Corpus Christi School

Corpus is a gem right under our noses. A K-8 Parochial school, we have sent 3 of our 4 daughters to school here, and the 4th will join kindergarten next year hopefully! We could not have been more pleased to be a part of the Corpus community. A catholic school, our school community is very diverse and welcoming to all. The academics are great, the sports offered through the CYO league are plentiful, and the school does a great job with the kids. Our oldest is now in 7th grade and has thrived at Corpus, made great friends, and really valued the school activities and sports offered. Although our facilities may be a bit 'old school', it's what adds to the overall charm. Finally, I cannot say enough about the leadership at the school. From Katie Murphy, Principal, to Father Leo Edgerly, the Pastor at Corpus Christi (as well as a great - and former - teacher in his own right), the focus is all about the children. The teachers live up to this mantra as well, and are a dedicated and passionate team focused on YOUR child's well being and success. Consider Corpus as you do the rounds and attend open houses - I think you will like what you see.

If you read any of the reviews or talk to any parents at the school, chances are that they'll say the #1 thing they love about Corpus Christi is the sense of community. At the heart of this are basically two things: (1) the relatively small size of the school, and (2) strong leadership and vision of our principal, Katie Murphy. With only ~30 kids per class in K-8, that boils down to about 130 families. This means that within the first year, you know every kid in your child's class. They count on parents to volunteer for field trips, helping out with the Walk-a-Thon, or with cooking projects, and these types of events give you a chance to meet other parents. Then you meet the siblings of your kid's classmates, and before long, you feel like you know half the school. The principal, Katie Murphy, really sets the example by constantly communicating with parents via email, weekly newsletters, and ensuring that parents always know what's happening at the school in her mission of "building community."

The academic education is very good, certainly on par or better than public school but probably not as high caliber over-the-top academics that you might get at higher-priced private schools. What I find more relevant for my kids is Corpus's strategy of educating the "whole child" - spiritually, academically and socially. Corpus kids learn how to empathize with others and recognize different viewpoints, they practice public speaking starting in Kindergarten, they study art history in every grade, and they do service projects throughout their time at Corpus Christi.

I can say it's a great school for working parents. The volunteer opportunities are numerous, and we have had no trouble finding times that work for us to volunteer, despite our demanding careers. We love the Extended Care program, which is offered from dismissal to 6pm. And because of the great community, we've met many families where we can help each other out with carpooling, etc.

Overall, it's a great well-rounded school.

Our son is currently in Kindergarten at Corpus, and it has been a really great experience so far. The teachers are awesome and put a lot of effort into figuring out how each student learns and how they can best teach them. It's academically great, and they use a lot of creative, fun ways to teach. The individualized attention that both the students and the parents get at Corpus is really impressive. The school itself is very well run with a ton of parent involvement - a great overall community that is very inclusive.

Given my husband was raised in a fairly serious Catholic family and I grew up with very little religion at all, I initially had my doubts about sending my children to a private Catholic school. I would be taking them away from all of the friends they knew and more consciously introducing them to a world that I was less familiar. Both of my boys were also the ones typically crying at the 'goodbye window' at every pre-school drop-off made for as long as I can remember. However, that all changed with Corpus Christi. I quickly learned how open, warm and accepting both the school and parish staff were of EVERYONE to cross their doors -- even incorporating some surprisingly diverse teachings into the curriculum. Additionally, neither child (my youngest, who is now in 3rd grade; and oldest, who is now in 5th grade) has ever cried once when dropping them off at school. They never looked back and are truly eager to return to school each and every weekday to be with all of the amazing friends they've so quickly made there. As the years have passed and academics grew more important, the fears of a Catholic education not being up to snuff also quickly went away. Both of my children have been individually given extra work and more challenging curriculums for both vocabulary and math, when warranted. It all goes back to truly knowing your kids and doing what's best and right -- Corpus Christi has it down. I could not be more pleased by our choice of school for our boys.

Our daughter is currently in first grade at Corpus, and we've been incredibly happy with the school. The teachers are warm and loving and our daughter has thrived under their care. Although there is only one class per grade, the teachers do a great job of dividing up the classes into smaller groups so they can teach subjects like reading and math at different levels to match individual kids' abilities. There are also a fair amount of enrichment programs given the small size of the school (both within the school day and after school), including Spanish, music, computers, cooking, PE, capon, Sarah Science, chess, and Lego engineering.

We had a great public option in our neighborhood, but we chose Corpus because not only is it strong academically, but there is a real focus on whole child development, which you don't find in the same way at a public school. Because the school is relatively small (about 275 kids total), there is also a strong sense of community. We came from a preschool that was incredibly close-knit - we do a lot of social events together outside of the school - and we wanted an experience like that for our entire family at the elementary school level. We've not been disappointed - families are very close at Corpus and spend a lot of time together outside of school (and there are a lot of social events designed to foster this sense of community as well!).

In terms of how "religious" the school is, while there is definitely a focus on religious education during class (and this is also where the whole child education comes into play, as there is a focus on treating others kindly and being inclusive), it seems like a large portion of families we have met have one spouse that's religious while the other isn't. The school and parish are very inclusive and progressive - all are welcome (and the school student body reflects that diversity, with kids of all ethnicities, religious backgrounds, and same-sex parent families).

I would strongly recommend Corpus to any families considering private options (plus, because it's parochial, you get the benefits of a private school at a fraction of the cost of other private schools). There is an information session the first weekend of November and open houses the morning of the first Tuesday of every month, so please come see how great our school is for yourself!