School Suggestions Considering St Therese and Union Chapel, Parkville Advice??

Whoa, we have so much in common. We also live in Parkville, attend St. Therese, and have three kids, ages 11, 8 and 2. We also looked into both options, and decided to go with public school. Although our kids attend English Landing instead of Union Chapel, pretty much all of the schools in the Parkhill district are excellent. They consistently rank among the highest in the state as far as test scores go. Of course, we have friends that attend St. Therese, and by all accounts, that school is wonderful as well.
A couple of things that affected our decision: while St. Therese is an excellent school for the average kid, we were concerned that they wouldn't have the resources if our kids needed special ed, either on the gifted end, or with a learning disability. Although we didn't know it at the time we made our decision, we wound up with kids having both special needs, and Parkhill has been able to accommodate them wonderfully.
Also, we planned to stay here all the way through our kids' educational lives, and although St. Therese has a great reputation, there are not many Catholic high school choices north of the river. The only one is St. Pius, and I think its reputation is just okay. My husband attended St. Pius when he was in high school, and he didn't really want our daughters going there. Because we didn't want them starting high school not knowing anyone, we ultimately decided on public school. I can honestly say we have never regretted our decision.
Also, if you haven't bought a house yet, have you considered Riss Lake? The Riss Lake kids go to English Landing, which is the highest-ranked school of the Parkhill district. Also, Riss Lake has great amenities: three pools, a fantastic swim team, tennis courts, a playground area, and a really great group of neighbors. You'll have so many friends right away. Please look here before you make your decision.

Hi M....welcome to Kansas City! We are STS parishioners and also school parents. Really, whatever you decide, you cannot go wrong either way. That being said, we have loved our experience at STS - the parents are also heavily involved in all aspects of the school from volunteering to serving on various educational/financial/administrative committees. We enjoy the "smaller" atmosphere of the school, classes and other parents who hold our same values (importance of school, teaching, kindness, etc.) We also transferred to KC about 5 years ago and have never regretted our decision. On a side note...it can be quite difficult to get in some years-sometimes there are up to 12 kids on a wait list for one grade-so if you are leaning that way, don't hesitate! Best of luck to you and your family!

I agree with Katherine W, My kids go to Hawthorn another Park Hill School District Elementary School located on Barry Road across from the Grass Pad. My son has light autism and the Park Hill Schools have worked "Wonders" with him. Both the Preschools and the Elementary School. We are also members of St. Therese but financially we had to go the public route at least for the Elementary years. I am almost positive we will stay with Public due to the excellent reputation of the Park Hill School Districts plus I don't want them to make all there friends and then pull them away from them. I started my oldest son at Christ Lutheran's Preschool at 72nd & 9Hwy due to the wonderful reputation but after two weeks of him being there at age 3 we were told he wasn't going to work out there. He was having difficulty transitioning from one activity to the next. That is when we began at ParkHill Preschools and I told them everything and they literally worked wonders with him. I have to say I was blessed when Christ Lutheran let him go although at the time I was extremely upset with them. I have my 3yr old Daughter at Park Hill Christian Church also at 72nd and 9 Hwy and Have heard they are Great as well this is our first year there. Park Hill School District ended there "Part-time" Preschool Program last year and I was devastated. Which ever decision you make I wish you the best. I am a SAHM of a 7yr old son, 5yr old son and a 3 yr old daughter. I have friends that there children go to Union Chapel and they Love it!

You can't go wrong either way. My kids all attended English Landing, but this year we moved and my son attends Graden. Graden, English Landing and Chinn have always been ranked number one, with Graden receiving top awards recently, but all of the Park Hill Schools are always ranked top in the state. You would love Union Chapel, and St. Therese has a wonderful reputation, as well. The only thing to consider would be when your kids get to high school, there is not much to choose from in Catholic Schools. Good Luck!!!

This question is irrelevant to your current question posed, however what is it that you do that you can work full time from home? I am very interested in finding something that I can do so as that I can stay at home with my son.