St. James Catholic School

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: August 17, 2026

This school doesn’t really honor parental choice. Our daughter attended pre-k here and we were told that she was not socially/emotionally ready for K. We were told parental choice but recommended she repeat pre-k. She did pass the Kindergarten readiness test they give. Our daughter had recently been diagnosed with Celiac so we went to the Falls Church public schools for some IEP testing. They ultimately told us that she is on the younger side (August birthday) but they see no reason she wouldn’t be successful in Kindergarten. We told St James we’d like to advance her to K. The principal then told us that while we were told parental choice, she ultimately is responsible for decisions at the school and she could not in good conscious allow her to advance to K. We put her in Mount Daniel and couldn’t be happier. She is now entering 2nd grade and doing well. We later learned that at least 4 of the pre-k kids were held back. This school has a hard time teaching kids at the age they should be taught, a high percentage of kids are redshirted for whatever reasons.

We also had a son attend 1st and 2nd grade. He cried most mornings at drop off. 1st grade curriculum is 7 periods of religion per week (1 religion class per day + mass once a week, which takes 2 periods). STEM is 1 period per week. I value catholic education, which is why I enrolled kids there, but a 7 to 1 ration between STEM and religion did not seem the best ratio to me. Like mentioned in the para above, my son was being invited to 8yo birthday parties when he was just barely 6.5 yo. The red shirting is strong in this school. That blue ribbon must measure results per grade level, rather than by age, otherwise it would be pretty apparent kids are learning things a year behind. We moved our son to Oak Street and it’s been better. We do PREP at St James on Tuesday evenings.

A side note is that very very few kids that live within Falls Church City limits attend this school. Nearly the entire student population lives in Greenway Downs area or off Shreveport Rd. For our son, that meant classmates and friends were a bit far. Switching him to the public school has resulted in many friendships in the neighborhood and he’s now constantly outdoors playing with kids on the street.

The best thing about this school is the community. Each grade is two classrooms with 25 kids per classroom. You get to know all the kids and their parents pretty quickly. And most share your value system.

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: August 17, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Wonderful school with great teachers! Community is welcoming!

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 24, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

All three of my children attended Saint James School. As a parent, I felt very welcomed to the community and it introduced me to many life long friends. I particularly love the faith based education my kids received on a daily basis. As my children moved on to high school, it was very clear they were very well prepared. We are so appreciative for everyone at Saint James School!

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 16, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

As a parent of two Saint James students (one current, one alumni), I highly recommend Saint James school. Saint James provides a loving, challenging, strong learning environment. Saint James teaches the entire child - social/emotional and academic, giving the students a strong foundation for their high school years. The parent community is welcoming and tight and takes care of one another, providing the entire family a second home.

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: April 14, 2026

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: March 7, 2024

I graduated from Saint James a few years ago, and I can attest to this school destroys students self confidence and does not effectively teach the subjects without brainwashing the students. A Catholic school that forces over exaggerated traditional beliefs does not set up students to be able to actually participate in society. Many teachers will harass students they don’t like. I had a few teachers that convinced me I was stupid and would be unsuccessful, but once I got appropriate treatment in high school, I excelled in school. This school is also awful for any minorities and there is barely any diversity, despite the lies the school might spread. There is so much subtle racism, especially from students that have been sheltered from the real world their whole lives. I would definitely not recommend this school if you want your child to succeed in the future, VA public school would definitely be better, especially since we have so many good public schools in VA.

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: March 7, 2024

Posted: February 24, 2023

We are a new family this year and have been impressed with the focus on the whole child. My children have flourished as learners, and their confidence and communication skills have sky rocketed! The community has been welcoming and inviting. I wish we made the switch sooner.

Posted: February 24, 2023

Posted: July 17, 2020

Terrible. Teachers force opinions on students, many teachers are highly unqualified, there is absolutely no diversity or acceptance taught, and the lack of support for students with accelerated learning is disgraceful.

