St. John the Baptist Catholic School : Montgomery County MD

Beginning

St. John the Baptist Catholic Parish (SJB) was founded in 1960 on its current 10-acre site at 12319 New Hampshire Avenue in Silver Spring. At that time the custom was that every new parish build a school. Accordingly, St. John the Baptist Catholic School opened for the first two grades in 1962. Another grade was added each year and the first diplomas were awarded in 1969. An all-day kindergarten was opened in 1993, and a preschool in 2017.

Pastors

The parish has had four pastors. Father E. Carl Lyon founded the parish and guided it until his retirement in 1987. His successor was Father Francis Kazista, later Monsignor Kazista, who was himself a former assistant pastor from 1975-1981 until his retirement in June, 2011 when Father Y. David Brault joined the parish. In 2023, Father David retired, and Father Andrew Wakefield was named pastor.

School Leaders

The Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary from Kankakee, Illinois staffed the school until June of 2000. A house on Brantford Avenue, a nearby residential street, served as the parish convent.

Until last year, five principals have administered St. John the Baptist School. They have been Sister Virginia Marie Derk (1962-1966), Sister Catherine Bartlett (1966-1971), Mr. Leo Klagholz (1971-1972), Mrs. Peggy Spalding (1972-1992) and Ms. Marianne Moore (1992 – 2014). Mr. Brian Blomquist became the sixth principal in 2014.

Parent Groups

The School Advisory Board and the Home School Association represent school parents. The purpose of the School Advisory Board, founded in 1990, is to provide advice and assistance to the pastor and principal in support of the school. The Home and School Association (HSA) sponsors family activities and fundraisers throughout the year.

Blue Ribbon

St. John the Baptist Catholic School is accredited annually by Cognia and was awarded National Blue Ribbon Accreditation, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education, in 2010.

Cultural Diversity

SJB Demographic Data 2024

Race of Student

37% White
21% of White students come from households in which Spanish is also spoken
32% Black
Languages include Tigrina – French Bamileke -- Igbo – French – Amharic
16% Asian
Languages include Vietnamese - Korean - Chinese - Bangla - Punjabi/Hindi
13% Two or More Races

Ethnicity of Student

15% Hispanic

Diversity By the Numbers

35 students live in homes in which languages of Ethiopia are spoken
24 students live in homes in which languages of Vietnam, Korea, Malaysia, and China are spoken
18 students live in homes in which languages of western African are spoken (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast)
10 students live in homes in which languages of Pacific Asia are spoken (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines)

Source: TADS household enrollment 2023-24

Languages Spoken in SJB Homes

Afaan Oromo Akan Amharic Azerbaijani Bamileke Bangla Bangla Bengali Cantonese Chinese Czech Eleni French Greek Hindi Ibo Igbo Italian Jamaican Patois Kirundi Korean Malayalam Mandarin Marathi Portuguese Punjabi Russian Spanish Yoruba Tagalog Telegu Tigrina Turkish Vietnamese Visayan