St. Anthony Catholic School

Four different principals in four years equals no constant structure, leveraged a new building on the backs of parents tuition for years to come, losing teachers, losing students. The highest tuition for 3-5 year olds in the entire Archdiocese. A bus with no licensed staff person to drive it sits idle. Limited budget for field trips, and dwindling resources for extracurricular activities. If being mediocre is fine, this is the school for your kids. Finally, the new building is costing more, it is an auditorium that will sit empty most of the day, and with no gym,and no church. The kids are certainly to benefit crossing a street everyday to get to the cafeteria. Remember the school mascot for over 100 years was the Eagles, on a whim they changed it and with that... the school changed as well...forever. The Saints? you decide.
--Submitted by a parent

I have 3 children attending St. Anthony Catholic School. My oldest has been there since k4 and is graduating this year. In addition to the strong academics, which recently were confirmed through a very high high school placement test score, SACS is a close community with parental involvement and extremely dedicated faculty and staff. Each of my 3 children have unique needs, but they are all succeeding with the support of the faculty at SACS. I highly recommend SACS if you are looking for a balanced, loving environment with high academic standards and Christian values.
--Submitted by a parent

Very happy with quality of curriculum. My two children are appropriately challenged and are scoring in the 80th and 90th percentile on national tests of achievement. Community of parents and teachers way above average. Environment is warm and conducive to learning. Principals at accepting high schools continue to rank students highly in terms of preparation to do high school work. This school has been around for over 100 years and there is a strong contingency of graduates in the community. Children seem very happy at this school.
--Submitted by a parent

This is for the person that posted on September 13, 2011: Could you please say which school you chose for your children after leaving st anthony? I'm looking for a good catholic school . thank you
--Submitted by a parent

We have been a member of the St. Anthony family for several years. We are very pleased with the progress our child has made at the school, mainly due to the fact of the dedicated teachers and staff. The school is very focused on fostering the children s education and Christianity. The preparation the children receive for the next level and life in general is truly a remarkable experience. If you haven t had an opportunity to visit St Anthony s, I d strongly recommended it and believe that most families would be encouraged about the future which St Anthony s has to offer.
--Submitted by a parent

Update, I wrote the May review BEFORE learning that the board terminated principal I along with many other parents were caught completely off guard with the termination & were only emailed asking us to extend farewells as the board wrote the principal resigned(she had already been terminated and email cut off) Heard from principal in a private email that was circulated that while she was away board held a private meeting ( which they deny) & when she returned she was FORCED to resign many parents attended the PTC board meeting to only hear of new programs & programs that would continue to be in place but NO MENTION of WHY they let her leave One board member continually evaded the question when it was posed, & in not so many words said that she was not "people friendly"(Staff did not like that she was noticing that they were not challenging students, the bar was not being held high, & middle school parents did not want change) Sadly we spent quite a bit of money, never wanted to have our child begin a new school, but after touring many other Catholic Schools realize it was a God Send as the curriculum at new school is so far Superior & higher expectations than St. Anthony's
--Submitted by a parent

Buyer beware, lack of leadership is evident and is affecting learning and teaching. Board not focused on education of students, but rather on capital campaign. Latest principal was not qualified and clearly not a fit- lasted less than a year. This once thriving school will continue to decline under current board who continues to make poor decisions.
--Submitted by a parent

I love St. Anthony's. Although there HAS been recent turnover in staff, it is all part of growth & a better vision for academics for our children. I have always felt the warmth and sincerity of the staff and principal. The children are engaged in learning and continue the desire to learn outside the classroom. It has a small village feel and definitely is God Centered. As with all things new, no one likes change, however the direction the school is taking with the new programs being offered and the new programs being implemented, it is a great thing for children!
--Submitted by a parent

What a difference a year makes! This school is coming apart at the seams; almost all the middle school teachers were fired at the same time leaving the 7th & 6th graders to flounder next year. I would not recommend St. Anthony's because decisions like these make it obvious that the students do not come first. These teachers were well respected and nurturing. Appealing to the Board was useless; your child deserves a better education than can be found here.
--Submitted by a parent

Thsi school is not well run. The academics used to be very strong then became very weak over the last 4-5 years. Teacher turnover and discontent impacted the learning environment. Social development is also weak; lots of bullying with little oversight. There are too many kids in very tight spaces.
--Submitted by a parent