Posted: July 17, 2020

Posted: July 17, 2020

Posted: July 17, 2020

Posted: July 17, 2020

Posted: July 17, 2020

Posted: April 11, 2018

It seems like there has been a typical amount of homework, as much as is needed to learn the subject.

Posted: April 11, 2018

K-5 the teachers are wonderful and highly effective. Everything changes in the middle school which is a mix of excellent teachers and some really poorly qualified and or simply terrible teachers. The school excels in Social Studies and Spanish. The literature and reading programs are not bad but not robust either. The poorly qualified teachers' insecurities show up generally as bullying of their students or blaming the students for their lack of teaching skills. Math education in particular is woefully lacking until 8th grade but by then the damage has already been done.

Posted: April 11, 2018

The school's leadership and religious education program are terrific in communicating character expectations. Not all the teachers embody the values of the school.

Posted: April 11, 2018

Because principals rotate out every 3-4 years there are legacy teachers they inherit who are allowed to continue employment despite a history of poor performance. Each new principal seems to allow the worst to hang on longer than if the school had principals with longevity and the ability to make more change. All the principals are IHM nuns and that gives them a particularly forgiving nature which is laudable but results in slow improvement.

Posted: April 11, 2018

St. James has a resource program but is not designed to support extensive learning differences.

Posted: April 11, 2018

There is an excellent bullying policy and when things get particularly bad there are consequences for bullies for easily documentable bullying. For the kind of under-the-radar bullying that girls can be capable of the school is ineffective at catching and holding bullies accountable.

Posted: April 11, 2018

St. James was heaven for our children prior to middle school. The community is wonderfully engaged. They were learning at an advanced level as compared to their public school peers. However, we should have switched either to another Catholic school or public school for middle school. By then many of the parents are burned out by so much volunteering and a lack of change when things are not working well in the middle school.

Posted: July 31, 2017

Beyond the strong academics and faith-based teachings, St. James offers a welcoming community. We are very happy our children attend St. James.

Posted: July 31, 2017

Generally, the homework serves to reinforce what was taught that day in school & isn't too lengthy. Kindergarten doesn't have any homework & at least through 4th grade, there is no weekend homework with the exception of some special projects.

Posted: July 31, 2017

The teachers my 2 kids have had over the 5 years we've been at St. James are invested in the children and work to meet their needs. As in every school, some teachers are more effective than others.

Posted: July 31, 2017

This is a strong focus at the school, and in general, the students at St. James exemplify these qualities.

Posted: July 31, 2017

Posted: July 31, 2017

St. James does not have the resources of public schools and is not the place for most students with significant learning disabilities. However, there is a specialized reading and spelling program per grade for students who are below grade level. And many students "graduate" from that program and return to the grade level lessons.

Posted: July 31, 2017

This is a challenge for most schools, and I do feel that overall, bullying is addressed effectively at St. James.

Posted: May 19, 2017

St James is much more than a school - it's also an amazing community of families. And although we don't have all the resources of the public schools, there are excellent programs offered in art, robotics, band, computers, etc. And having a strong moral foundation in education is something that will benefit these children for the rest of their lives. Well worth the investment!

Posted: November 17, 2015

Posted: November 17, 2015

Posted: November 17, 2015

Posted: November 17, 2015

Saint James is top notch. The parents complaining likely had children who were unable, despite extensive efforts by the school, to maintain the behavioral standards of this school and were likely asked to leave.

Posted: November 16, 2015

St. James is a waste of time and money. They highlight their awards, but all that glitters is not gold. They teach a lot of religion, but the parents and much of the staff do a pretty poor job of practicing what they preach.

Posted: November 16, 2015

Posted: November 16, 2015

Posted: November 16, 2015

Posted: November 12, 2015

Posted: November 12, 2015

Posted: November 12, 2015

Posted: November 12, 2015

I do not recommend St. James Catholic School in Falls Church. We did not receive the support necessary to help out child be successful. It's also old school in it's thinking and approach.

