St. Dominic School

I have been extremely pleased with St. Dominic s Catholic School in Kingsport, TN. We are not Catholic but during my interviews with private institutions I found that St. Dominic s was warm, open and welcoming. Ms. DePollo, the principal, met with me and answered all my questions. There is a culture of excelling in academics at St. Dominic s. Teachers look to promote each student s individuality. Small class sizes mean each child gets individual attention! It also means that there is no opportunity for bullying. The teachers here are very open to working with students and parents. (When my daughter went to Knoxville to the Regional Spelling Bee, her teacher travelled down to support her!) As a certified, independent school St. Dominic s students take the IOWA test which qualifies them to participate in further educational programs such as "DUKE Tip" . After being with the school for 2 years, I truly feel my children are loved and that they're getting an extremely high-quality education. If you are considering a private school option for your child you do not need to look any further than St. Dominic s Catholic School in Kingsport, TN!
—Submitted by a parent

I have 3 sons and they all went through St Dominic. The youngest one is currently in 3rd grade. The school blends a family atmosphere with high academic demands and opportunities, all from an inclusive, loving God centered perspective.
—Submitted by a parent

We have a child in 1st grade and another in preschool. We are impressed with the quality of education they are receiving. Also, we enjoy the sense of community through high levels of parent involvement.
—Submitted by a parent

I can't imagine anywhere else I would send my children to elementary school! Where else can you start your day with a personal prayer, the Lord's Prayer, Pledge of Allegiance & an Anthem. It only takes about 10 minutes, but what a great way to start a day and say thanks to God & Country! It's an awesome Christrian education! Thank you St. Dominic's for being such an amazing option!
—Submitted by a parent

Fantastic school! You couldn't ask for a better environment to educate and nuture young children!
—Submitted by a parent

I have two students at St. Dominic School. My boys are in 1st and 4th grades. They started in the Pre-K program, which is excellent preparation for Kindergarten. The teachers are fantastic and bring out the best in each student. The small class sizes provide the opportunity for individual attention. The curriculum is challenging and includes traditional elements (math facts, cursive writing) with up-to-date technology in each classroom. The music and art classes are amazing - the students have wonderful opportunities to express themselves! Our boys are thriving at St. Dominic School. They are growing in their faith every day. Traditional values are alive and well at St. Dominic School. I highly recommend St. Dominic School!
—Submitted by a parent

We have a 2nd grader at St. Dominics and are very happy with the school. We switched our son from public school when he was in Kindergarten as we quickly saw the open classroom format was not suited to his learning style. We have had excellent teachers so far who challenge students at their level with an outstanding curriculum. The familial atmosphere and parental involvement cannot be overlooked--our son loves to go to school! We are looking forward to three more great years.
—Submitted by a parent

This is a wonderful school with excellent teachers and a challenging academic program. We have been very pleased with the progress of our child since attending St. Dominic's and really appreciate the attention she receives given the smaller class sizes. I would highly recommend St. Dominic's. We love it!
—Submitted by a parent

After a wonderful career teaching in public schools 20+ years, it is a privilege to be able to teach at St. Dominic School. The friends I had while growing up in Kingsport who attended St. Dominic were top-notch students and citizens and that tradition has continued through the years. Our students are fortunate to be raised in a culture of Christian values by teachers who are allowed to focus on and enjoy teaching in a much less stressful environment than some public systems have created. Our students and families are cared for individually by every employee. I agree with the positive comments posted by other evaluators.
—Submitted by a teacher

Fantastic! We moved our daughter here this year and have enjoyed it so much. She is learning so much more at this school. She also has more opportunites and experiences than she had at the local public school. And she prays throughout the day!
—Submitted by a parent

Our children are thriving! The small classes have enabled each of our kids to be challenged by the advanced and in depth curriculum. It is so nice that they are excited to go to school each morning. We are lucky to have other parents with high expectations as well. Moving here was a great decision.
—Submitted by a parent

I am a parent of three alumni and current teacher at St. Dominic School. I admire the many parents who are dedicated to provide a Catholic education to their children. There is no better gift. The children who graduate from our school are consistently of high quality in academic achievement, respectfulness, maturity, and self-control. Beyond those important qualities, they also seem to have an understanding and dedication to their Catholic faith that I don't see in most of their Catholic peers who have not attended our school. Give St. Dominic School a try. My daughter who is in Graduate School still says it was the best educational experience she has had to date. My high school and middle school daughters agree.
—Submitted by a teacher

This school is growing! We are so excited about the future of St. Dominic's! Our children are early in their elementary grades and we are so happy that the school will be open for the youngest one to graduate from 5th grade and for many more families to follow us! I think the scare of Administration almost closing the school 2 years ago turned out to be a good thing for the school - it made us appreciate and invest in this great school in the Kingsport community. Maybe we will be lucky and they will expand to higher grade-levels by the time our children are ready for 6th grade??
—Submitted by a parent

Our child attended St. Dominic for over a year. The teachers are very good and truly care about their students. Every morning starts with prayer, and the children attend Mass at least twice per week. The parents of the school are very involved and supportive. The biggest problem with the school is its principal, who is not a strong leader nor very receptive or insightful about constructive criticism. Not sure she truly understands child development. At times other staff members were not very responsive to parent concerns. The classes are very small, which is good for some children but challenging for others. Communication, especially with the principal, was a big problem. It was not a good match for our family. After transitioning to public school we have found that our child is more challenged academically in the public school system.
—Submitted by a parent

We chose St. Dominic for our children because reinforcing Christian values, particulary how we respect and treat ourselves and others, is important to us especially in the foundational elementary school years. This is a gift we are giving our children that will last a lifetime. The teachers are top notch, academics are excellent, and enrichment classes like gym, art, music are great and taught twice weekly I was worried that the small class size would limit my child'ren's social development, but they told me "Mommy, all the kids in the school are our friends!" and I knew that the kids at St. Dominic don't recognize the boundaries of class-grade. Regular interaction with kids of all grades in the school is a unique element of mature social development. We are thrilled with our school choice.
—Submitted by a parent

Our three children are recent graduates of this top notch school. Upon entering the public middle school, they were automatically placed in the advanced classes and asked to be part of the Natural Helpers Program. This is a credit to St. Dominic School's reputation in our community for its advanced curriculum and the importance it places on values, manners, and self-discipline.
—Submitted by a parent

We transferred our daughter to St. Dominic School this year from one of the public elementary schools in Kingsport. The smaller class size and more rigorous program is perfect for our daughter. The teachers and staff are wonderful. In addition, to the core academics, they have art, music, gym, health, choir, keyboarding, library, and religion classes.
—Submitted by a parent

If you want your children to go to a great school with a supportive, caring staff and small class to teacher ratio, check out St. Dominics. The proof is in the pudding, one glance at the older kids who attend there and their polite, attentive attitude toward the younger kids who go
—Submitted by a parent