow so many non-Catholics to attend. Those from the CYO-obsessed parishes much prefer Prep/Gonzaga/St Johns. Not sure, however, if St Anselms could stay afloat without the non-Catholic enrollment. So its a catch-22 for them, in order to keep thier numbers up and stay financially secure, they must admit the non-sportsy boys who tend to be more non-Catholic.

St. Anselm's used to run a bus from VA. It's only 60% Catholic in enrollment, but having the monastery right there certainly keeps the Catholic ethics and teachings alive every day. Great school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you live in Falls Church/Vienna, your best option for a boy is Gonzaga and for a girl is Visitation. Prep is a good school, but the commute on the Beltway is more difficult and time-consuming than the trip downtown to Gonzaga. St Anselms and The Heights are decent schools, but best serve certain types of Catholics. If you are a run-in-the-mill Catholic without quircks and not extremely conservative, you are best served by Visi/Gonzaga.

Visi/Gonzaga are highly selective and sought-after schools for most Catholics. You don't just apply and get it. It's not so easy.

Not true if you DON'T live in Kensignton, Chevy Chase, NWDC, Potomac, Bethesda.

There are a lot of Gonzaga students from Virginia.

Yes. Kids from all over go to Gonzaga and it is an amazing school .... Va, PG, s.md, ex burbs of md... But the social pressure to go to Gonzaga in these areas is much less as you get farther away from the areas mentioned above. They are not as "sought after" as those social circles believe once you remove yourself from those groups.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about O'Connell?

You can get a good education at any of these schools. Students at the top of their classes go to great colleges.

People who go to not-so-great colleges have tremendous careers.

But the question was about schools with significant focus on academics.

O'Connell and Ireton would not fit that description.

This is correct. Look at the test scores and compare to a public like Langley. The Heights (just over the river - it runs a bus from NoVA) is the most academically rigorous but it is Opus Dei and your kid must be a self-starter. If not, you will be counseled or advised out. There is no hand holding.

If you took the scores of just the O'Connell kids who come from homes similar to those that feed to Langley, I'm sure the SATs score would be comparable.

So why spend the thousands of dollars?

Because it's a better fit for my kid and it's our money to spend? What's your concern?

The question probably comes from one of the public school boosters who continually patrol this forum looking to question why anyone would consider other than a public school education.

Why do they care? I think they believe that every child that goes to a private school is a loss to the public schools.

I'm certain that many public school administrators feel that way. I have heard them say as much.