St Columba School

Our family has been at this school for a couple years now and I now feel that I can give an honest assessment at this point. When we were looking for public schools in our area we were pretty disappointed. After touring this school it had the feel of the school we wanted. In addition to academics, we wanted the right environment and atmosphere. A place our children would want to be and not dread going everyday. The students were all listening at attention and the teachers had full command of the classroom during our unscheduled visit. This is an old school. It just celebrated 50 years as a school. It could use updating in many areas, but it has everything it needs. It does have a library and computer lab — though small, it works. It does have an art program, music and dance options for those that choose to participate. The school choir is absolutely fabulous-​impressive. Sports programs offered are Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, Football (flag) and Track. They compete against other Catholic schools which is fun. The kids go to mass every Friday and parents are welcome to join. A Catholic school relies heavily on volunteer work of the parents. We appreciate this because we know many parents are then involved with the school and their children. We constantly assess this school compared to our other choices — public and private — and always choose this school. One reason is hearing what the graduating 8^th graders have to say about their time spent at St. Columba. They all seem to love it and appreciate the education, life lessons as well as the friends they made. This year 100% of the 8^th grade students passed the Catholic H.S. acceptance exam. Over 60% are moving on to Catholic/​Christian schools.
Other notes:
1. There is fundraising to be done at every school.
2. Science curriculum is done in class at each grade level.
3. There is music class offered.
4. The Spanish is basic, but it isn’t a Spanish immersion — it is for exposure and cultural teaching.
7. Uniforms — We love uniforms — we save money on other clothes in the long run. And makes getting ready in the morning so much easier as well as removes the competitiveness from dressing for friends and classmates.
Is it perfect? No — perfect doesn’t exist. But we like it here. Our kids like it here. We are happy.

This school is the best! I was fed up with the way the public school system was working for my 3 kids ages 6,8, and 10. The kids were achieving below average grades and there didn’t seem to be any solutions. So, I called St Columba and made an appointment to meet with the new principle. Mrs. Navarrow was very kind and professional. She allowed me to bring my children over right in the middle of the year. She helped make the kids feel welcomed by assigning student chaperons to each of my kids for the first week.
Mrs. Navarrow worked with us on the pricing and you can pay the annual amount in monthly payments, bi-​monthly payments, or all at one time. The teachers have good control of the students and communicate any issues readily to the parents. There are a lot of fund raisers going on all the time for the school too. One week there were nachos after school for $ 1-​$ 2. They also have had Jamba Juice smoothies, pizza, and Phillipino food fund raisers! The kids really enjoy these treats.
This school requires the kids to wear uniforms, but they also have free dress days! The grounds are kept up very very well. Parents are very polite and courteous in the parking lots and around the campus. Our family has recieved a very warm welcome here!
This review was written on our third week here. We are still adjusting to all of the new requirements and new faces but, we are all enjoying it here! The kids really really like their new school!