why should I send my daughter to a catholic school?

Answer 1

I used to go to catholic private schools. My my freshman and sophmore years were spent at an all girls academy in san diego called The Academy of Our Lady of Peace(http://www.aolp.org/) which has been rated number one by the WASC (http://www.acswasc.org/)
Sure I had to pray every morning and take religion classes, but the academics for all the other classes were amazing (and challenging). The teachers were some of the best my school could find, but all schools are different. There were only 700 or so girls vs. (let's say) 2,000 students, so everyone was close to eachother. I had a lot of friends in all different grades, we had a lot of great chances to get scholarships. We had the astronaut Sally Ride come to speak to us last year, Veronica Mars was filmed partly at my school, Bring It On the Movie was filmed here too....but that was MY school so I don't know if anything like that would happen at the school you're looking at. Our Catholic school is "college prep" so we all have to maintain a 2.0 or higher GPA. BUT remember that all schools are different. Instead of asking a general "should she go to Catholic school?" you should think about the SPECIFIC school. When you find a school, public or private, you should look for their accreditation.

So after putting my Catholic school experience in such a bright light on a pedestal...I do have to tell you the cons of sending your daughter to Catholic school...
Though I did go to school in a friendly enviroment, it was almost too friendly for SOME girls I knew. I didn't have a problem with this but some girls found the school to keep the girls "too sheltered" from things. But that may be because it was an all girls school. Depending on the school, they may be strict. My school wasn't too strict on things and encouraged individuality. Some schools that I know of that are Catholic are strict about everything...as I said before, it depends. Also, the reason I'm not going back to the Academy of Our Lady of Peace is because of tuition. My school's tuition was almost reaching $10,000 a year...I have scholarships and other thing like CalVet money grants, so if I stayed at The Academy then my high school tuition would be more than my college payments, which is hard to believe but CalVet (a Navy grant my dad got for me) pays for everything and my scholarships from my speeches I did for competition added up...Anyway, depending on the school you're looking at, you may or may not like the tuition amount. I'm not going to public school, and I've started classes...I'm fitting in very well, but that's just me. The only difference I see is no religjon class, church, or prayers in the morning for me anymore...otherwise I've made a lot of friends already.

Ultimately it's your choice, you can't us YAHOO members decide for you. Overall I'm just going to say that I loved going to Catholic school but I also love being a part of summer school. Talk to the staff of both schools, do your research, think about YOUR beliefs (and no one else's) and hopefully you will find the right school.

Oh one more thing, I wasn't originally supposed to ever start Catholic school when I was five...but my dad decided to send me to one and said that if I didn't like it or it gave us problems, I could be transfered to public. So if you are really interested in a Catholic school education, go ahead and try...if anything happens, transfer her to public school.

It's your choice, not yahooanswer's choice.
GOOD LUCK


ps. since my school is one of the best, most of our alumni even come back to OLP (OLP is our nickname) to visit and speak about their success after graduating. My graduating friends all have scholarships. Whoever said that Catholic school kids do worse than public schools should know that it's all about the individual more than the school. Any kid/teen/young adult can make a bad choice regardless of what school he or she attended.

Answer 2

Depends on how old she is. If she is young and your family is religious, do as you wish. But if its a catholic high school, let her choose whether or not religion will be a big part of her life. I know that catholic schools are usually great schools that had much better education than the public, but it also took up a lot of your children's times in church and all. I mean, it might have an impact for her in life. The environment is not broad so she might have trouble socializing later. Education is important and the choice of schools required careful analysis of what are your expectations and your daughter's own choice.

Answer 3

In my opinion:

Catholic schools in the United States provide a very good moral and religious base for children. As a rule they are also safer than public schools.

Educationally, most of them are above average. Although some are exceptionally good and a very few are bad. Your school or the diocese should have some test scores for comparison.

In general, Catholic schools do a good job with average and above average kids.

However the resources of most Catholic schools in the United States are limited. If students need extra attention due to being way over or way under average, then their needs may not be properly met.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

I attended Catholic schools for 12 years (decades ago). I have taught in both. In general, the parochial school students are better behaved, the parents take more of an interest in what their children are doing and learning (it's costing them money!). The current Catholic schools are less strict then when I attended but the students are expected to behave. The class sizes are reasonable. Behavior problems either shape up or they are kicked out. The students get a religous education, not indoctinated, but a knowledge of Catholicism. Uniforms really help, no boys pants hanging around their ankles, no muffin tops on the girls. If the public schools in your area are in bad shape, and if you can afford it, a Catholic school is fine.

Answer 5

well i sent my daughter to a catholic school and she did just great. for one thing, when i walked into the school whatever time it was you could hear a pin drop. and she had homework almost every night. plus once when she had stopped working as hard as she should have the principal called me at home to discuss her behavior with me. (gasp) yes the principal knew each child by name. there were plenty text books. and the best part is when i had to transfer her to public school because of financial personal reasons, she was a grade ahead and graduated a year early from high school! my daughter will tell you that she preferred catholic school over public school. oh, i forgot the number one reason. she and i both enjoyed the part religion played in her education. peace and blessings phat beatz

Answer 6

You haven't said whether your home is a Catholic home. If it is, your daughter will feel comfortable there, and will receive a good education. If you are not, you are going to put your daughter in a stressful situation because she will be cut out of some activities that have to do with the church.

Answer 7

I have not have been given any clue how i think with regard to the full "GOD" concern. I deliver my daughter to catholic college. we live in a city with a very undesirable college equipment so she has been going because of the fact that preschool and could be in seventh grade in Sept. i became into additionally raised catholic and went to catholic college. I hated them and did get kicked out. I went to a very sturdy public college however. i don't think of you're forcing ideals on her she is her very own guy or woman and could make up her ideas such as you probably did. You do what you will possibly be able to desire to do to furnish your infant the basically right practise.

Answer 8

You shouldn't.

I'm the only member of my family to attend catholic school

I'm also the only atheist.

Unless you are an exceptionally devout family (you attend church every sunday, you pray before meals, you talk about god every day etc..) Your child will get mixed signals and this may cause him or her to grow up very confused, this was what happened in my case.

If you have the money I would reccomend sending your child to a non-denominational private school. You will get a MUCH higher quality education for your dollar that way


Keep religion in the home and at church, It's healthier that way. There are also CCD classes available for bible study with almost every parish.

Answer 9

Catholic schools do three things that are great:

1) Uniforms make children express themselves verbally and creatively, instead of asthetically.

2) They're great at creating a community environment.

3) Your children will be able to understand way more Simpsons jokes.

Answer 10

Many catholic schools provide a better EDUCATION than public schools. That alone, may be a sufficient reason to send your daughter to one.