Cardinal Hickey Academy

Posted: April 24, 2026

My 2 children are now young adults. CHA prepared them for high school and college. Now both working in corporate positions.

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: November 12, 2023

Cardinal Hickey Academy is a school that is providing a well-rounded education for my child. Its academic rigor and faith filled environment has been exactly what we were looking for my child.

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: November 12, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

We enrolled our three-year-old son here last school year with very high expectations. We were disappointed.

The Montessori program is not a pure Montessori environment. It does not honor the three-year cycle as they move students out of the program at kindergarten. Furthermore , it being a Catholic school program, trumps fidelity to the Montessori model.

Montessori is an instructional model that believes in a prepared environment for each child to learn and thrive within. At Cardinal Hickey; the environment is prepared for the children of that particular community-my child was one of racial and cultural difference. Therefore, he suffered.

We chose not to re-enroll him, and he attends another Montessori program and is thriving. He also loved summer camp at a local private school, because the communities love and see him.

My son will likely always be the minority; that’s the demographic of our county, BUT his new school values inclusion, grace, & empathy- and that’s the difference!

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: September 25, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

Posted: January 24, 2023

We absolutely love this school and are very happy we chose Cardinal Hickey Academy for our kids. The teachers and administrators truly care and do an excellent job. The class sizes are small, and our kids get plenty of individualized attention. We appreciate the school's strong focus on faith and character. Two of our children have graduated and moved on to the local public high school and we are now seeing that CHA established a very strong foundation that set them up for success in high school and beyond.

Additional pluses: Spanish is taught in all grades and music curriculum is very strong. The school has both a beginner band and an advanced band. The school also has a great drama program for 5th through 8th graders.

Posted: October 23, 2019

We've been so happy to send our child here! We've truly found a community that we love being a part of!

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

We have new leadership at the school and while being new is tough, they are responsive to parents and try to be communicative.

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

Great, CHA has an awesome community of parents and the students rock. We are glad to have found this place as our home.

Posted: October 23, 2019

As schools are dropping homework requirements across the state, CHA remains committed academic excellence that will prepare students for college.

Posted: October 23, 2019

Posted: October 23, 2019

I can't speak highgly enough of the character formation efforts ongoing at CHA. It is a major focus and one of the reasons by dollars go there rather than a secular private school

Posted: October 20, 2019

We love CHA! I cannot imagine going to any other school. We love the feeling of community and we feel they really cared about us. It’s such a special place. My child loves going there!

Posted: October 20, 2019

Posted: October 20, 2019

The teachers are wonderful at this school. They all care about the kids and clearly care about each child and their education.

Posted: October 20, 2019

This seems to be a core principle of CHA. They care not only about providing a stellar education they work hard to make sure each child is a productive member of society.

Posted: October 20, 2019

Posted: October 20, 2019

Posted: October 20, 2019

Posted: September 12, 2018

Not a very good experience. There is a saying about students not remembering how a teacher always looked or what they did but rather how they made you feel. Some middle school teachers make students feel worthless.

Posted: September 12, 2018

Every school has homework. CHA does give homework and projects over breaks.

Posted: September 12, 2018

Leadership just go WORSE!! The new Vice principal is not much different than the last.

Posted: September 12, 2018

Nope, it does not support learning differences.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Homework is manageable and relates to the content being learned in class. My students learned to not only be responsible but as they got older developed time management skills as well.

Posted: September 6, 2018

My children loved their teachers. They were well prepared for each grade level and for high school. Teachers offered help to my students when they needed a bit extra.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Posted: September 6, 2018

Some problems have existed in the past, but new leadership is in place. Looking forward to great things.

Posted: September 6, 2018

The school does the best they can with limited resources. I found the staff to be very honest about what services my child would be able to access.

Posted: September 6, 2018

Posted: September 6, 2018

Great experience! My children learned (and continue to learn) in a great faith based environment.

Posted: August 30, 2018

CHA prepared my sons for high school and college.

Posted: August 30, 2018

My sons were guided by the teachers at CHA to make good choices and they were inspirational !

Posted: August 30, 2018

I get so many compliments on my sons and I know its because of the education they received along with building strong character , integrity, respect and compassion for others at the school. That's why I sent my sons to CHA!

Posted: August 30, 2018

Leadership is strong and spiritual guidance is also given in every aspect of the total child.

Posted: August 30, 2018

Posted: August 30, 2018

The school is always concerned about how students treat each other and try to manage any students that have been bullied.

Posted: August 30, 2018

I have NO regrets about sending my children to CHA. It was a true blessing for our family. My sons are still friends with students that they went to school with at CHA. They have a strong foundation and bond with one another.

