My kids go to a Catholic school in the Arlington diocese. We are in Fairfax county. I was raised Catholic but no longer attend mass.

The good:

a very caring environment. The teachers really care and are dedicated. They showed up Aug 2020 without complaint.

High behavior expectations

Caring parent group

Uniforms are awesome

Teachers have more leeway in teaching

Standardized testing scores improved over the pandemic

They teach spelling and arithmetic and cursive

The not so great:

I think the religious part can be a little intense

I think the specials can be a bit weak

Not a lot of differentiation until middle school


We have been very happy at our school and I think it is one of the better parenting decisions I have made.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools suppress individuality.

How so? Ours doesn't.

Sexist uniforms, for one.

How are they sexist? Boys and girls can all wear the same thing.

+1
There’s no requirement for girls to wear skirts. They can wear the same uniform as the boys at our school, and many do. I’d say almost half.

OP,
Here’s something you’re probably noticing: you’re going to have to field a ton of misconceptions about Catholic schools. It’s clear people have no clue, or they are working off stereotypes from 50-60 years ago.

Totally depends on the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely look into the schools, esp high schools. Some of the Catholic schools around here are filled with all the kids that got kicked out of public school and had to find a Catholic school. Paul VI used to be known as the school where all the bad kids went when they got expelled from the public schools (don't know if it's still that way, but was a few years ago).

Interesting blanket statement

It's not a blanket statement, it is specific to this area actually. And I even narrowed it down to a specific school that I have experience with.

My spouse moved from another area of the country where the public schools are terrible so everyone sent their kids to Catholic schools. Having grown up in this area, I've seen that all the kids I knew that got expelled from public school went to a Catholic school because for the most part, it was the only viable option since private schools (non-religious) cost a ton more.

On the contrary, Catholic schools by and large do not tolerate bad behavior, so your statement is mostly untrue. My daughter's school counseled out two kids in her class during her time at her K-8. Both came from public school and didn't last a year. Catholic schools are known to turn out much more respectful human beings.

There was a study done about 5 years ago about Catholic Schools and self discipline. I suggest you read about it. Here is a WSJ article about the study. The findings showed "statistically meaningful evidence that students in Catholic schools exhibited less disruptive behavior than their counterparts in other schools." https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-catholic-school-difference-1527894168?st=f6ez68d7kg6ztqi&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Well duh, they have the power to kick out students they don’t like.

For the kids the biggest adjustment will be the uniforms and the behavior expectations. I visited the classrooms and couldn't believe how QUIET they were. It was like stepping back in time.
For you, the biggest adjustment will be the parental expectations. Most schools have an attitude that the school is one big family and that means you and your husband are expected to be friends with the other parents, not just polite. You will be expected to attend a lot of events and the parents who never show up get gossiped about as "antisocial." I don't mind this but it's something to know beforehand.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would deeply investigate what they do to protect kids against sexual assault.

You’re either a bigot or an idiot or both. Most Catholic schools are staffed almost entirely by lay people, nearly all women, with barely a priest in sight.

PP can begin the suggested research with the very strict policies and protocols and resources available here: https://adw.org/about-us/resources/child-protection/

Anonymous wrote:I would deeply investigate what they do to protect kids against sexual assault.

You’re either a bigot or an idiot or both. Most Catholic schools are staffed almost entirely by lay people, nearly all women, with barely a priest in sight.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools suppress individuality.

How so? Ours doesn't.

Sexist uniforms, for one.

How are they sexist? Boys and girls can all wear the same thing.

+1
There’s no requirement for girls to wear skirts. They can wear the same uniform as the boys at our school, and many do. I’d say almost half.

OP,
Here’s something you’re probably noticing: you’re going to have to field a ton of misconceptions about Catholic schools. It’s clear people have no clue, or they are working off stereotypes from 50-60 years ago.

Yup our all girls school has the option for girls to wear pants. There are a few who do utmost wear the skirt.

Ha. As DD was trying on uniform pants at Flynn O’Hara, even the saleswoman said, “None of the girls in Catholic School wear pants.”

We are no longer in Catholic School, yay. (Not because of the pants, lol.)

Glad you are happy. The feeling just may be mutual.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools suppress individuality.

How so? Ours doesn't.

Sexist uniforms, for one.

How are they sexist? Boys and girls can all wear the same thing.

+1
There’s no requirement for girls to wear skirts. They can wear the same uniform as the boys at our school, and many do. I’d say almost half.

OP,
Here’s something you’re probably noticing: you’re going to have to field a ton of misconceptions about Catholic schools. It’s clear people have no clue, or they are working off stereotypes from 50-60 years ago.

Yup our all girls school has the option for girls to wear pants. There are a few who do utmost wear the skirt.

Ha. As DD was trying on uniform pants at Flynn O’Hara, even the saleswoman said, “None of the girls in Catholic School wear pants.”

We are no longer in Catholic School, yay. (Not because of the pants, lol.)

Probably because the skirts are more comfortable. But it's nice to have options. At the schools in warmer areas the girls can wear shorts and many do. The girls have all the options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools suppress individuality.

