Double post

[Christine]

I must be naive as all heck, because I've only recently started hearing about gangs in MIDDLE SCHOOL! Who knew That seems so young for kids to get involved in that sort of activity

Where I live, we are now getting a large influx of El Salvadoran immigrants (legal and illegal). We are having huge issues with it. There is a problem with the MS-13 gang and I forget the name of the other one. So, yes, it has trickled down to the middle school level. As you know, most elementary schools pull from one or two neighborhoods. My neighborhood is pretty nice as is the other neighborhood that populates the school, so we have a great elementary school. Just 5 miles from me is the area where the immigrants have chosen to settle. I don't consider it unsafe and I go through there every day. But, they do have the gang issues and they happen to feed into the middle school we are zoned for. Usually the middle schools and high schools take from ALL over (not just a few neighborhoods) so that is where we get into trouble.

 

[delilah]

Just wondering - do they charge the same tuition for members of the parish and non members? If the parish pays for part of the expenses of the school, I would think they wouldn't want to be paying for non members.

My nephew attended a Catholic grade school that was free for parish members (through a trust fund left by a member). But they did not give him the special ed classes he needed and he moved to public school.

Our school has a participating parishioner and a non-parishioner level for tuition. In order to be charges parishioner tuition, you have to attend mass on a regular basis, you need to donate more than a certain amount of money to the Church (not school), and you need to volunteer for activities at church and school. I am not sure who is taking the attendence at mass, however. I've only seen our pastor at the mass we attend one time all summer, since Memorial Day!

 

[chrissyk]

Our school has a participating parishioner and a non-parishioner level for tuition. In order to be charges parishioner tuition, you have to attend mass on a regular basis, you need to donate more than a certain amount of money to the Church (not school), and you need to volunteer for activities at church and school. I am not sure who is taking the attendence at mass, however. I've only seen our pastor at the mass we attend one time all summer, since Memorial Day!

At the Catholic school in MA that my friend uses for her kids, "attendance" at Mass is taken by logging in your envelope/donation every week. She was skipping mass for a while, and the priest actually pulled her aside and told her that they hadn't seen her at mass recently (as she was dropping her kids off)! I told her that they missed her ENVELOPE, not her presence I think that she got the picture after that and started making her envelope donations.

 

[legs22]

Why did you beg your parents not to send you to MCC? You don't have to answer if I'm being too personal BTW! I'm just curious because that school would definitely be under consideration here.

After going to Catholic school for 5th to 8th grades I was over it. I didn't want to wear uniforms anymore or take religion classes. I wanted to go to a regular high school.

 

[TammyJ]

Christine, I'm not sure exactly where you are writing from in N. Virginia but you can't be too far from me. I have to say I'm glad that most of the public schools here are very good. The cost of housing is so crazy here I'd hate to have to pay for school too (that is in addition to our already large contribution through property taxes!)

And as an aside, our next door neighbors are from El Salvador and are working hard at making their American dream come true. (Just didn't want to leave the wrong impression that all Salvadorans are a bad influence.)