St. Brendan Parish School

I don't believe these other reviews are actually from parents. The principal has actually told teachers to write their own reviews. These are very biased. Do not believe them. Also to the principal, get ahold of me. Or I will come to you. You haven't talked to me since I graduated, but I have to talk to you about your choices.

We are the parents of two wonderful students who have benefited greatly from the education they have received at St. Brendan and we highly recommend the school to anyone. We have one student in high school now and she was very well prepared by her years at St. Brendan. The teachers at St. Brendan set the bar high, but give the kids the tools to succeed. If you choose to send your child to a Parochial or private school you need to plan on being involved in and present at the school, which is definitely family oriented. In recent years the school has added a pre-school, before and after school care, and the selection of extracurricular activities has grown greatly. These new additions have benefitted the school, which only keeps improving year after year. We will be leaving the school this year as our youngest child graduates and we will leave with nothing but gratitude for the principal, teachers and community.
—Submitted by a parent

We have loved having our kids attend the school. We have met some great families who we will consider life long friends. Most of the teachers are very caring and want to see your child succeed. We have had a great relationship with the principal. She has been fair and respectful to our kids. The kids have developed good study habits and will be/were ready for high school after 8th grade. We would recommend the school for sure!
—Submitted by a parent

So I am a high school student who previously graduated from St. Brendan and I have a few choice words to say about certain staff members. So although I graduated years back, I don't want any other students to experience the effects of terrible leadership that I had to go through. Now thankfully this wasn't the entirety of my schooling at St. Brendan, only my later middle school/ junior high years. I am talking about the current principal. She made the already awkward years of being preteen even worse for me. Now I know whoever reads this will think this is probably written by a parent or adult, but I assure you my years as a student in the 6th-8th grade years were so far from a positive experience that I just had to get this out. In my time as a student there, the principal also enforced the same rules for the kindergarten-5th grade students, as the older junior high students. I found this quite unfair. The real kicker of this all is the leadership and quality of the school has been steadily declining over the years. I've heard many stories from families still at the school that the principal treats every student as a number and doesn't care if they leave. So these are my thoughts.

I found this site while looking for a new school to move our children from St. Brendan's.Student teacher ratio is not 20/1, the class size is to be capped at 30 at least one class has 31.The aides in each class(very nice) are not teachers they are parents.We never thought we would leave, we have graduated 2 kids who attended amazing catholic high schools and are on to Catholic colleges.Since the current principal took over about 7 years ago the school has drastically declined in every aspect.The community spirit that was once unbeatable is no longer.We now have students admitted that are in need of special accommodations that St. Brendan's doesn't offer. In my daughters class there are 2 boys who yell, hit and lack self control. Not the child's fault! He needs special resources to help him succeed and be happy.Each time we have approached the principal to resolve this situation we are told she will take care of it.Nothing has ever changed four years we have endured not one but two impulsive children that bully and taunt in her class.With sadness we are leaving our friends and amazing priest, it all comes back to the lack of leadership and poor choices of the current principal.
—Submitted by a parent

Making the decision to send your child to a parochial school is one that my husband and I will never regret. Our children attended St. Brendan Parish School and we thoroughly appreciated the impressive education they all experienced and the strong sense of community offered. As young adults, they have often thanked us for the sacrifice we made to provide them the best education possible. To this day, the St. Brendan Community is still an important part of our lives. Strongly suggest attending St. Brendan!
—Submitted by a parent

We have a recent graduate and two current students at St. Brendan. Our experience has been amazingly good. I beg to disagree with other reviewers in that our experience the current principal a very good one. She is very concerned about the well being of every student and has a very hard job. The teachers are all wonderful too, each one very dedicated. The families from the school are wonderful and care for one another and form a very well rounded community. We have not seen the large number of families leaving, rather we are experiencing a large waiting list on the preschool program! Our eldest child graduated and was offered VERY generous academic scholarships from private high schools around the area. Others in her class received the same outstanding recognition.
—Submitted by a parent

I have two children at St. Brendan's and have been part of the community for almost a decade! I have been overall pleased with the academics and the wonderful school community. In any school, there are going to be teacher preferences but have come to acknowledge different approaches to teaching and different teacher personalities help prepare children for the real world. I have I am especially impressed with the way my Middle School child has become an individual that is aware of the people & needs around her, confident with herself, and has become an amazing writer. I definitely credit St. Brendan's for contributing to her overall character.
—Submitted by a parent

We have had children in this school for close to 13 years. The current principal has driven the school down a very unsuccessful path. The teachers seem afraid for their jobs, the school community is no longer the loving and caring environment we came to years ago. Very large number of families leaving this year. If someone would come in and clean house in the administration the school would have a chance to come back to life. Too many parents are on staff as teachers. Would not recommend.
—Submitted by a parent

Not worth the tuition. The religious/catholic education is great but the academics are a one way road. If a student feels challenged, they fall behind and if a student is more advanced, then there are no honor type classes. Some of the teachers are good, others not. The playground/field are dumpy. Northshore Schools have more to offer, especially at the Junior High level.

Very cliquish in some grades, not much diversity and all about money. If you are looking for Catholic Education, I've heard good things about Holy Family. Northshore Schools offer a lot more then St. Brendan. I also agree that the playground is terrible and some teachers are not interested in parent feedback.
—Submitted by a parent

I have not been very satisfied with St. Brendan. Many of the classes are cliquish, and if you son or daughter needs extra academic help, St. Brendan would NOT be a good choice. A lot of the teachers are very unhelpful, but on the flip side, the science teacher, Mr. Fairbank, and the 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Conrow, are execellent teachers and they have great energy and love to work with the students. The playground and field are very dumpy and are not able to be used most of the time. I suggest looking into the Northshore District Schools.

Great school, wonderful community. If you want to join a family and not just a school go to St Brendan's. Principal is excellent. Some of the teachers are not the best but others more than make up for it.
—Submitted by a parent

I agree with the post from earlier today, this school becomes family. It is a wonderful community of caring students and teachers. The principal is NOT wonderful. SHe is self serving and quick to rush to judgement based on her personal relationships/feelings and not necessarily the facts. She puts profit above Catholic values often t the detriment of the school community.
—Submitted by a parent

St. Brendan is a wonderful community and offers an excellent education for students in grades K-8. The staff is supportive and very available to parents. St. Brendan students continually score higher on WASL tests than students in Northshore School District. This is a wonderful Catholic school with strong emphasis on teaching the Faith.
—Submitted by a parent

This is great for kids with learning disabilities. The sceince teacher is phenomenal! But if your child is gifted musically or academically, do not go to this school! Some of the classes are cliquish, and there are very few minority families. It has a strong language program, if students apply themselves. It's a very devout school with daily classes on Roman Catholocism.
—Submitted by a student