How so? Ours doesn't.

Sexist uniforms, for one.

How are they sexist? Boys and girls can all wear the same thing.

+1
There’s no requirement for girls to wear skirts. They can wear the same uniform as the boys at our school, and many do. I’d say almost half.

OP,
Here’s something you’re probably noticing: you’re going to have to field a ton of misconceptions about Catholic schools. It’s clear people have no clue, or they are working off stereotypes from 50-60 years ago.

Yup our all girls school has the option for girls to wear pants. There are a few who do utmost wear the skirt.

Ha. As DD was trying on uniform pants at Flynn O’Hara, even the saleswoman said, “None of the girls in Catholic School wear pants.”

We are no longer in Catholic School, yay. (Not because of the pants, lol.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools suppress individuality.

How so? Ours doesn't.

Sexist uniforms, for one.

How are they sexist? Boys and girls can all wear the same thing.

+1
There’s no requirement for girls to wear skirts. They can wear the same uniform as the boys at our school, and many do. I’d say almost half.

OP,
Here’s something you’re probably noticing: you’re going to have to field a ton of misconceptions about Catholic schools. It’s clear people have no clue, or they are working off stereotypes from 50-60 years ago.

Yup our all girls school has the option for girls to wear pants. There are a few who do utmost wear the skirt.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholic schools suppress individuality.

How so? Ours doesn't.

Sexist uniforms, for one.

How are they sexist? Boys and girls can all wear the same thing.

+1
There’s no requirement for girls to wear skirts. They can wear the same uniform as the boys at our school, and many do. I’d say almost half.

OP,
Here’s something you’re probably noticing: you’re going to have to field a ton of misconceptions about Catholic schools. It’s clear people have no clue, or they are working off stereotypes from 50-60 years ago.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Understand that the teachers are poorly paid, may not be certified in the area in which they are teaching, are forbidden from being gay, likely have terrible health care, and have no organization to back them up if they have a mean principal. I would look for a regular private school.

My kids Catholic school K teacher used to be a former attorney. Do I care she’s not certified in kindergarten?! Hell no! She’s amazing and pushes the kids who can handle it beyond what is expected for K. She’s loving and nurturing and a whole lot of fun. On the other hand the K teachers I work with in public (of course, not all) are counting the days to retirement. Many are dead behind the eyes just to get through the day. Who cares if they were certified for K 30 years ago?! They’d rather be doing anything else. I’ll take the teacher who believes in Catholic school and chooses it as a vocation despite the lower pay any day of the week!

+1,000,000

Case in point, our Catholic school was open for the entire 2020-21 year and teachers didn't whine about it like the crazy unions did. Thank God my kid was in Catholic school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would deeply investigate what they do to protect kids against sexual assault.

You mean as compared to the sovereign immunity-protected public schools where the abuse problem (1) remains current, unlike Catholic schools with extremely effective protective programs; and (2) the (ongoing) abuse is estimated to be 100x the alleged problems of the past in Catholic institutions?

I’m relatively disinterested in whether we can sue and highly interested in what is being done to prevent. You haven’t actually answered the question about what they do and how it compares to public school.

Whose estimate is this “100X”? Citation please.

All staff and every parent who volunteers with kids goes through training related to safeguarding children from sexual abuse. There are policies in place to ensure that children are not alone with adults and even the appearance of impropriety is avoided. I received similar required training from Boy Scouts. There are also background checks required to be a volunteer. I’m not aware of a similar requirement for volunteers in public schools, but maybe it does exist.

All of these are required in MCPS.

Only difference is MCPS has hired a bunch of sex offenders lately. The training and background checks at MCPS are lacking and teachers and staff are mostly protected as much as possible. I don't even think parent volunteers are fingerprinted at MCPS. They are for Catholic schools. Glad we got out because of this and a whole myriad of reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Definitely look into the schools, esp high schools. Some of the Catholic schools around here are filled with all the kids that got kicked out of public school and had to find a Catholic school. Paul VI used to be known as the school where all the bad kids went when they got expelled from the public schools (don't know if it's still that way, but was a few years ago).

Interesting blanket statement

It's not a blanket statement, it is specific to this area actually. And I even narrowed it down to a specific school that I have experience with.

My spouse moved from another area of the country where the public schools are terrible so everyone sent their kids to Catholic schools. Having grown up in this area, I've seen that all the kids I knew that got expelled from public school went to a Catholic school because for the most part, it was the only viable option since private schools (non-religious) cost a ton more.

On the contrary, Catholic schools by and large do not tolerate bad behavior, so your statement is mostly untrue. My daughter's school counseled out two kids in her class during her time at her K-8. Both came from public school and didn't last a year. Catholic schools are known to turn out much more respectful human beings.

There was a study done about 5 years ago about Catholic Schools and self discipline. I suggest you read about it. Here is a WSJ article about the study. The findings showed "statistically meaningful evidence that students in Catholic schools exhibited less disruptive behavior than their counterparts in other schools." https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-catholic-school-difference-1527894168?st=f6ez68d7kg6ztqi&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink