Catholic schools and New Homes (Draper, Holladay: work, invest, moving to)

[EvolvingElevation]

Hi All.

Before I get into the issue(s) I would greatly appreciate input on, let’s just get past the issue that seems to be discussed the most on this forum — living in UT with Mormons. Even as a practicing Catholics, we see them as just extremely good people who we would welcome as our neighbors and co-workers.

Happily, it seems my family and I are moving to the SLC area this summer and I would greatly appreciate some input on where to settle.

1. Are there any new homes being built convenient to my husband’s I-80 commute and a Catholic school? If so, who are the builders building them?
2. How strong are the Archdiocese schools academically? Do you know any information about particular schools?

Like I said before, I really appreciate any information you can give and the time you spend giving it.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Judge Memorial is an outstanding high school - I know some Mormons who send their kids there for the education. Juan Diego is on the southwestern side of town, I think, and also seems to have a good rep but maybe not quite as good as Judge. Can't help you about younger-years' schools. See them all over town. You should call the archdiocese office to ask about boundaries for the high schools, and any others you might be interested in. Where I come from, there is a fairly rigid parish system in place, you have to petition to get in another parish's school.

[tupapi]

We moved to SLC about one year ago. We're also catholics. You can send your kids to any catholic school no matter where you live, if there's a position available. We live in Draper and couldn't get our kids into St. John the Baptist (part of the Skaggs complex that includes Juan Diego High School), so they went to one of the smaller schools in Holladay for one year. In general it was a good experience, although academically it depends on the teacher.

We managed to get them into SJB this coming year and we're so very happy, because of the convenience and the reputation of the school. Judge has a good reputation as an older school, but Juan Diego has the best facilities in SLC and excellent academics, sports, arts. Many teachers have migrated to Juan Diego. Take a tour of the school, you'll be impressed.

I agree with your comments about Mormons, but we feel that public schools (with the exception of certain areas near the center of SLC) basically are controlled by the LDS. We wanted our kids not to be the odd one out. Not to be left out. When you consider that public schools here all have an LDS "seminary" next to it, and that kids are allowed to go to it during the school hours, leaving behind the non-LDS kids, thats just not right. I just think that the LDS church should just invest in their own schools, rather that using public funds to basically finance their school system. That's why the school voucher was strongly opposed by the LDS and didn't pass. Catholic schools actually have more balance in regards to different cultures, etc, even different religions ( I know it doesn't make sense), because the're seen as an affordable private alternative to public schools here.