The Bare-Bones, Humble, Catholic School

This K-8 Catholic school wasn't initially on my radar screen, primarily because it isn't one of the big, beautiful Catholic schools that dot our city.

But Alex insisted we look at it. A friend and former classmate of his transferred into to this school last summer, and Alex has been talking about it ever since. Alex's friend comes from a Catholic family, and they felt their son wasn't getting the structure he needed in our public school. Their boy was not "stepping up to the plate," as the parents said, and taking responsibility for his academic performance. A smaller school, a school with more discipline built into the day, was in order, in their view.

Alex is curious about his buddy's new school, and I started to get a bit more curious when a second kid from Alex's class transferred over.

But, I'm not Catholic. Although I did look at a couple of other, grander, Catholic schools five years ago for my daughter, I've never felt at home in them. It wasn't the schools' fault. It's just that, frankly, I wouldn't feel comfortable sending my child to a school where beliefs I don't share are taught. I wonder if I should just get over that, look at it as enrichment for Alex and let him decide what he believes, on his own. What do you think, dear reader?

The Bare-Bones, Humble, Catholic School is housed in a rather boring, nondescript building, but it makes up for it by being in a cute neighborhood near a woodsy park. This park is the front door to a little known canyon situated in the heart of the city. The canyon, with its creek, hiking trails and rope swings, is one of San Francisco's best-kept secrets. I count being near this canyon as a major plus for the little Bare-Bones School.

When Alex and I arrive, we notice we're the only ones there for the tour. We're taken around by a vivacious eighth-grader and a silent seventh-grader. The day's bright sunshine seems to fill the school with golden rays from heaven. The classrooms are populated with gentle, happy children. Slowly, my view of the school changes from a lack of interest to grudging approval, but definitely not one of outright admiration.

The classrooms are orderly, if sparsely adorned. The library is small and unimpressive, but Alex disagrees. [See his comments below.] The playground is the school's parking lot and offers no special structures for the younger children. There's no field, or other amenities for P.E., which one would expect to see in a larger public middle school. The kids go to the park down the street twice a week for P.E., but that's it.

The only extracurricular is a very limited offering of music. It's taught once a week, and amounts to singing and music history. There's no language option, no art, no computer class. I'm amazed that so little is offered and yet you have to pay to go there. I guess you're paying to have the semi-exclusive, small school experience.

I'm not sold on this school, not at all. Alex, on the other hand, says it's his first choice!

Alex on The Bare-Bones, Humble, Catholic School: "It seemed like everyone was happy there. When I walked into the cafeteria it smelled like a real restaurant, like it had real food, not like other schools in San Francisco. It had a pretty big library, and it seemed nice and quiet, and two of my friends go there so it seems like a pretty good school to me. I asked my friend if he liked it and he said yes.

"The tour guides were nice, even though one of them barely talked. I wouldn't mind wearing a uniform. They don't have art. That's sad for me, but I wouldn't mind it that much. I can adjust. It's a Catholic school, so they pray in the morning, so I guess I'll just have to pray!"

Comments

[NA]

Great posting!

It's Catholic School Week and I know we've been looking at several schools in Silicon Valley.

One tip that has helped me on the tours has been to not only look at the Kindergarten class we want our son to go into, but the 8th grade class. It pays to look at what the school starts with, and what they end up producing as graduating students.

[Susan]

I really enjoy reading your blog. My daughter will be going into 6th grade next year, and we are going through pretty much the same experience in North Phoenix/Scottsdale. Her older brother goes to a small college prep charter school for grades 6-12. He's been very happy there and I believe it's a good school for him, but I'm not convinced that it would be a good choice for my daughter. She loves music and theater and this school has none.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I will be interested in learning what choice you make and how it turns out!

[Tessa Davis]

My two boys are starting school next fall. My oldest has been in preschool for 2.5 hours/day, 5 days/week this school year and will be in pre-K next year. My youngest will be starting preschool. Both will be attending school all day, 5 days a week.

We (my husband and I) recently did our own school search. Because we both work 8-5 jobs, we needed a school that had all-day kindergarten and preschool as well as after-school care (or an after-school program), so we first had to rule out half-day kindergarten programs and the like.

We ended up with three options: public school, catholic school, and montessori school.

