St. Bernadette School

7602 OLD KEENE MILL RD

Springfield, VA 22152

55 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-8
Type

private

Find Homes for Sale in this School Zone

Reviews

Submitted by parent on October 20, 2023

I would strongly recommend exploring other educational options for your child. Unfortunately, this school falls significantly short of providing a nurturing and supportive environment on multiple fronts. The teachers here often rush to assign failing grades, a practice that contradicts the fundamental principles of fostering a conducive learning atmosphere. The current state of this institution does not effectively support your child's overall growth, learning, and academic development.Rather than cultivating a healthy environment for academic flourishing, it leans towards creating a toxic and detrimental atmosphere. It appears that information is simply disseminated to the students without affording them the opportunity to genuinely comprehend and engage with the material being taught. This one-sided approach to education does a disservice to the students, hindering their capacity to attain true academic success.The school predominantly relies on memorization and rote learning, an outdated approach to education that leaves students ill-prepared to excel in today's rapidly evolving and fast-paced world, where critical thinking skills are more valuable than ever.In view of these concerns, I strongly recommend considering alternative educational institutions that prioritize a more holistic and nurturing approach to learning and personal development for your child.
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2023

Both of our kids attended St. Bernadette for the past four years and our overall experience has been great!
Submitted by parent on February 28, 2023

Saint Bernadette Catholic School sees our students as a gift from God, and we work to form the whole child. Part of this formation is learning to work well with others as preparation for adulthood. Each day, our students learn to work and play with one another, including those whose background or ethnicity may be different than their own. Our school is diverse in all ways--we have students of varying social and economic status, of different ethnicities, academic abilities, and different religious backgrounds. We see this broad diversity as a strength. It is joyful to watch the many shades of children come into our building hand-in-hand, excited to see one another at school! Great care is taken to hire a diverse faculty who are representative of the children in our care.When issues arise, they are addressed swiftly and thoroughly by our school counselor, assistant principal and principal, working hand-in-hand with parents as our partners. Partnering with parents, we graduate kind and caring students who are academically, socially, and emotionally prepared for the rigors of high school. They are strong in their faith with their Hearts and Minds formed in Christ. Our graduates are good people who will go on to do good things.
Submitted by parent on February 26, 2023

Do NOT take your kid to this school if your kid is a minority. There is a strong culture of racism and the school administration does nothing about it. Every parent who is non white has had several incidents of racism and the administration actually condones such behavior from my opinion. The school is very divisive both parents and children and does not celebrate diversity. Several concerns have been raised about how minorities are being treated and this is never addressed.
Submitted by parent on June 07, 2021

Saint Bernadette School has been a life saver. They were very flexible and responsible throughout the Covid pandemic, something I really valued as an essential worker. Also, their ability to meet both my students needs has been remarkable, as I have an advanced learner and a student with learning disabilities. Their math teachers, resource teachers and Sliding Doors dyslexia program is top rate and much appreciated!
Submitted by parent on October 30, 2020

We’ve had 3 children at this school. The homework load can be burdensome, but we can now see how prepared our child is for high school. We have found teachers who really love our kids, and that is priceless.
Submitted by parent on October 18, 2019

Great! We love the balance between the community of St. Bernadette and the school. They offer families the opportunity to be as involved as they want to be in their children's education during their school formation. The class sizes are great, and the resources are getting better and better each year.
Submitted by parent on September 20, 2019

St. Bernadette has been a really fantastic school for our kids.
Submitted by other on September 05, 2019

There are so many good things about this school. I am grateful to have discovered it.
Submitted by student on August 04, 2019

This school is the best, everyone is so friendly!
Submitted by parent on January 04, 2019

The teachers are all too strict, and yell way too much.
Submitted by parent on December 13, 2017

This school is excellent and very effective at communicating with parents and addressing their concerns.
Submitted by student on September 16, 2017

It's a feel good school only, grades are good on paper, but no real knowledge is gained. Even their theology program is menial, lacks a good science program completely, and the math program is not up to par. This is from my own experience K-8, good luck if you're going to go from this school to a high school. I strongly suggest you to look at other schools.
Submitted by other on April 25, 2017

Our child has excelled in the last 2 years more than we could have hoped for. The school is now under new management, with a new Priest and a recently hired new Principal. Tonight we had a meeting and thier new vision was shared with all parents in attendance. I have nothing but high praises for the teachers we have dealt with and am extremely friendly and accommodating staff. I would high recommend this school to anyone.
Submitted by parent on April 21, 2016

St. Bernadette's is a good overall school. Academics are on par with or above public schools and other diocese schools (though this info was not communicated well to parents) and the religion program is good. Our kids have had good teachers except for one-but that is no different from what you might get in a public school. The principal to whom other reviews mention will not be returning next year. He was not a good fit. So we are hopeful things will improve.
Submitted by other on January 26, 2016

The most striking thing about St. Bernadette is the love and dedication of teachers, parents, and students alike. The administration is approachable and not afraid to make changes when necessary. One such change is the new standardized testing format, which offers shorter tests a few times a year. It gives teachers and parents helpful feedback so that they may better instruct the students.The teachers truly care for and challenge students at all grade levels. The learning resource teacher is excellent, offering extra help for both high and low learners. Parents come together for the good of the community, whether that means volunteering in the school or setting up meals when someone is in need. The students have a real opportunity to develop their consciences and intellect. Extracurricular activities are varied (music, the arts, sports, spirituality) and help to develop the whole child.
Submitted by parent on January 18, 2016

I believe my children have had the best teachers. Both of my children have excelled. We have never had one single issue. I think the Principal is doing a fabulous job and making much needed improvements to the school like replacing all windows. His door is always open.
Submitted by parent on December 18, 2015

The middle school teachers all work with me to support my student except for one .
Submitted by parent on December 09, 2015

After so many years in this school i would say its a average school.Teachers are good but nothing to rave about this school and its management .All the best to new parents.
Submitted by other on September 01, 2015

The principal is doing the best job he can considering his lack of experience. We think he is a fair and honest man and the VP is wonderful. The teachers are good and our experience here was good. My last child graduated last year. The only issue we’ve ever had at the school is it is run by stay at home mom’s who think they can control everything. It has gotten really bad in the past two years. Parents think they can control what teachers they want and what kids they want in a class. For some reason, the Principal and VP let that go on even though the handbook clearly states no requesting teachers! These kids are going to have a hard time once they get into high school when their parents can’t control every move they make. We had a good experience in all our years here but like any school, the principal needs to stop being bullied by stay at home moms! I am only writing this because I am shocked about all the negative reviews and have heard from many of my neighbor friends about all the requesting of kids/teachers in the school nowadays. That’s the only negative thing going on not the Principal or teachers.