Posted: July 19, 2018

Respect is earned and in the middle school grades is it just not there. Students have to fake respect.

Posted: July 19, 2018

They have no clue how to deal with bullying. Bullying goes on and on until the student being bullied cannot take it and is forced to leave the school. It is very sad because many bullying resources are available.

Posted: July 13, 2018

The school overloaded students with homework. They spend a long day at school with no opportunities to complete the homework and have about an hour to an hour plus per night.

Posted: July 13, 2018

In terms of teaching ability, the teachers are effective. In terms of discipline and ability to manage students with behavior issues and bullying, they are completely ineffective. They do not have the support or tools to manage behaviors and do nothing to deal with children who continuously misbehave. The principal was recently fired. The principal seemed to rule as a dictator and had become more ineffective as the years went on. Teachers appeared stressed and it effected their teaching and interactions with the students.

Posted: July 13, 2018

The teachers make attempts at developing character ,but they have become disrespectful themselves towards parents and students due to the levels of stress and behavior issues they are made to deal with without any support. Years ago the school was very good at development of these traits but have taken on a different attitude with the most recent admin and her lack of management.

Posted: July 13, 2018

I had children at the school for years. The last principal was recently fired and her leadership had destroyed the moral of the parents and students. She was all about keeping the enrollment, no matter the cost of behavior issues and bullying running rampant and no ways or means to control or remove these students. She pushed out many good families and students due to her mismanagement. Everyone is told to hush hush and keep quiet. It is a very mismanaged facility. The bathrooms and facility are not kept up. The finances are not made clear to the parents.

Posted: July 13, 2018

They have no means or training to deal with children with learning differences. If you student has learning disabilities they will struggle at this school.

Posted: July 13, 2018

Over the years, CHA has greatly declined in the quality of the environment and atmosphere of the school. The academics were strong in years past, our children were educated, families were welcome. The atmosphere used to be christ based and family oriented but is is not this any longer.
The recent principal was fired and this tells you everything and this mismanagement goes all the way up to the Archdiocese. Severe incidents that were reported were kept quiet. Communication to parents is non existent or vague. Teachers became disrespectful to both students and parents, apparently under the stress of the administration. The behavior issues, bullying, teacher moral, teaching skills, constant substitutes, disgusting broken bathrooms, have become the norm for them. CHA used to be a great school but the last administration has destroyed a great place and the teachers seemed to go along with her to keep their jobs intact. Teachers act as if they know nothing about what has recently occurred, and maybe they don't but parents invest way too much time and money in CHA for what it has become. At this point I rate it poorly because the safety of children is at stake and all the education and prayer in the world will not overcome emotional damage that is done.

Posted: July 11, 2018

We thought we were getting a Catholic, Christ centered school, but the way families have been treated at this school is so far from Christ in our opinion. Many families are now leaving the school and enrollment was already low.
The school use to require testing to be admitted. Now they are taking students who are expelled from other schools. We use to have a Home School Association, but for many years the culture has been to block any parent communication. Teachers have reported that they were advised to limit their communication with parents. Starting in the preschool Montessori program, we were advised it was an accredited program. Come to find out it isn't an accredited program like other schools in the area. Several parts of the school including the bathrooms are run down and money doesn't seem to go to improvements for the school, but who would know because despite tuition increase parents never receive copies of the budget. I would not recommend this school to anyone and immensely regret sending my children there.

Posted: July 11, 2018

Posted: July 11, 2018

Some of the teachers are very good at educating the students and my children seemed to enjoy their teachers. However, given the recent incidents at the school and learning about how teachers handle significant misconduct issues, I am concerned that the safety of students' is not a priority. Teachers should want to know about the problems in the school to try to fix them and not walk around covering their ears stating they don't want to know what happened during incidents at the school.

Posted: July 11, 2018

My children did have good friends who were respectful and compassionate.

Posted: July 11, 2018

The principal was just fired after the school was investigated by the state for numerous reports of negligence. It is unclear why she was even hired for the school given she was terminated from her last position. Apparently the head administrator was aware of this when he hired her. A new principal will be walking into a HORNET'S NEST because the head administrator is still there. Ask around and you will find out that for many years, families have tried to have him removed, but the ADW will not remove him despite significant complaints and him blatantly lying to parents.

Posted: July 11, 2018

Several friends have pulled their children out of the school because the school was unable to support their children with learning disabilities.

Posted: April 6, 2018

We were only at this school for three months before we left. Bullying from the children was not an issue.

