Which Catholic elementary schools are good options? (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: 2015, house)

[3rdtimesthecharm]

Hi all - It looks like we will be moving to Atlanta next summer. It is my hometown and so I am very familiar with the different areas, but much less clear on Catholic schools since I went to public school. Our son is in parochial school now (2nd grade), and we would like to keep him in parochial when we move. We would be starting in the 2014-2015 school year.

We are flexible about neighborhoods - our budget for a house is $300,000 to $350,000, so likely looking OTP. My husband's office will be right near Perimeter Mall. We'd be willing to put up with a longer commute for a good school.

These are the schools on my radar right now:

Holy Redeemer
St. Jude the Apostle
St. Joseph (Marietta)
Queen of Angels

What can you tell me about any or all of these - likelihood of getting in, academics, social aspects, etc.? Are there other parochial schools I should consider?

TIA.

[lastminutemom]

I think it is a numbers game, most Catholic schools stay pretty full and I think they are all pretty similar. Any reason you didn't include Our Lady of the Assumption (OLA)?

You probably need to call the schools and inquire. For some schools, maybe all the ones you listed, diocese may matter and given that you don't live here, you may need to understand how that works. Are you an active Catholic? Unlike other parts of the country, where seats in Catholic schools are plentiful, Atlanta has a shortage and therefore, being an active Catholic seems to matter. (I was actually just talking about this today at lunch with a friend who is Catholic.)

[DunwoodyPanhandle]

I've heard St. Jude is the hardest to get into, but I think that is largely due to its location. I don't really think there is much of a difference between the parochial schools in terms of academics--they are all great. If I remember correctly, St. Jude has more sports teams than most other parochial schools. Living near St. Jude (Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, or East Cobb) would also be doable with your budget and would keep your commute to a minimum.

Do you plan on sending your kid to Catholic high school as well? If so, you may want to consider that St. Jude largely feeds into St. Pius (Chamblee) or Marist (Brookhaven), while Holy Redeemer and Queen of Angels largely feed into Blessed Trinity (Roswell).

[3rdtimesthecharm]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, we'd like to send him to Catholic high school as well. I overlooked OLA - I'll add that one to the list as well. I also looked into St. Thomas More, but I doubt we could afford Decatur unless we wanted a small house that needed updating, which we don't. I'm willing to consider that and also Immaculate Heart of Mary if they're viable, though.

We are active in our current Catholic parish, and I'm sure our pastor and our principal would be willing to write recs if that matters.

[DunwoodyPanhandle]

St. Thomas More would land you pretty far from Perimeter Center, though. IHM and OLA are both great.

[3rdtimesthecharm]

True - my husband would not relish the Decatur-to-Perimeter commute!

[CMMom]

How about Notre Dame Academy? It's now a Marist school. It's not super close to Perimeter, but no further than some of the others you've listed.

Notre Dame Academy: Home

Maybe Immaculate Heart of Mary too (Briarcliff/Lakeside area)

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School

Finally, St. John Neumann (Lilburn)

St. John Neumann Regional Catholic School

[pinetreelover]

Another option would be Holy Spirit in Buckhead. Holy Spirit Prep - Atlanta's premier Pre-K2 through 12th grade Catholic, college prep choice

You would have a hard time finding a home in your budget immediately in the area, but could commute in from Sandy Springs quite easily and still be close to your husband's work in Dunwoody.

Holy Spirit is a K - 12 school so you would not need to apply out after lower school if you were happy there.

[3rdtimesthecharm]

Thanks Pinetreelover. I looked at Holy Spirit, but the tuition is above our budget (ideally we want to stay in the $8K - $9K range).

[LovelySummer]

I only want to add that I love reading threads about Catholic schools partly bc the names of the schools are so cool! Queen of Angels? Blessed Trinity? Immaculate Heart? These names are really, really good. I imagine much thought goes into naming these schools. Good luck in whatever school you choose.