We also are not catholic and couldn't really see immersing our kids in beliefs that we didn't share, so we went ahead and ruled out those programs, even though several kids on our block (friends of our boys) attend the nearby catholic school.

We then toured the montessori school and sat in on one of the classes. I didn't know much about the montessori philosophy, but after touring and observing the school, I decided it is a great idea - in theory - but that it seemed very restrictive and would likely clash with my 'spirited' children's personalities.

We finally looked up as much info as we could about the public schools using GreatSchools.com. It was very helpful (and interesting) to look at parent comments and test scores. Unfortunately, it was also disheartening - the scores seemed to peak at 3rd grade, and then fall off quickly, often below state averages.

We were resigned to fit our two square pegs into the round hole of the montessori school, figuring it was the most in line with our goals (though also the most expensive), when another, totally different, private school came onto our radar.

This school, in fact, is so new, it hasn't even been built (although a site has been secured and modular buildings have been ordered for it, the school board is set, and teachers are being hired and trained). It is the Rochester Arts and Sciences Academy, in Rochester, MN.

What is different about this school? It offers an International Baccalaureate curriculum, which is extremely rigorous, but also very broad - languages, art, and math are introduced very early, and critical thinking and a global (world) view are emphasized. It also places children in classes of their academic and physical (not necessarily age-matched) peers. So if my brainiac 4 year old can read and do math, he may be in a class with first graders for those subjects, but in physical education with other 4 year olds, whereas my highly coordinated 3 year old may be learning letters and numbers with other 3 year olds, but playing sports with the first graders.

The best parts: this school isn't as expensive as the montessori or catholic schools, though it is similar in size, and it offers preschool through 12th grade. Also, it doesn't recognize the school-age cut-off which requires kids turning 5 after Sept. 1 to wait another year before starting kindergarten, regardless of academic ability.

Call it coincidence, fate, or divine intervention that two highly-educated scientist parents, wanting the best start for their two sons, happened to be searching for schools with similar standards and curriculum at the precise time that the school of their dreams was being created!

Of course the true test will be how our boys enjoy the school and if this environment is challenging enough, structured enough, but also flexible enough to allow them to grow, discover, and express their talents and abilities.

These are the things we all want for our kids, and I think they can be found at many different types of schools. I think you are on the right track by looking at and comparing as many schools as possible and also letting your child help with the decision. I have no doubt that you will find a school that provides that 'perfect fit' feeling!

Good luck!

[Katerina]

I found your blog through the Greatschools.net web site. A former teacher, I'm also an advocate for school choice.

With your son's talents being in the arts realm, I can see where the lack of an art department might be a negative. However, what are the teachers like? Are they supportive of creative students? Do the kids have an outlet for their creativity within the curriculum? I used to teach Spanish, but within my curriculum I encouraged my students to use their creative talents. I tried to incorporate art activities that tied directly into the curriculum as often as possible. What does the classroom teacher do to encourage incorporating the arts in general into the curriculum?

Was there an art club that met after school? If you decide you like the school overall, maybe you could consider having your son attend art enrichment classes through the city or in a club, or even start a club, or just do activitivies after school.

One thing about Catholics....there's a lot of art in the religion itself. Catholics are visually expressive. While art isn't taught at the school, maybe your son can study and even copy the art in the building and also that he sees within the practice itself.

Religion. On the one hand, I understand your concern about the difference between your beliefs and what is taught. However, because it's a private school, the school has the right to teach what is part of its faith practice and beliefs. Your son would not be the first non-Catholic child to attend a Catholic school. I used to live in Georgia, and I attended a certain Catholic church that had a school it supported. The school had a top-notch athletic department for which it was well-known throughout the city AND the state. Many of the athletes weren't Catholic. Perhaps you might want to talk to the administrator to learn their thoughts on their approach to the non-Catholic child and respecting the rights of that child.

[BJ]

Hi! I thought you and your readers might be interested in some post-Easter news about Pope Benedict XVI...
The Pope's car is being auctioned off to raise money for Habitat for Humanity:
www.buyacarvideos.com/popecar.htm
The bidding is already more than $200,000! Personally, I think this is a really fun and creative way to raise
money. The auction goes until April 14th if you and your readers want to check it out.