Posted: April 6, 2018

We had meetings with both our child's kindergarten teacher and the administration. No one was ever looking to resolve the situation, only push their agenda. Nothing ever got resolved and our family was treated rudely from then on. I very much disagreed with making a 5 year old sit on a bench during recess for a small behavior infraction. Our pediatrician agreed that this type of disciplinary method was not appropriate for this age group. At the meeting, I asked if having a note from a pediatrician would help the school be able to make an exception to their rule. The vice principal responded, “If you have a note from a pediatrician then your son must have a diagnosis and if your child has a diagnosis then he may not be welcomed at this school.” My child doesn’t have a diagnosis. He was just bored and his actions were micromanaged. I think it is just ironic that the school thinks that punishing a young child for not sitting "back to chair and belly to table” for extended periods of time to color pictures and worksheets…is to make them sit some more. To me, it is just one of many examples of how the school just doesn't understand child development.

Posted: April 6, 2018

My child has a tendency to learn quickly and enjoys being academically challenged. He and I asked his teacher if she could provide him more appropriate/challenging work. However, the teacher’s and vice principal's response was just to tell us that he just needed to learn to be bored. For our family, this mentality was not acceptable.

Posted: April 6, 2018

A significant portion of their week is spent learning religion. The children pray the rosary once a week, attend mass once a week and learn about the Bible throughout the day. In our experience, our child was just not treated with the kindness and compassion that they are taught about throughout the day. My child got in trouble (in kindergarten) for saying ‘hi' to an 8th grade buddy (who he so looked up to) in the hallway, for holding the door open for someone (when it wasn't "his job") and for "getting out of his seat" to help a friend find a dropped pencil. Rules are very strict and a child should not disobey, even if it shows compassion and respect. I'm not sure how this would encourage a child to develop a strong character.

Posted: April 6, 2018

The kindergartners just had to take all the worksheets they didn't finish during class home for homework. Some parents want their children to have homework and some don't...so I put it as a neutral. In my opinion, I just didn't understand why the children had to color so many worksheets. They also had lists of sight words each week.

Posted: April 6, 2018

In my opinion, my child's kindergarten teacher relied heavily on "busy" coloring worksheets. I didn't understand why the kids need to color rows and rows of pictures if the point of the worksheet was to match the pictures. In our case, our child knew his letters and how to count before entering the school. I understand that some children enter not knowing this information. I just didn't understand why our child's teacher could not and would not differentiate work for the children who came in with this knowledge. We left in November and counting and singing the alphabet was still a part of their daily routine. The teacher didn't seem to have much control over the classroom. She told me the reason she had to yell so much was that it was the only way for her to be heard by the students (because her classroom was so loud). Children who never had behavior problems in preschool became "difficult to manage" for her. Discipline methods include punishment (i.e. taking away recess), moving their "color” down and threatening the children with having to go to the principal’s office. One day I attached a small special key chain to my son’s book bag to help encourage him to go to school. I forgot that this was against school policy and the teacher told him that if he returned to school the following day with the small figurine attached to the zipper, she was going to send him to the principal’s office. For me, a simple email reminder would have been a more appropriate way to resolve this handbook violation with a kindergartner. I can't comment on any other teachers other than K.

Posted: April 6, 2018

All I can say is that my son has always loved school. This school may be a good fit for some, but it was a terrible fit for our family. It was the only period in my son's life where we had to struggle to get him to school each day. We have left CHA and my son is back to learning and loving school. We were treated very rudely and unprofessionally by my son's teacher, her assistant and the vice principal. We tried to have a meeting to resolve the situation; however, the staff seemed to have no interest in hearing our opinions. I've sent emails to both the teacher and the vice principal which have never been answered. For me- you couldn't pay me to keep my kid there let alone pay to send him. Thankfully, many of the public schools are blue ribbon schools as well.

Posted: March 26, 2018

We have raised all our kids in CHA, all of whom had different intellects and learning abilities. For us, it has come down to lifelong friendships, deep roots of community, Christianity, character and excellence. One child still remains while the others are young adults thriving in their colleges and careers. Even in their 20s our children make a tremendous effort to see their CHA friends and their families. For us, choosing CHA has meant making an investment in the whole child. Not only do the kids leave CHA with a great education, they continue on as engaged learners who become equally involved in their high school communities and beyond.

Posted: March 19, 2018

Posted: March 19, 2018

Posted: March 19, 2018

Posted: March 19, 2018

Posted: March 19, 2018

Posted: March 19, 2018

Posted: March 19, 2018

We came to CHA because of a Military move. My oldest started in 5th grade and my youngest started in 2nd grade. We were welcomed in by the teachers, students, and administration before the first day of school. We are a happy and proud CHA Family. Lions for Life!!!

