Admission FAQs

Students who desire an educational experience founded on the Catholic philosophy of education and who fulfill age, health, academic, and behavioral requirements. The Basilica School of Saint Mary admits students of any race, color or national origin, and we follow an acceptance protocol.

Applications for the upcoming school year are accepted starting in November of the current school year, on the same day as our first morning for Parents of Prospective Students. Application packets are submitted via the online submission form. 

The deadline to be considered in the first round of admissions decisions is February 1, 2027. Application packets are not considered complete until all the required application checklist items are submitted. Those applications received after that date will be considered should space be available or placed in our waitpool.

Parents are notified of the first round of admissions decisions the last week of February. Children not admitted in the first round are given the opportunity to join our waitpool. If you are not accepted from our waitpool and you remain interested in the Basilica School of Saint Mary, you must reapply for the next academic year as applications do not carry over.

Classes for students in grades K—8 begin at 8:00am. Dismissal for all grades is 3:15pm, except Wednesdays at 2:15pm.

Full Day Pre-Kindergarten begins each day at 8:00am and ends at 3:00pm, except Wednesdays that end at 2:00pm.

Half Day Pre-Kindergarten begins each day at 8:00am and ends at 12:00pm, except on Wednesdays, when enrichment is offered until 2:00pm.

Extended care is available to families with children enrolled in grades K-8 until 6pm.

Extended care is also offered to our Full Day PreK families until 5:30pm.

We also offer a supervised care program before the school day begins from 7:00 - 7:30am for an additional cost.

No, Half Day students do not have the option to stay for Extended Care on a daily basis. However, if they participate in Enrichment Wednesdays, they may stay for Extended Care until 5:30pm that day if the child is signed up for Extended Care. 

Our target class size is 27 students. There is a teacher and full time instructional aide in each classroom in grades PreK - 3.

From grades 4 - 8, there is a floating aide for each grade level that assists each classroom in their grade.

For Full Day PreK, our target class size is 17 students per classroom, with a teacher and full time Instructional Aide in each classroom.

For Half Day PreK, our target class size is 16 students, with a teacher and a full time Instructional Aide in the classroom. 

There are three classrooms per grade level. For our Pre-Kindergarten Program, there are two Full Day classrooms and one Half Day classroom. 

All schools in the Diocese of Arlington follow the same curriculum. Guidelines are posted on the Diocese of Arlington website, www.arlingtondiocese.org, under the “Education” tab, as well as on this website by HERE.

Yes, information on The Basilica School of Saint Mary School uniforms can be found HERE.

Yes. Click HERE to explore the extracurricular activities offered by the Basilica School of Saint Mary.

A hot lunch is served daily, along with fresh selections, such as prepared salads and sandwiches. The daily menu can be found on our school calendar. Additional information on our lunch program can be found HERE.