Posted: August 18, 2015

St. James Catholic School is one of the best academic schools in NOVA. It obtained Blue Ribbon status in 1999, and again in 2014. Very few schools in VA have been awarded Blue Ribbon status twice. Also, the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) talent search ranked St. James #4 in the state. The middle school offers 3 math tracks: pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry, as well as National Junior Honor Society. SJS offers LabLearner, a 100% hands-on supplemental science program for K-8 with a fully equipped in-school lab in its dedicated science room. In addition to the great teaching and spiritual training, SJS facilities and staff are wonderful. It offers a light filled, spacious art room with two art teachers, a large music center with great acoustics and a wonderful music teacher who goes beyond the call of duty, an up-to-date library, a state-of-the-art computer room, and regulation size gym. Most important and best of all, my daughter looks forward to school every day!

Posted: August 18, 2015

Posted: August 18, 2015

Posted: August 18, 2015

Posted: June 16, 2015

Our experience at this school was just fine the first couple years. We had a teacher who seemed to love and appreciate our child. This past year was not as good. We had issues with communications with the teacher (different teacher than before), she clearly did not enjoy having our child in her class (and as it turns out, many other parents had the exact same issues I had so it wasn't limited to my kid), and it suddenly felt like religion was disproportionately emphasized. I know its a Catholic school but I went to Catholic school and don't remember it being so heavily focused on. There are only so many hours in a school day and so much to learn and I was really annoyed at the religion worksheets the kids had to do for homework. Google couldn't even assist on some of them. These are 8 year old children and time could have been spent much more wisely on something else besides defining every piece of material used in Mass and every single Mass ritual.

Posted: June 16, 2015

Posted: June 16, 2015

Posted: June 16, 2015

Posted: May 19, 2014

I am a parent of 2 children who go to Saint James. I see there are no current reviews. Saint James is an OK school. I do not think of it as a great school. Everyone in the school is equal. There is no advanced studies for children to excel. The School tuition continues to increase which makes the school only designed for parents with deep pockets. The administration does run the school for profit to fund projects outside the school. Our public school in our neighborhood is the top in Fairfax County. We will be moving out kids to public school.

Posted: September 20, 2013

St. James Catholic School is one of the best academic schools in NOVA. It obtained Blue Ribbon status in 1999, and has maintained it ever since. Recently, the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) search ranked St. James #4 in the state. The middle school offers 3 math tracks: pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Geometry, as well as National Junior Honor Society. SJS offers LabLearner, a 100% hands-on supplemental science program for K-8 with a fully equipped in-school lab in its dedicated science room. My daughter was recently accepted into CTY, and we just learned that my son, qualifies to test. CTY will soon be offered on-site at SJS. The class size for both my children was 21 students. In addition to the great teaching and spiritual training, SJS facilities and staff are wonderful. It offers a light filled, spacious art room with two art teachers, a large music center with great acoustics and a wonderful music teacher who goes beyond the call of duty, an up-to-date library, a state-of-the-art computer room, and regulation size gym. SJS recently purchased ipads for students' use. Most important and best of all, my children look forward to school every day!

Posted: September 19, 2013

I have a daughter who went to St. James and it was HORRIBLE! The teachers were strict and she barely learned anything. They do not have any advanced English or math classes, everyone is at the same level. They do not have a foreign language choice, everyone learns Spanish. And the parents and teachers judge people by how much money they have, what they wear, if they live in a bigger house, if they're from the U.S., ect. I thought this was a Catholic school, but its a school for really rich people. I moved my daughter to public school and she is much happier and her grades are better. She I more social and don't discriminate anyone by race or if they are poor.