Posted: March 18, 2018

The principal and pastor are very responsive to the needs of the school. The principal is very approachable and has responded quickly to concerns that we have had in the past.

Posted: March 18, 2018

The school works closely with Calvert County schools for testing to find ways to help children that may have learning differences.

Posted: March 18, 2018

My children have not experienced bullying at CHA.

Posted: March 18, 2018

My children have homework most evenings. They write it in their planner and I can also view the assignments on Rediker if necessary.

Posted: March 18, 2018

The test scores speak for themselves. The test scores shared at our conference in November showed that my children's classes were in the top 15% nationally. The middle school STEM presentation last month was fantastic!

Posted: March 18, 2018

Posted: March 18, 2018

My children have had a wonderful learning experience at CHA. The students respect each other and are like a family. This is a wonderful school community and I'm thankful for all of the talented people that dedicate themselves to the school each day.

Posted: February 1, 2018

Posted: February 1, 2018

Posted: February 1, 2018

Posted: February 1, 2018

Posted: February 1, 2018

My child loves this school! Academically she is challenged everyday and expected to do her best at all times. The program is rigorous and is preparing my child for tge future.

Posted: February 1, 2018

Posted: February 1, 2018

Posted: December 29, 2016

Posted: December 29, 2016

Posted: December 29, 2016

Posted: December 29, 2016

Christian values as well as basic concepts of respect are taught and demonstrated.

Posted: December 29, 2016

Teachers are amazing! They go above and beyond for their students. The whole school is like a big family. There's a lot of one on one attention to every student!

Posted: December 29, 2016

Homework is routine and expected. As a teacher I like the discipline that teaches.

Posted: December 29, 2016

Teachers are amazing! They really care and are highly qualified. I teach in public schools and can not begin to explain how much better CHA is! Students are so much farther ahead in curriculum and generally in life! The concept of respect and integrity is not foreign! Children are respected and taught to respect everyone.

Posted: December 22, 2015

The Cardinal Hickey Academy is a 2015 National Blue Ribbon School. Follow the link below: http://nationalblueribbonschools.ed.gov/awardwinners/winning15md442pv_cardinal_hickey_academy.html

Posted: December 22, 2015

Posted: December 22, 2015

Posted: December 22, 2015

Posted: May 27, 2013

Cardinal Hickey Academy is one of the best schools in Calvert Co. All of our students leave very well prepared for High School, whether it be public or private. Year after year the students have been accepted to their 1st choice high schools. Many times I have had students return to tell me how well prepared for High School they were. Even those who struggled with our program are surprised at how easy high school suddenly is. This speaks wonders for my fellow teachers and our program.

Posted: April 3, 2013

What was once a great school has significantly declined. The once challenging curriculmn is now a one size fits all, so if your child is advanced or struggling you will need to supplement on your own time. There are no longer sisters on the staff, with the principal being replaced by a lay person almost three years ago and the teachers being replaced by lay people this year. While the teachers are still outstanding and truly care for the students, the adminstration has been a significant issue. All you need to know to realize how the school has declined is to know that only a few years ago there were not enough available slots for all of the children who applied. Now there are plenty of slots available. With the good public schools in the area you are now better off attending public school.

Posted: July 16, 2011

I can't say enough about the pre-school programs at this school! Very nurturing and I am amazed at how much my boys are learning, both academics and from biblical teachings at ages 3 and 4! It even extends to pretend play at home where my 3yr old had a blanket on his head and said, 'I'm pretending to be Mary, you know, Jesus' Mommy' I will remember that forever! Parental envolvment is a must, the parents leave with life long friends as well as the kids! And I do have to mention that the older kids in the school have such great manners, they are taught to say Good Morning/Afternoon when they pass anyone in the hallways and are setting great examples to the younger classes!

Posted: June 14, 2011

The curriculum is behind that of other schools and students like me have transitioned to a public school and are behind because of CHA.

Posted: June 4, 2011

I cannot imagine a child leaving the eighth grade with more from a school than CHA. The strong religion presence at the school creates a contsant influence in the students thoughts, actions and decisions that will remain with them all of their lives. The strong parent involvement, social functions, rigourous coursework are top notch, but there is a very unique gathering of the most loving, caring, and dedicated teachers at this school. The students have a special fondness for the arts and teachers at the school. The school play and music always draw students and alumni every year and have created lifelone bonds. Their is a great circle of friendship with the studnets, parents and teachers that is special. We could not be happier with the school and feel the price is a bargain for what you and your child receive in return.