Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any experience with a parochial school that is as rigorous or more rigorous than public school? The public schools near us have plenty of differentiation and the catholic schools not so much. I'd like to know which parochial schools are great academically.

+1

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any experience with a parochial school that is as rigorous or more rigorous than public school? The public schools near us have plenty of differentiation and the catholic schools not so much. I'd like to know which parochial schools are great academically.

Unfortunately no. Our DS was not performing well at a parochial school so we moved him. His testing indicated he was way behind the grade level, especially in math.

Does anyone have any experience with a parochial school that is as rigorous or more rigorous than public school? The public schools near us have plenty of differentiation and the catholic schools not so much. I'd like to know which parochial schools are great academically.

Catholics are not as evangelical as some other denominations. If your children attend an evangelical school, my guess is that they'd be more welcoming of other religions but then would pressure you to convert. I don't think Catholic schools are closed minded, but parochial schools for a specific geographic area and a specific religion. People tend to associate with others who live near to them and have similar interests.

One of our bad experiences was in MD, the other in NOVA.

I'm curious if those who had such negative experiences were in schools in DC or MD? We're in a school in Nova, and I agree with PP that status there is much more about who belongs to which country club and who is on the PTA board. From reading DCUM over the years, it sounds like maybe the vibe is different in the MD and DC schools. I would say the majority of my kids' friends are from households where one parent is Catholic and the other isn't, including my own household.

I have found if there is a clique, it usually stems more from the country club they belong to rather than their religion or even the school. Church has very little to do with social status at our Catholic school. Granted we don't have many non-Catholic families, but one of nicest and most "connected" ones has a parent and children who are of a different faith.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But what I found most troublesome was the way the teachers treated the kids, each other, other parents, and the gossip among the parents. We were glad to leave and never looked back. It was not the best moment for the Catholic Church and my family will never become Catholic due to the negative experiences we had. And, yes, that's why some Christians say Catholics aren't Christian. I did not have this feeling before we tried Catholic Schools. I definitely have it now. And, no, I'm not a Catholic basher.

How ironic, seeing that (1) Catholics were the original Christians, and (2) American Catholics, when surveyed, are more accepting of gays, immigrants, and other minority groups than other Christian groups.

And yes, any person who would make such a statement IS, by definition, a Catholic basher.

1) the original Christians were Jews. B) AmericanCatholics are not more accepting. You are thinking of the Episcopal Church and the Unitarian Church.

+1000 The first Christians couldn't be Catholics because the word wasn't even in use then. Theologicans differ but most agree that the first mention of the Catholic Church was in the late 3rd/early 4th century. (St. Ignatius used it in 112 A.D. but in a lower "c" "Universal" sense, not as a name for a church). The first Christians were indeed Jews. They did not become Catholics. THere was no Pope, Bishops, Mary veneration, Saints, holy water, hell, limbo, purgatory, indulgences, etc etc. until well into the Dark Ages and beyond: all man-made. And as for saying Amiercan Catholics are more "accepting" - oh right, I can't remember a more snobby group "Holier than Thous" group than Catholics in D.C.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the PP who said Catholic schools only teach the poor, you've never heard of the Convent of the Sacred Heart schools.They specialize in the well-off.

OP: it will all depend on the community and how insular the school/parish really is.

http://sofie.org/

Of course, they don't only teach the poor. But they do teach many inner city kids even though the Catholic population no longer attends these schools.

Give us an example of another religious organizations that does as much.

But Catholic schools are not generally for middle class Protestants regardless of how dissatisfied they are with the public and other private school alternatives they have before them.

I can do more than that. I'm in the Salvation Army. We have you beat. You don't come in until no. 5 and that's only U.S. charities. http://www.forbes.com/top-charities/list/

Anonymous wrote:

... NP. I have to agree with this. We tried two Catholic Schools (and, yes, paid the Protestant rate - I hate that hurtful parent who keeps popping up saying the prots. are trying to get a private school education on the cheap by going with Catholic Schools). We admired the values of the schools; the communities; the intact families; and the devotion. It's very hard for me to put a finger on . . but we were never trulyl welcomed. Many of the families had grown up in the parish or in the neighboring Catholic schools and were very tight. They just didn't seem to have "time" for new people. I'm the dad - both my wife and I tried to get in the spirit. We did the auctions, the trips, the fundraisers, everything . . but there just seemed to be an elite (in their own minds) clique that did everything together. It worked well for the first year, then started to fall apart. Other protestant families left too. I found the gossip repellant.

