The parish has grown increasingly conservative over the past few years. Actually I would describe it as more Trumpy. It hasn't entirely seeped into the school but it is reflected in many of the parents. LFS is a good school but if you can't stomach Trumpism then you might want to look elsewhere.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, we've applied to HTS and are very interested, but of course it's hard to get a feel for the school over Zoom. Could you please explain/elaborate on wht the parents are a "mixed bag"?

I’m a NP but will bite. Another poster in this thread described parents as obnoxious. I’d say there is a lot of surface friendliness - you’ll get people smiling and telling you how welcoming the school is. But then you realize that there is a pretty gossipy and clique-ish mom culture. Obviously it’s not everyone - there are families from all over. But there’s a strong inner circle vibe. If you feel like you’d be “in” the circle, or if you won’t mind feeling “outside”, then you’ll be ok.

The following sounds snarky, but it is meant kindly, with no disrespect at all to HTS

If you were meant for the inner circle, you’d already know it, and likely you would not need to post here.

To the PP who asked, the reply above is a great example of the vibe at HTS. “My snark and judgement are meant in the kindest way!”

This is so perfect!

If you are a parishioner it’s far more common for you to have applied at the entry year. If that’s PK, then there will likely be few spots open for K. Hopefully you are a very active parishioner, baptized your kids there, attend Mass, clearly show your intent to stay the remainder of the years - THOSE are the ones who get the handful of spots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we are at LFS. it's a wonderful school. they've been open since sept without incident. academics are strong. traditional curriculum. both my kids are thriving there. I know they already had waitlists for some grades prior to covid and now has very long waitlists. being a parishioner you might have a shot. faith component is very emphasized, which we like.

my kid is applying for kindergarten and my family has been part of the parish for nearly 30 thirty years, i really hope we have a shot. i went through my sacraments there. do you think that will help a bit?

Do I think it will help that you did your sacraments there? Honestly, no.

I actually think it will. More so, that your fam has been parishioners forever. The pastors do get involved in admissions decisions. Dedication to the parish is highly emphasized, and I think some of these Catholic schools are a little worried that everyone is going to leave in a few years, which may happen. If they know you have that stronger connection, whether it’s long-time parishioners or actually going there in the past or doing your sacraments there, it could definitely help. Our school had a wait pool too, so they gives themselves a lot of wiggle room when they start using that term. As new parishioners, we were waitlisted for K (joined with the school app ), but we were told we were the very first on the list for 1st, if anyone leaves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we are at LFS. it's a wonderful school. they've been open since sept without incident. academics are strong. traditional curriculum. both my kids are thriving there. I know they already had waitlists for some grades prior to covid and now has very long waitlists. being a parishioner you might have a shot. faith component is very emphasized, which we like.

my kid is applying for kindergarten and my family has been part of the parish for nearly 30 thirty years, i really hope we have a shot. i went through my sacraments there. do you think that will help a bit?

Do I think it will help that you did your sacraments there? Honestly, no.

Anonymous wrote:Nothing special about HTS. It’s the location that makes it competitive.

Yes. Sadly “the best thing about us is our location” isn’t a great marketing campaign.

Joking aside, the ranking a few posts above is honestly pretty accurate if you are looking for a neutral comparison.

Nothing special about HTS. It’s the location that makes it competitive.

Agreed with poster above. If you’re looking for strong academics I would chose OLV over HTS.

Back to OP’s question, if you care about education, I would rank the choices:
1) OLV
2) LFS
3) HTS

OLV excels in just about every category compared to LFS and HTS. Little Flower and Holy Trinity are both very nurturing. LFS had better facilities than HTS. Holy Trinity creates a good community atmosphere for the kids. Lots has already been said about the parents.

Of course, if you live 2 blocks away from HTS, it’s a fine school. Like someone else said, the location is probably the best thing going for it. And depending on your situation, that may matter more than other criteria. To each their own.

Anonymous wrote:We have kids at Holy Trinity and I wouldn't consider us "inner circle" but my kids have had a great education and it's a caring community.

If you care about such things, the "circles' are multiple - wealthy families who live in Georgetown in walking distance to the school and aren't necessarily even Catholic + legacy families (there are parents who attended HTS as children in each of my kids' classes).

Unlike some Catholic schools within the Beltway, we didn't get the "what country club do you belong to vibe" at HTS. We think, on balance, the community truly tries to live up to its Jesuit heritage in being people for others and showing support for all.

Curious which schools you are referring to re: a more country club vibe than HTS?

As a member of the “old guard” these so called inner circles are laughable to most of us. And yes many of us do live in Georgetown.

We have kids at Holy Trinity and I wouldn't consider us "inner circle" but my kids have had a great education and it's a caring community.

If you care about such things, the "circles' are multiple - wealthy families who live in Georgetown in walking distance to the school and aren't necessarily even Catholic + legacy families (there are parents who attended HTS as children in each of my kids' classes).

Unlike some Catholic schools within the Beltway, we didn't get the "what country club do you belong to vibe" at HTS. We think, on balance, the community truly tries to live up to its Jesuit heritage in being people for others and showing support for all.

Anonymous wrote:This is a stupid reason but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to enroll non preschoolers in a school named Little Flower. We chose OLV.

And you’d be correct.

Anonymous wrote:You would not have been offered a spot at LFS in pre-k. Filled abs waiting list for last two years

You missed what I was saying. For any grade BUT pre-K, and maybe K, the “little flower” branding is not great.

You would not have been offered a spot at LFS in pre-k. Filled abs waiting list for last two years