Do you have to be Catholic to attend St. Patrick School?  

No.  In fact, approximately 40% of our families are non-Catholic.  We welcome families of all faiths.  Because we are a Catholic school, all students must participate in all aspects of our school day, including daily religion class and Mass twice a week.  Our Non-Catholic families tell us that they feel very comfortable and welcome in our school.    

Do you have transportation to and from Dickson? 

Yes!  We have our own bus that runs from St. Christopher Church in Dickson to St. Patrick's every morning, and from St. Patrick's to St. Christopher every afternoon.  The bus is an additional monthly fee of $80 for the first child and a reduced rate for additional children.  The bus reduces the commute for our Dickson families by about twenty minutes each way.  

How do the fundraisers help with our tuition rate?

Our fundraisers are essential to keeping our school open.  The cost to educate a child at St. Patrick's is approximately $7,000.  Our fundraisers and generous donors allow us to keep our tuition at a level much lower and more affordable for our families.  In turn, we ask all of our families to either participate in each fundraiser or pay additional tuition.  
Our fundraisers include:

• Irish Picnic (Last weekend in July)
• Fun Run (September)
• Legacy Dinner and Auction (Late winter)
• Spring Barbecue (Late April) 

What sports do  you offer?  

Due to the small size of our school, we are able to offer sports as we are able to field teams.  Currently, over 30% of our school runs on our cross country team in the fall and we have a 6th-8th grade girls basketball team. 

We also partner with our local public schools.  Students may play volleyball, baseball, football, and basketball with their local school as long as the local school agrees to the partnership.  Waverly Junior High School and McEwen High School regularly partner with us. 

Many of our students play on the Dickson and Humphreys County community sports leagues for soccer and basketball (Waverly and McEwen youth leagues).   

Where do your students go to high school?  

Because we follow the curriculum of the Diocese of Nashville, our students graduate prepared to go to any of the college-prep high schools in the Nashville area.  We regularly have one graduate per year do so.  However, due to the distance, most of our students attend their local public high school.  There, our students are most often in honors classes.  Almost every year, at least one of the valedictorians of our local high schools is a graduate of St. Patrick School!     

Do you have Before or After Care? 

Yes! 
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In the morning, drop-off begins at 7:15.  Students gather in the library until 7:35 when their teacher picks the class up to begin their day.  There is no extra charge.

In the afternoon, we offer Aftercare from 3:15-5:30.  Two staff members supervise the students in Aftercare.  They have time to play outside, eat a snack and do homework.  Aftercare is an additional $3/hour, which is billed monthly, with your tuition payments.  

How many students are in your classes?  

Our average class size is 15 students.  This enables teachers to give each child individual attention and creates a family like atmosphere in the school.  

I heard you have "double grades" in one room.  Is this true?   

Traditionally, this has been the case at St. Patrick's. 
However, recently, because of increased enrollment, we have been able to separate the classes. 
All classes from Pre-K to 4th grade are in separate classrooms. 
In the middle school, the classes are combined only for science, social studies, English and religion.  However, we hope to separate these classes as well as enrollment grows.  

Is your school accredited? Are your teachers certified?  

Yes!  We are accredited by AdvancEd, an international accrediting agency.  
All of our teachers are fully certified, many have Masters degrees.