St. John Brebeuf School

My son graduated with honors in Math and English. When he tested for high school they placed him in remedial math. They said that most students coming from SJB are deficient in Math. Learn from my mistake. Do not send your children here. It is a substandard school and most parents will agree. Total waste of money.
—Submitted by a parent

It's to bad the previous person left our school so dissappointed and misinformed. The school offers accelerated reader for children in K thru 8th grade. They also have a new math program which is wonderful. We have gotten a bad rap from people who are not even in our school and are not aware of all the great changes that have taken place. My children are thriving at SJB and it is worth every penny. The teachers are kind and wonderful people who go above and beyond to care for our children. They are here because they actually care not for their measly salary! If you want the truth come see for yourself what a fantastic school this is, you will not be disappointed! We don't need luck, we have a GREAT school!
—Submitted by a parent

I left SJB extremely disappointed. My child was an accelerated reader and the school didn't even recognize it. I was told that the school did not have any available programs for accelerated readers until 3-4th grade. When I asked for advice on outside programs, I was told to research it myself. When I left SJB, the public school my child started attending, immediately recognized her potential and was placed in accelerated programs for both reading and math. My child is also attending a gifted kids program through Northwestern Univ. Looking at the positive reviews, I am surprised that parents are using words such as bullies or unfair to describe us. That shows you the kind of attitude and values this school and some of their die hard parents have. When I approach the principal and one of the teachers, I was told sorry, hope you can come back next year . If you want to pay for religious education (and tons of gossip) this is the place to be. Academically, sorry to say, they are pretty average and no better than many public schools. I am glad my child is thriving and I can use the $435 month tuition to cover her accelerated classes. Good luck to you all!
—Submitted by a parent

As the parent of a younger student with one beginning soon, I can say that I have been impressed with the parent involvement and overall dedication of the teachers at St. John Brebeuf. Surprisingly, I hear rumors about this school getting a bad wrap due to the principal. I do not have personal experience to comment on that. However, I can tell you from personal experience that the community is fantastic and my child loves the school, his teachers and his friends. I have also met a lot of great parents who are willing to get involved and teachers who want to make a difference. For me, there is no substitute for a great Catholic education and I've made St. John Brebeuf my first choice to give my children just that.
—Submitted by a parent

Administration is horrible! My child says the principal is never in the building and her door is always closed. Where is she? Why is she not in the building? It is time to consider other options.
—Submitted by a parent

I was told that there were a few unhappy parents who left SJB and wrote unfair bad reviews because they didn't get their way. So I came here and sure enough, those reviews below are unfair. You can tell, look at the below comment where she said all 43 families left because of education. First of all, there is no way this parent talked to all 43 families. Second of all, most of the families that left were in K and with the economy, couldn't swing a private school at this time. The fact that she has to make things up to smear this school should go to show you that the review has little merit. I feel this is a great disservice for parents who are truly looking for a place to send their kids. SJB Brebeuf is an excellent school and the facilites they have and the extra things the teachers do for this school make it well worth the money. I have a 6th grade boy and I am very happy at SJB.
—Submitted by a parent

Great school, very involved and dedicated faculty. Have sent my children here for six years and love it!
—Submitted by a parent

It is unfortunate that a few parents who may have had a bad experience, could have resolved their "problems" with a little communication with either the teachers, administration, or even the school board. Any place we send our children, we as parents need to set the standards high. At St. John Brebeuf School, in my observation, the parents who are invloved with their children's education and communicate regulary with the school - whether it be with comments, concerns, or even praise - have set the standard high enough to see that the majority of those who have graduated from St. John Brebeuf School the past five years and more have been successful in their high school academics. I can say this with confidence as I have a child who has graduated and was prepared well enough to meet the challenges of a well respected, top notch private high school. My younger child still attends the school and I have the utmost respect & confidence in the teachers and staff in preparing my youngest for high school (and beyond) just as they have done with my oldest. Good luck to those who may think otherwise.
—Submitted by a parent

I have had 4 children at SJB, we transferred them to a different catholic school because of low academic level of SJB. Teaching methods were outdated, parts of material skipped or "glanced over" comparing to other schools. The overall school's philosophy seems to be: "form over essence". If your kids are ambitious - stay away from this school, it's a waste of time.
—Submitted by a parent

I have had three children at this school since 2000. We have experienced all the grades from preschool thru 8th and I can honestly say that you'd be hard-pressed to find a more caring, loving community than this. Academically, my children amaze us at how much they know. The school's Terra Nova tests are above and beyond the Archdiocese standards. Even in sports, SJB surpasses the Catholic Conference playing guidelines. Good sportsmanship and character are taught at this school in addition to phenomenal classroom learning. SJB's parents are active in our community and our school offers everything from sports, to scouts to choir. Those who are unhappy here fit a certain profile. They are called bullies. They are not tolerated at our school. They are the ones who leave and then post negative reviews about SJB and spread false gossip about the school.
—Submitted by a parent

School is very, very poor academically and the people are leaving the school in droves. Principal and administration are very, very rude and the teachers don't seem to care. Stay aware from this school!!!!! We have two kids and we pulled them out to send to a better Catholic school.
—Submitted by a parent

Would not recommend this school. Needs a lot of improvement as far as academics goes, unless you just want your child to learn about religion, this school is not worth the money. The admin personnel is EXTREMELY rude.
—Submitted by a parent

I love this school and I would only replace 1 teacher ;-Pthe other reviews are from parents, but guess what I sometimes tell my parents I don't like the school when I LOVE it!!!! But it could use a paint job! LOL
—Submitted by a student

I have my 4 kids in SJB School. We all like it very much. The teachers are friendly, though, demanding. The academic level is high, more then average in the Archdiocese, It keeps up with the best public schools around, what experienced my daughter s friend who did. Also my friend s son who graduate from SJB and then from Notre Dame got full scholarship at Northwestern. But possibly not the high level of education but the spirit of the school makes it the place where my kids love to be. It keeps also the Christian values alive and present in SJB live.
—Submitted by a parent

My child is 11 years old (A, B student) and recently we signed her up to local learning center. After few months we realized that academic level of this school is quite low, that if we are thinking about sending our child to high school in better district we better start doing something extra for the education. Also the after school program is far from perfect. The assisstants working there will rather panish your child then investigate the situation It happen to us. Now my child is scared to go there.
—Submitted by a parent