St. Thomas More Cathedral School

105 North Thomas Street

Arlington, VA 22203

39 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on January 20, 2024

We have been a part of the STM School Community since the Fall of 2020. We began our time at STM during the difficult "COVID" year and watched the school handle a difficult year with grace. My eldest child began Kindergarten in 2020 and in-person learning was crucial to her success in reading and confidence as a young student. I have two very different students and value the differentiated learning approach that STM takes - challenging students and meeting their unique learning needs. We have a very active and close-knit parent community and a caring, dedicated staff. The administration is responsive and available to all parents and I feel like I am a welcome partner in my children's education. I am a frequent volunteer and am greeted warmly by staff when I arrive at school. I feel confident that my children are happy and safe. STM features a diverse student body, pulling from families of all backgrounds and from Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church and areas in Maryland. Our parent community includes many active duty military and first responders. My children have grown to respect and honor the service of many of our families and to truly appreciate our unique culture living in such close proximity to Washington DC. We have a full and active list of extracurriculars, Catholic Youth Organization Sports and many, many more. I'm proud to call STM my children's school.
Submitted by parent on January 20, 2024

St. Thomas More is a wonderful community that provides students with a strong educational and spiritual foundation; provides parents with the peace of mind in knowing their children are in a safe, nurturing environment; and provides families with a sense of camaraderie and connectedness. We are pleased with our decision to send our child to STM and highly recommend the school to other prospective parents.
Submitted by parent on December 24, 2023

If you have a child of color, avoid this school. They are known for running out families of color especially boys. Save your child's self esteem and avoid. If you do not fit into their mold of perfect, then they will harass your child until they make it seem as if your child is the problem. This particularly happens at the middle school. St. Anthony’s has been welcoming family's of color who have been driven out. I'm amazed at what they have been getting away with for years.
Submitted by parent on March 12, 2023

St. Thomas More Cathedral School has been wonderful for our family. We switched from another private school 3 years ago and are very happy with the progress our daughter has made. The teachers have been amazing and the parent community is truly amazing.
Submitted by parent on January 29, 2023

Sadly I can not recommend this school. After two years and many meetings, the principals were not responsive in helping to fix some serious issues regarding inexperienced teachers. One teacher did not teach reading for almost an entire year. Another teacher struggled DAILY to teach Math and social studies and didn't even get to half of either curriculum. We left to attend a nearby middle school and found far superior teachers who were passionate and certified in their content, masters at pacing, and provide active learning opportunities each day. While we miss the kindness and manners in the halls, it's a small price to pay to have teachers who know what they are doing.
Submitted by parent on October 11, 2022

We are recent graduates of St Thomas More Cathedral School (STM), having been there for 6 years. Looking back, I am pleased with the education my daughter received and was very active at the school from grades 3 through 8. Now that my daughter is in high school, I can say to STM, THANK YOU AND WELL DONE. She entered 9th grade at a prestigious private school with the character and confidence that STM and its Catholic traditions enabled. She is ready for the rigor of 9th grade English honors, writing, advanced foreign language and Physics. She is excelling in 9th grade, largely attributed to the STM curriculum and stellar teachers who bring the curriculum to life. And because foreign language is offered from K through 8, my daughter placed into an advanced Spanish class in high school. Not all schools offer K-8 foreign language programs. Of course, no school is perfect as you can read in other reviews. We, too, had concerns about the homework load as it is very heavy, more heavy than her experience in high school. And yes, we felt friction with a few teachers (not all) who didn't exhibit empathy to students with sensitivities. The math tracking works best for advanced math students, and not average math students who need the same curriculum as advanced students (but at a slower pace) to pass the high school placement test. Nonetheless, STM prepared my daughter for academic and social success in high school. Our family developed lasting friendships with the teachers and staff. We actually miss seeing them. STM has fun social activities to engage its community - country Christmas, Halloween parties, middle school house system to engage the students (similar to high school advisories), National Junior Honor Society, Christmas plays, Shakespeare festival...and the list goes on.Finally, we all know the tone and culture of a school is set at the top. The principal, Mrs. Davis, is a leader who runs a tight ship. She is approachable and empathetic. She led the school through some of the worse of times with grace (the pandemic) when many schools remained closed. The students thrived.These are my opinions about STM, and of course there will be reviewers who disagree. As you consider a school, just know my daughter is now on the "other side" of 8th grade. STM prepared her for success in high school. That is my barometer. Therefore, 5 stars for STM.
Submitted by parent on October 06, 2022

