catholic school questions.

[fortheluvofpooh]

I am considering entering my dd into the catholic school kindergarten program. Mainly due to the fact that it is a smaller class and dd gets panicky in larger groups. The catholic shool has an enrollment of 12 kindergarteners for this coming year, compared to the public school of over 100 am and 100 pm session kiddos. I am wondering though, we are not catholic, how will that play out in the long run. We are episcopalian and the two faiths are close, but if she stays in through elementary school how will communion work out? I don't want a scarlett letter on her pointing out she can not receive communion. She is already beginning communion training in our church. I know I should just call the principal and ask, but just wondering if any other non-catholics have sent their children to catholic school? We have a christian acadamy about 1/2 hr away, but I worry when bad weather hits how do I get her there. SO Many ??????s

 

[strawberrygirl]

Well, here in Canada, some of the Anglican churches are merging with the Catholic ones and there won't be much of a difference. They might have to see the Baptismal certicate for varification that you child was bapitized in an Anglican church. Why not call the Bishop of your area and ask him as well? We are Catholic and send our child to a Catholic school and we love it. They learn alot. I was born Anglican though and then became Catholic later on. Things are changing....it might not be as complicated as you think.

 

[BCV513]

They certainly won't brand your daughter with a scarlet letter for not being Catholic. I attended Catholic school my whole life. I now teach in a Catholic school. My mother and sister both teach in different Catholic schools. My father is Jewish, and there was never an issue to my siblings and I being not totally Catholic. And we were taught by nuns!

In my school alone, there are kids of various Christian denominations. We even have some Muslim students. Their parents send them to us for the education, not the religion. During Mass, they are expected to sit quietly and not be disruptive. At Communion, the non-participating students sit quietly in their seats and pray.

We do teach religion every day. All students have to be taught that, regardless of their own religion. We're required to do that by the Archdiocese.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

We're Episcopalian too (my Dad is a priest) and I went to a Catholic High School. It was fine! No one cared about the difference. I didn't participate in a few things (confession) but there were plenty of other kids in the same situation. We looked into this for my daughter, 8 yrs old, but decided to keep her in public school (for know) due to financial reasons. It is a great option to be able to put your child in a smaller classroom. Good luck, it will work out no matter what you decide

 

[NotUrsula]

It depends entirely on the school. Ours treats children who are non-Catholic as if they were in the process of Conversion. They are required to attend all Masses, participate in religion class, and prepare for and participate in the Sacraments just like their RC classmates, except that they can choose not to go through with Confirmation (as can any student.) Essentially, if they go along completely and finish 8th grade, they *are* RC when they leave, at least technically, because of the Confirmation with the school as parish of record.

This is undoubtedly because they only started accepting non-Catholics in the past two years; our previous school was a lot less secure in terms of enrollment and had been accepting non-Catholics for decades, they were a lot more accepting and only required participation in religion classes. Our current school still does not accept non-Christians unless they are willing to participate fully and to be baptised in some Christian church before starting school.

As parents, we have to sign paperwork agreeing to all of the religious requirements, including regular weekly Mass attendance with the family (that's on the honor system; they don't take attendance on Sundays.)

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

My children have bee in Catholic schools for a long time. If a student was not Catholic they were never forced to participate in Masses, etc, but were required to learn the faith in Religion Class (in grammar and middle school). As they grew and entered HS, they were taught about other religions with only a very small emphasis on the Catholic faith, so sooner of later your daughter would be discussing her own faith.

 

[Mkrop]

My kids go to Catholic school and I went as a child. We had non-Catholics in our classes, it ws a non issue.

 

[ccgirl]

My DD school handles it exactly as BCV513 stated, but I see we are from the same area. It could vary school to school (more likely diocese to diocese). Her school does not require a student to be Catholic in order to go to school there but they still have to go to religion classes and mass. I really love the school, they teach them to be kind and they are very quiet as they pass between classes. I'm not sure how the school you are looking at is, but in my DD's school there is only one class per grade and they only teach at one level. Some of her friends have had to go to public for special needs, speech therapy etc.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Now this is just me, obviously, but I wouldn't put my child into a private religious-based school if it is run by a different religion than I follow.

 

[james'mommy]

I've recently been looking into private school options in our area because of the public school class sizes. I think my son would benefit from a smaller class size. The local catholic schools have a 17:1 ratio. Not worth the extra money in my opinion. But I did find a local Friends (Quaker) school that has a 7:1 ratio. They also don't push their faith very hard so I like that aspect. You might want to check and see if you have some in your area.

 

[Pembo]

I teach in a Catholic school and I'm not Catholic. We sent our ds to a Catholic school for kindergarten. He learned alot of the rituals but it wasn't a problem. The basic beliefs are the same.

As for First Communion in 2nd grade, some is taught in school but at our school, those kids had to attend some things outside of school as well. We had a non-Catholic last year...he got an extra day off of school when the rest of the class had a First Communion retreat day. He was happy.

I would talk to the principal about your concerns.

 

[BCV513]

Now this is just me, obviously, but I wouldn't put my child into a private religious-based school if it is run by a different religion than I follow.

Around here, unless you're extremely wealthy, Catholic school is your only private school option. More and more families are being priced out of even the Catholic schools. Tuition at my little elementary school is $5000 per year now. My Catholic high school wasn't that much! The Catholic high schools in my area are close to $15. It's sad to see families who want their kids to have the education but can't afford it.

