Catonsville Elementary School

This school is amazing and has made the staff as amazing teachers they always push our children to become better they have awareness of our kids mentally and physically which is very awesome they push our kids to the limit and they come home happy and share their experience with us is amazing I highly recommend the school and a great PTO team with parents

My children have both had a wonderful experience at Hillcrest with teachers, school counselors and administrators who truly care and want your children to succeed. There have been a few issues in the past with administration, but that has been resolved. The new principal is amazing and truly believes in ensuring a great educational experience for every child. I would recommend this school to everyone.

I like this school and environment. Student feel safe and they have a huge opportunity to create their bright future.

There are way too many students and not enough staff. The learning is dominated by the need for redirection and it truly holds back students from learning properly.

I have 1 child that has graduated and 1 currently enrolled. The program for kids with special needs is a God send, and the nursing staff is AMAZING! These are what sold me on the school for my oldest. I love the building and the facilities. I love the programs offered and the choice of sports. The school is currently growing and adding onto its offerings. The education at the school is high-mid. It's definitely better than public schools and many private schools, but compared to the private education I received, it often feels like my kids are behind. It's hard to tell if this is a school issue or if it's because the American education system is failing overall. The school is a feeder school to big name high schools, so that can be beneficial. My only issue is that while the school "celebrates diversity" on the surface and has a pretty mixed student population, the need for change and evolution is pervasive. St. Mark celebrates colonialism and definitely pushes antiquated teachings about history and religion. I would like to see St. Mark remove its focus on the colonization of America from the Manifest Destiny perspective and focus more on the effects of the creation of the US. Better yet, teach world history. The students self-segregate. I've only seen 2 non-white teachers. There's an obvious separation between the kids as they are completely aware that St. Mark takes a white-focused approach in teaching. Lastly, there are certain kids with behavioral issues that get overlooked. I've been told that there is a "special family" who can do no wrong and run the school from the parent association. It's believable as one of my kids suffered an assault from a protected kid and there were no consequences.Overall, I'm happy with the experience my children have received. It's the best option that my family has for Elementary and Middle School. My children enjoy being there, and have had better experiences there than at the other schools we tried. As long as your kid is confident and self-aware, they will be fine. We look out for each other.

We feel so fortunate to be a part of the St. Paul Lutheran School community! Our daughter originally started attending here during the pandemic when the public schools shut down. Now that the public schools have re-opened, we just can't leave St. Paul! She has grown tremendously there... Academically, socially, in confidence, etc. They get so much attention and are exposed to so many fun and engaging activities. The staff is top notch and we'd highly recommend it to anyone!