Posted: May 20, 2013

This school has a great religion program, as expected at a Catholic school and has some great teachers. However, the resources/staff are so limited (one teacher shares an aid with several other classrooms), the classroom size so big for a private school that there is little if any effort to differentiate learning among students or to provide any individualized teaching to advanced learners or students with difficulty learning. Everyone is taught the exact same way regardless of the level of knowledge at the start of the module. In terms of improvement, besides some differentiated learning, the school could benefit from more attention to its art, computer science, and music program. Also, there needs to be more adult supervision at recess because it is basically a free for all and the kids have to fend for themselves against potential bullying and harassment. Overall, the teachers are totally committed and do their best; they just need more support from the administration/pastor and/or congregation in terms of resources and planning time.

Posted: April 16, 2013

I have one child who attends Saint James. The teaches are excellent. They really push the kids to achieve there full potential.

Posted: January 23, 2013

Our son and daughter attend St. James and have had terrific experiences, both academically and socially. The facilities are terrific, the homework assignments are meaningful and challenging but not daunting, and the parents and faculty communicate well together. Our kids love the school, look forward to seeing their classmates each day, and have a great time in the aftercare program each afternoon -- so much so that our son asks us to leave and come back later if we try to pick him up early. It's been a great experience.

Posted: August 6, 2012

I have 3 children at St. James and all have had wonderful experiences. The teachers have been caring and sensitive to our personal issues. They want to help each child do their best whether they need more assistance or more challenge (I have children on both ends of the spectrum). I am very active in the school community and continue to be impressed by the dedication of the faculty, staff and families. I have read the previous posting about behavior management, but I don't believe giving children choice cards and positive feedback for good behavior is a negative. I have friends who have transferred to St James and they have told me that the good behavior in the classrooms is a welcome change from their previous school and has really enhanced their children's learning. It has been a wonderful community for us.

Posted: June 17, 2012

WARNNIG TO ANY PARENT CONSIDERING KINDERGARTEN AT THIS SCHOOL. If you want to pay thousands of dollars to damage your child s self-esteem this is the school for you. This school still practices exclusion and humiliation as part of its routine for behavior management on KINDERGARTNERS. And in their dealings with parents they use bullying and deception to coerce parents into agreement. No kindergarten student s behavior can be so bad that it deserves such a poor response from the school system, which is designed to pull students up rather than tear them down. When I brought all these issues to the principal, St. James was unwilling to move my son to another room. I wrote to all the senior members of the Archdiocese of Arlington and had no response. Sadly it was only after leaving St. James that I found many parents with similar experiences here. Perhaps in our typical Catholic fashion we find it difficult to criticize the Catholic Church or its systems.

Posted: May 19, 2012

Great school -- academics, socially, seasoned teachers, science, enrichment programs, being a community for the parents, teachers and kids together. The leadership is wonderful and the only criticism would be that they are not bragging enough. Our first son there (a bright, chipper, fidgety little 2nd grader) is happy and things are only about to get better!

Posted: February 28, 2012

I totally disagree with the comments posted on Feb. 12th. My children currently attend St. James and the teachers and curriculum have surpassed my expectations. Keep in mind the teachers and staff have to hear all sides of every situation they encounter and make the best decision possible based on the information they have. They certainly address bullying issues and are always looking for ways to improve their teaching, technology and communication. I believe they can teach to all levels of the classroom. My children have needed extra help at times and they received it. They've also needed more challenge and received that too. I love St. James!!!!

Posted: February 28, 2012

We have been so blessed to be a part of St. James School. My children have thrived here, because of the rigorous academics and the love of Christ that permeates the school. The IHM sisters model Mary in all that they do. Children are disciplined with love and faith, using the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Posted: April 3, 2011

Run fast and far away from this school. Critical thinking is nonexistent at this school.

Posted: January 5, 2011

St. James School has been a great experience for our family. We had several wonderful schools in our area to choose from, but we decided upon St. James because of the level of education, the community involvement, the morals that are part of every day life, etc. No school is 100% perfect, but I'd say St. James comes very, very close.

Posted: January 5, 2011

Both of my children attended St. James K-8 before going on to Bishop O'Connell High School. They were well prepared for high school, both academically and socially. The teachers and staff at St. James care about all of the students and will work with the parents to resolve any issues.