 

[scootch]

Our catholic school is 30% noncatholics. There has never been an issue. Now they do have to attend mass on fridays with the rest of the children and such, but I have found especially in our lower grade religion books so much is based on good morals, being honest, ect... than it is any real Catholic faith issues that would be worrisome for someone who is not catholic. The smaller class size is WONDERFUL and you will also find a high percentage of families like you... ones who really care about their kids. Not that there aren't families like that in public schools, dont' get me wrong... but most people who are willing to spend several thousand dollars a year on their kids education when they could get it for free are big into family, ect....

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

thank you all for your input. I plan on calling the principal of the catholic school and speaking to her about my concerns. We do have christian school but as i said it is 35 minutes away and we live in the mountains so I am concerned how I would get her there in the bad weather. I know the roman catholic and the episcopal churches are very similar, I grew up in the catholic church and attended catholic school, but when/where I went there were not any non catholics in the school, the first non catholic I encountered in my school was 11th grade.

 

[EKW]

but she won't be the only one. I went to parochial schools for 12 years. The secondary school I attended was a boarding school...with girls from all over the world. There were girls from Taiwan and Africa who weren't Christian and lots of girls who weren't Catholic. It wasn't a big thing.

Obviously, they took religion classes with the Catholic girls. They attended mass. If they wanted to participate they could do readings, intentions, or take up the offeratory.

It wasn't a big thing.

 

[EKW]

It depends entirely on the school. Ours treats children who are non-Catholic as if they were in the process of Conversion. They are required to attend all Masses, participate in religion class, and prepare for and participate in the Sacraments just like their RC classmates, except that they can choose not to go through with Confirmation (as can any student.) Essentially, if they go along completely and finish 8th grade, they *are* RC when they leave, at least technically, because of the Confirmation with the school as parish of record.

This is undoubtedly because they only started accepting non-Catholics in the past two years; our previous school was a lot less secure in terms of enrollment and had been accepting non-Catholics for decades, they were a lot more accepting and only required participation in religion classes. Our current school still does not accept non-Christians unless they are willing to participate fully and to be baptised in some Christian church before starting school.

As parents, we have to sign paperwork agreeing to all of the religious requirements, including regular weekly Mass attendance with the family (that's on the honor system; they don't take attendance on Sundays.)

They recieve communion and attend reconcilliation? That shouldn't be happening unless they have officially converted. I would challenge the school administrators on this. If it's happening with their knowledge, you should go to the bishop.

 

[Kriii]

Plenty on non-Catholics and even a few athiests in dd's Catholic School. Not a problem and all are welcomed. Religion is a required course of study but not and "indoctrination" by any means. Many kids in the school due to the excellent academic reputation not the religion. If you like everything else about the school, don't let the religion part hold you back, especially since you are Christian anyways.

 

[dis-happy]

Around here the Catholic HS has some of the best college placements in the city! I have several friends who have had their children in starting from K up to 12 and my first-hand experience has been one of a strong education. I would definitely visit and tour the schools you are considering and see if that makes a difference in your opinion of what's the best fit for your child. Good luck!

 

[balletmom97]

My kids attended a Catholic school for 6 years and we are Southern Baptist. (Shh...don't tell anyone I'm on a Disney board!)

Prior to making our decision, DH and I really investigated the likenesses and differences in the two denominations. We also spoke to the principal about having a non-Catholic enrolled.

The principal put us at ease-- at that time, approximately 30% of the school were not Catholic. A good percent of the remaining 70% were not "active" Catholics. Our kids would have daily religion class and attend mass, but would not be asked to do anything in direct conflict with our faith. In return, our kids would be expected to be respectful of the Catholic faith.

From a religious standpoint, I feel like this is one of the best decisions we ever made! We had regular discussions about the how and why of our beliefs vs. the Catholic belief system. As a result, both kids have a very deep understanding of their faith and are very comfortable discussing it with others. They are comfortable in all houses of worship and love to really study other world religions. (I have great kids.)

That said-- the first 5 years were wonderful. In the 6th year, a new principal was installed and she openly stated that she had a goal of making the school 100% Catholic. She went out of her way to make the non-Catholics and inactive Catholics feel unwelcome in the school. She did a good job, as we were part of the 50% or so that decided not to return the following year.

Don't be afraid to give it a try....you are not signing up for a lifetime! If it doesn't work out for you, you are free to move on....

 

[Worfiedoodles]

We are not Catholic, and my ds has attended Catholic school from K1 (4yr. olds) through 6th grade. The school he attends has a big sign out front right now "Enrolling Children of All Faiths". He does not participate in communion or reconciliation, but he does go with his class to the services. We don't have a problem with that. There are some kids whose faith prohibits that, they just go to the office if the entire school is going to a service, and it's no big deal for them or their classmates.

Recently his class was responsible for some activity during a service, and they were all required to attend. Since we are not Catholic, I just had to send in a note verifying he had attended services that week at our church (we are United Methodists). He does have a religion class with a grade, he's getting an A+. I always speak with his religion teacher at the beginning of the year to explain we are not Catholic and to let me know if there are any things we should know. When I spoke to her at his conference this year, she said the non-Catholic kids are actually getting better grades than the Catholic ones, because they have to learn the material -- the other kids pay less attention because they think they already know it. This year they are studying the Old Testament -- nothing controversial in there for me -- I think high school is where they get into theory that differentiates the Christian religions in more detail.

We do not have any complaints, and he has never felt out of place. The classes are smaller, and I know he is getting a better education than our public schools offer. If we were required to attend Mass, or ds was bombarded with "conversion" materials, I would have balked and come up with another solution -- I guess every school is different. I would definitely suggest a chat with the principal, and perhaps a visit with someone who is not Catholic who has children in the school -- so you can get the benefit of their experience.

Good luck to you, whatever you decide! Selecting a school can be scary, but when you find the right one you will know it!

Maria