+1000 The day I said a final goodbye to this was the start of a new life for me. I am inclusive of all different cultures, but this was was just ... closed. 4 years of this nonsense.

+ Wife and me too.

... NP. I have to agree with this. We tried two Catholic Schools (and, yes, paid the Protestant rate - I hate that hurtful parent who keeps popping up saying the prots. are trying to get a private school education on the cheap by going with Catholic Schools). We admired the values of the schools; the communities; the intact families; and the devotion. It's very hard for me to put a finger on . . but we were never trulyl welcomed. Many of the families had grown up in the parish or in the neighboring Catholic schools and were very tight. They just didn't seem to have "time" for new people. I'm the dad - both my wife and I tried to get in the spirit. We did the auctions, the trips, the fundraisers, everything . . but there just seemed to be an elite (in their own minds) clique that did everything together. It worked well for the first year, then started to fall apart. Other protestant families left too. I found the gossip repellant.

+1000 The day I said a final goodbye to this was the start of a new life for me. I am inclusive of all different cultures, but this was was just ... closed. 4 years of this nonsense.

Anonymous wrote:For the PP who said Catholic schools only teach the poor, you've never heard of the Convent of the Sacred Heart schools.They specialize in the well-off.

OP: it will all depend on the community and how insular the school/parish really is.

http://sofie.org/

Of course, they don't only teach the poor. But they do teach many inner city kids even though the Catholic population no longer attends these schools.

Give us an example of another religious organizations that does as much.

But Catholic schools are not generally for middle class Protestants regardless of how dissatisfied they are with the public and other private school alternatives they have before them.

For the PP who said Catholic schools only teach the poor, you've never heard of the Convent of the Sacred Heart schools.They specialize in the well-off.

OP: it will all depend on the community and how insular the school/parish really is.

http://sofie.org/

Anonymous wrote:



Anonymous wrote:



But what I found most troublesome was the way the teachers treated the kids, each other, other parents, and the gossip among the parents. We were glad to leave and never looked back. It was not the best moment for the Catholic Church and my family will never become Catholic due to the negative experiences we had. And, yes, that's why some Christians say Catholics aren't Christian. I did not have this feeling before we tried Catholic Schools. I definitely have it now. And, no, I'm not a Catholic basher.


How ironic, seeing that (1) Catholics were the original Christians, and (2) American Catholics, when surveyed, are more accepting of gays, immigrants, and other minority groups than other Christian groups.

And yes, any person who would make such a statement IS, by definition, a Catholic basher.


1) the original Christians were Jews. B) AmericanCatholics are not more accepting. You are thinking of the Episcopal Church and the Unitarian Church.

Some Christians may have been Jews at a point in time. But once they became Christians they ceased to be Jews.

And, look around in the inner city to see which churches are involved. Any Episcopalians? Nope. Any Unitarians. Surely, you jest.

These churches are plenty Liberal. But it's all just talk and no action in helping the world's poor and the inner city poor. The Catholic Church is doing pretty much all the heavy lifting in these realms. Give me, if you can, the Episcopalian or Unitarian Church equivalent to the Jesuit Academy.The other churches are leading the way in making sure no one's feelings are hurt.

No, I am not. What is the largest charity on the planet? The Catholic church. Who invented the modern-day hospital? The Catholic Church.
Say what else you will, and many of you have, but a church that does all this IS following the example of Christ.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child attended local Catholic grade school K-8th grade, a small school (about 300 kids, 1 class per grade). I volunteered there a lot every year and knew many of the parents.

In all of her time there, I had no idea who was not Catholic, nor did the topic ever come up in any discussions with others. Was not an issue whatsoever.

You may not have known who was what, but its a certainty the Catholics knew who was and was not Catholic.

I AM Catholic and didn't know (or care) which families were not Catholic in the school. Not my business.

Others may have different experiences.