St. John the Evangelist School

the best 'well mannered' and caring students in the county, which shows that they have great parents and teachers
—Submitted by a parent

It is a awesome school community to be a part of. I love this school so much that I drive 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes after school to pick up my son. That is how much I love this school and want him to be a part of it.
—Submitted by a parent

It has a fun, small town, neuturing environment. Moral, spiritual and academic education are important to the school and families. There is plenty of interaction between the teachers and students and students within various grade levels. In addition, there are many after school activities for the families to meet.
—Submitted by a parent

St. John the Evangelist is a wonderful school. There are great teachers, students and parents that love being involved with the school community.
—Submitted by a parent

St. John the Evangelist has a great community, made up of wonderful teachers, students, and families.
—Submitted by a parent

I love St. John the Evangelist community for so many reasons! We have great kids, nice parents and super teachers. Our children learn how to be loving and responsible young people. Academic excellence and Christian values go hand in hand to make this a very special learning environment where every kid counts and everyone can learn to make a difference.
—Submitted by a parent

That work with the parent to ensure that the child is learning, values and morales besides just reading, math and writing.
—Submitted by a parent

I have to award no stars. The school is, literally, crumbling around the students and the student population is declining so rapidly that it's difficult to imagine it'll remain viable as an institution much longer. The Archdiocese recently published a 10-year retrospective of enrollment figures that shows the school's population has nearly halved. Why is it that class sizes must remain so large? Why are teachers so poorly trained and, even then, full-time employees are compelled to move to part-time status? Someone below wrote 'sinking ship,' this vessel has sunk.
—Submitted by a parent

Unfortunately, nothing seems to change despite the dreamy thinking. While there is parental involvement, it's about what you'd find anywhere else. The class sizes are still too large given the low enrollment. 15-18/class would be more ideal; not 22+. Outside of the ridiculously lacking physical plant, my biggest gripe is Homework Skills. According to what's on the paper, this is time spent after school teaching children how to improve their study habits and get extra help where needed. Unfortunately, it's really glorified babysitting. Academics aren't everything to be sure, but more needs to be done to identify gifted children and to teach to their ability and push them harder.
—Submitted by a parent

Our son has been attending St. John the Evangelist for 1.5 years and is in middle school. Prior to this he attended public school. The language arts curriculum at SJE is much more rigorous than the public schools. Also, this school takes Science ahd History education pretty seriously, unlike what we experienced at Montgomery County Middle Schools. The math is a little less challenging than the accelerated program in public schools, but it is good. The school is warm and friendly and they teach the children to respect themselves and others. We are very happy with the school.
—Submitted by a parent

Zero stars, this school is not only not aging gracefully... it's failing miserable. It barely obtained middle-states accreditation and it falls so far in comparison to the other local parochial schools (many winners of the Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence) that it would be laughable if it weren't so tragic for the children enrolled there. We removed our daughter and are happier with the public school.
—Submitted by a parent

I am the parent of four daughters. Three of them currently attend St. John and the fourth will when she is old enough. As a former teacher I am completely satisfied with the academics at the school. More importantly as a parent I am extremely happy that my children are being brought up in a caring community where they are treated as individuals, by a devoted, professional faculty and staff.
—Submitted by a parent

St. John the Evangelist is a great school. The education and values taught are preparing my children for high school and beyond. The class size is very manageable, with most grades averaging about 22 students. Three new teachers hired for the 2008-09 school year complement the existing staff, who provide a solid curriculum across every grade. St. John's band has received numerous honors and every year St. John's students compete quite well for high school scholarships. I feel St. John s provides an excellent and safe environment for children to learn and grow.
—Submitted by a parent

A sinking ship (perhaps a sunken ship). We had to remove our daughter from this school after the latest round of teacher cuts. Classroom sizes are atrocious. Children get little individual attention despite the schools overall small size. The administration is at a loss as to how to rectify things and simply keeps budget tightening to try to save its way out of a financial mess. If you enter a first grader in this school don't expect it to still be operating when (s)he reaches the 8th grade.
—Submitted by a parent

This school has many problems that continue to worsen. Enrollment declines every year with the added problem of good teachers now leaving. The students aren't being prepared for the advanced skills they'll need to enter top high schools unless they're simply an absolute genius and would do well anywhere. And while there's a level of parental involvement, it isn't any more or less than you'd find at other schools. Nothing substantial has changed with the physical plant regardless of the interest from the endowment now available. Quite frankly, there's so much that needs done it'll be years before everything's up to snuff. With all this said, if you're intent upon either a private or parochial education for your child/ren, your money is better spent elsewhere. While I'm saddened to rate this school as unsatisfactory, they really do deserve the rating.
—Submitted by a parent

Great education and good enviorment.
—Submitted by a parent

Our children have attended St. John's for 11 years and one is in high school. Our child in high school was extremely well prepared and had a wonderful experience at St. John's. Our two younger children are in the primary grades and are doing just as well as our older child did. There have been issues as there are in any other school, however, the principal has dealt with those issues effectively. I daresay that utopia will not be found in any school, but St. John's provides a well balanced education and Christian environment with very positive parental involvement. The community is very close knit, active and caring. It's exactly the kind of place at which you want your child to be every day.
—Submitted by a parent

The principal of the school is doing all that she can to avoid following the Diocesan guidlines regarding Kindergarten. We withdrew one of our sons from this school two years ago when no full-time Kindergarten was offered, with the hope that in two years our next son could attend such. Again, this year the school is offering an ersatz 'full-time' program. Their same half-day program with a daycare supplement for more than twice the price. It's 'name only' sophistry. It's wrong. Time for the leadership to go or this school will shut its doors within a few years.
—Submitted by a parent

I attended this school from 6th to 8th grade. While I greatly enjoyed my time there, I also felt there was a lot that was lacking. There were a few wonderful teachers there, but most seemed poorly educated about the material. Since it is a Catholic school religion should be important--but often it took precedence over actual education. When I entered high school (a public one), I had to learn a lot of skills that most students already covered in middle school. This school will definitely not put your child ahead in academics.
—Submitted by g h, a former student

We removed our son from this school after two years of hoping it would get better. It seems to exist in a state of 'magical thinking' on the part of the administration that by stating platitudes 'Work each day to make our school a better place.' that such will somehow come true despite a lack of resources, poor teacher retention, little movement to embrace technology, and a dwindling enrollment.
—Submitted by a parent