For all learning styles and all Christians this is the right school.
Submitted by parent on October 06, 2022

My family has been a part of the STM community since 2009. In those years, we have watched STM blossom from a school that was growing to try to fill seats to a school that has a waitlist and people are registering in November to secure their spots. This is no accident--there has been a purposeful plan of continuing and modernizing the mission of the IHM Sisters who founded STM over 75 years ago: meeting the needs of the students in front of them. STM is known for it's differentiation, which can be seen the best in its reading and spelling programs. I appreciated the fact that during the 2020 school year, administration made the decision to not ask the teachers to split their attention between students who were learning at home and students who were learning in front of them. My two children had a much more "normal" year than those of their peers in other private schools, since their teacher could focus solely on them and not on any technical difficulties, finding materials for students at home and in the classroom, etc. For my particular children, this attention made all the difference. While no school is perfect, the administration and teachers set the tone by consistently reviewing curriculum, protocol, and tradition to ensure that it is truly meeting the needs of the students currently in front of them. This also meant that while STM holds traditional Catholic School values, in my experience they are also innovative in terms of making sure their students are provided with a community that flexes to meet their needs and teaches them to be independent thinkers. Without increasing tuition, STM managed to hire a School Counselor, Curriculum Coordinator and to expand both the math and reading resource with two more teachers, all of which have greatly helped my children. STM also instituted a formal instructional coach program so that each teacher (including the principal, who teaches Geometry to 8th grade students) has a person to consistently meet with. This, again, fulfills that lifelong learning mission of the IHM Sisters that founded the school, providing students and teachers the supports they need to be successful this year and into the future.I would highly recommend STM to any family looking for a school where the students spiritual, academic, emotional and social well-being matter to those who work with them. The administration, faculty, and staff have all stepped in to support my family during both good times bad. You will love it here!
Submitted by parent on October 05, 2022

My family has been a part of STM for 10 years and my oldest is about to graduate and go on to high school! STM is a wonderful school with a solid community of parents who are caring and supportive. The principal was new to the school a few years ago and has set a very effective tone of boundaries and consistency that has made for a well-run school. Many of the teachers have been at STM for decades and truly love teaching there and others are new to teaching and learning the ropes. Either way, we've had a decade of great experiences and my oldest is more than prepared for high school, as evidenced by superior scores on the HSPT. The community has really engaged more recently and there are plenty of opportunities to get to know other families and have fun while you do it. We look forward to three more years at STM with my youngest!
Submitted by parent on October 05, 2022

St. Thomas More (STM) is a Catholic school in the traditional style. Our children have been at STM for many years, and we truly consider it the "hearth" of our family life. The faculty are extremely well educated and approach their jobs at STM with a true servant's heart. The administration is future-oriented and balances evidence-based approaches to education with steadfast Christ-centeredness. STM community events (Oktoberfest, Race for Education, Country Christmas, Hot Dog Bash, Spaghetti Feed, Lenten Suppers, etc.) occur regularly, so you really get to build friendships with other families. Parent volunteers are welcomed and encouraged, and many staff members have or had children who attended STM. STM is also a purple star school, so many military and State Department families cycle through (and even boomerang back when their orders bring them back to the DMV!), making this a welcoming environment for transfers at every grade.On the academic front, STM offers a very robust special education department (very unique among schools in the Arlington diocese) and incredible differentiation, so they are able to meet every learner where they are, whether it is supporting children struggling with math or reading, or challenging those who excel in a topic. The student body is quite racially, ethnically, and economically diverse relative to other schools in the diocese, which was of value to us when we were looking for a school.Unlike public middle schools in Arlington County, students starting in 3rd grade at STM have the opportunity through school (CYO) to play tennis, basketball, and volleyball, as well as run track and cross-country. Additionally, many families participate in club sports outside of school (soccer, hockey, football, baseball, softball, lacrosse, etc.).If you're seeking a top notch academic experience with a school that adheres to traditional Catholic values and teachings, assigns nightly homework, helps children establish habits of personal responsibility, nourishes the mind AND soul, stays open through pandemics, offers a responsive administration and faculty, look no further than STM.
Submitted by parent on March 06, 2021

A large school run by a heavy-handed principal who sets an aggressive tone. The faculty is hit-and-miss; some are truly awesome, others just fine but with eccentricities everyone needs to navigate around. And others simply struggle. The principal largely protects the medicare. Academically, the school is strong, but sometimes shoots too high and misses with difficult material taught by teachers who struggle. Relations with the parents are pretty chilly. Parents are generally seen as a problem. The school does not want feedback, but constantly solicits praise. The school relentlessly promotes itself as the very best of the best, is obsessed with marketing and its image, but the reality is other Catholic schools in the area are better run gentler, and with a lot less cheerleading and drama. STM carpet-bombs the students with homework, and takes a more-is-better approach. But homework is ineffectively communicated and often not well coordinated between teachers. This leads to lost exercise time and less sleep for students at home. The building itself is old, there are trailers used for classrooms in the parking lot, a concrete playground, and no real gym. Money seems to be a constant problem. On the upside, the school successfully re-opened in 2020 during COVID, like all schools in the diocese, but predictably, STM used that as an excuse to strike an even more aggressive tone.
Submitted by parent on February 24, 2020

We are a newer family and there have been a lot of changes in the last year, but it feels like the school is on a very positive track now and will continue to grow and improve.
Submitted by parent on February 06, 2020

We have moved a few times so my children have attended public, Independent private and Parochial schools. By far, STM is the best experience overall -- taking into account the appropriate academic rigor, diversity, athletic and values-based service opportunities. STM truly educates the whole child and embraces the entire family.
Submitted by parent on February 05, 2020

Exceptional. Small class sizes and excellent teachers. Very pleased.
Submitted by parent on December 05, 2019

I have to drop my review down to a one star after the new principle and PTO decided to attempt to stop all outreach to the immigrant community. Where I understand that a majority WHITE SCHOOL would like to maintain its history, it must not ignore that the world is changing and that we must welcome all into our community.
Submitted by student on July 16, 2019

I've attended STM for 9 years and have been waiting to write this long-awaited review. There's so much to say, so I wrote in bullet points. Let's start off with the good. - The small class environment is great. Everyone treats each other like family. On graduation night, every single student was crying and hugging one another because we didn't want to leave each other. We've all seen each other grow up since most of us were 5 years old. - If you're a new student, you'll be welcomed by the students who already knew your name and were excited for you coming. - Some of the teachers are great. Lots of them are leaving though which sucks. - The school has modern laptops and every students starting from fourth grade receives a school email address. - Recess is available for the whole school, not just elementary. Everyday we played team four square which was so funny. - You're not allowed to sit with your friends at lunch and you have to sit with the girls or boys in your class. If you do sit with your friends, they act like it's the biggest deal and force you to move back. - Traffic absolutely sucks driving here on both Glebe rd. and George Mason, but it's NOVA. What do you expect? - Whenever the students have a need, the school never really listens. The student council community board is useless because their voices are never heard. - The principal is constantly encouraging students and families to donate to the Capital Campaign. We've already raised past the amount of money it required, and nothing is happening. Instead, they wasted the money on the cube-sat that failed and the Cathedral church that already looked appealing. - The school doesn't even have an exceptional gym and we've never had a single sports game. - There are no advanced classes for students to take because STM is broke. Everyone's on the same level. If your child is gifted, this might not be the school for them. There isn't any foreign language choice either so everyone learns Spanish (the teacher is wonderful though.)
Submitted by parent on January 09, 2019

As an award winning educator, I am now homeschooling my kids. I don't need to pay people to mistreat us!
Submitted by parent on May 23, 2018

My son started K here in 2017. Our experience so far has been excellent, his teacher is amazing with daily communication and appropriate homework and individualized follow up. The front office has been very pleasant and responsive when we have any questions or concerns.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2018

My two children are students at St. Thomas More after transferring in from a smaller Catholic school. The ability of STM to meet the needs of so many different types of students is one of the many things that makes the school so incredible. Individualized learning in an authentically Catholic institution is exactly what we wanted for our kids at STM provides it. The school also fosters a great community.
Submitted by parent on March 26, 2018

My children began 4 years ago at STM in K. I was searching for a faith based school where my children would be challenged and thrive. The teachers are accommodating to all educational hurdles and are eager to work through challenges that are individual and unique to each student. Class sizes are small and students are given ample opportunities for sports and after school enrichment activities.