Honestly, this was one of the most disappointing, if not outright terrible, experiences I have ever…read morehad simply trying to book a trial art lesson for a child. Beforehand, I specifically explained over the phone that we were looking for someone familiar with children with special needs and asked whether the studio could accommodate that with a teacher , where they booked us with someone named Mrs A. They confirmed the trial lesson and booked the appointment and were very positive. Yet when my family arrived, the teacher said she had no idea that my sister had special needs or that we had provided any information about her in advance. The lesson itself was even worse. For approximately 35 minutes, the teacher mostly sat next to my 11-year-old sister with her arms crossed, barely interacting with her. She showed no warmth, friendliness, or enthusiasm. There was no smile, no effort to make her feel welcome, and not even basic questions such as, "What's your favorite color?" My sister, who is the child and has social development challenges, was practically the one prompting the teacher to speak and interact with her. It should have been the other way around. Even if the studio truly failed to give the teacher the information we had provided, that does not excuse her behavior. You should not need advance notice of a child's disability to show basic human decency, kindness, patience, or friendliness toward an 11-year-old child. Any teacher working with children should know how to introduce herself, smile, ask a few simple questions, and make a child feel comfortable. Instead, she acted visibly uncomfortable and made almost no effort to connect with my sister. The teacher did not even properly introduce herself until about 15 minutes into the trial lesson, which is just plain ridiculous. My family eventually ended the lesson early because she was simply sitting there and making virtually no effort to engage. Even as they left, her response was basically, "Okay, goodbye." It is completely unacceptable for a studio to say it can accommodate a child with special needs, fail to communicate the information provided to the teacher, and then treat the child with such coldness and discomfort when she arrives. The entire experience was awkward, unwelcoming, and honestly shameful. I would not recommend this studio at all. **Wow after reading the other google reviews it seems like they have a track record of treating children with special needs like dirt.

Went for a birthday party which was super cute. You can bring in your own food and drinks. They…read moremake a painting. They sign a huge birthday card and get goodie bags. They also get to pick their smock color. Small space so not much seating but its designed for drop and go.

I've been extremely happy with US Arts. Our children have been taking classes there for nearly…read morethree years, and we've been consistently impressed by the curriculum, the well-structured lessons, the high quality of instruction, and the school's efficient management. Our kids have very busy schedules with many extracurricular activities, but US Arts has been incredibly flexible with scheduling regular classes and makeup lessons. The availability of classes throughout the summer also makes it easy to continue learning year-round. Overall, we feel that the program offers exceptional value and is well worth the investment.

My kids completed one year and every week he is excited to resume and attend classes. We are…read moreinformed in advance of the curriculum to practice at home and every session has been excellent with great feed back and improvement. Highly recommended signing up to unleash the creativity in you to rise and shine

I started to go to J Art in 6th grade. I'm now a senior in college (at my dream school, Rhode…read moreIsland School of Design!) and I can say for a fact that I would not have gotten to this point without J Art. I came here for 6-7 years constantly; I even moved to Florida for a couple years for my mom's job and I visited VA during my breaks just to attend J Art and work on my art. If it matters to the parents reading, J Art also helped me apply to (and win) lots of art competitions that I otherwise would not have known about. I also think the strictness level varies for each student, as every teacher I worked with were talented and kind in their own unique ways. I'll keep my review short but I can say that I'm truly grateful for everything I've learned from here and that I miss it very much! Easily the easiest 5 stars I can give to any establishment. I would give 10 if I could!

Contrary to Grace's opinion, I believe J art is a great place to study art. I don't want to waste…read moreanyone's time so I'll keep this short. J art has taught me all I know, and I am more than grateful to this studio and its teachers. Under their guidance I truly believe I have blossomed as an artist. Not everyone is naturally creative, and with age, a lot of creativity is lost... But everyone can be taught to think out of the ordinary, and that is what j art has taught me. Cheers!

So glad I found this little gem! I've been taking watercolor classes at Compass for the past…read moreseveral months and have truly enjoyed my time here. The studios are full of natural light and the entire place is warm and inviting. I've learned so much and truly look forward to my art classes each week in the quaint historic district of Kensington.

I signed up for the MAP program. I paid $4,500 which was supposed to be attributed to the last…read morepayment for the program. I got very sick a month or more after I signed up. I got a very rare disease called Sarcoidosis which is very debilitating. I felt I could no longer do the program due to its demanding schedule. I wanted my $4,500 back. Kessler said "he wasn't in the habit of taking money from people and not providing a service" in one conversation. However, he refused to give any of it back. The program was not full and he probably was hurting for money. Just be careful this guy. Make sure you've done your due diligence. He offered to hold the money and I could sign up in 3 years. No thank you. I'm out $4,500 and he's sitting pretty.

The non credit options have been on hiatus for a while. Their site mentions vaccine status, so most…read morelikely covid related which is a few years old now. Hopefully they have some sort of update on their one off or non-credit classes.

Great classes, and great teachers. I think it's the only high quality art school in DC…read more Everybody is so helpful there.

Terrific instructors and classes. Love the offerings, including first friday events and third…read moreThursday artist talks. A gem in the community!

Washington Studio School is best described as a community of dedicated career artists with a…read moregenuine enthusiasm for art and true interest in working with students to help them develop their skills and confidence as artists. I've now had the pleasure of working with two different teachers at WSS and came away impressed both times. This school is a great place to build your skills, knowledge and confidence as an artist (i.e., impressive array of class and workshop options, small class sizes, comfortable and supportive environment, strong sense of community). I highly recommend WSS for anyone truly interested in growing as an artist.

We came here for a tryout session of the loudoun symphony youth orchestra for my kid. The place is…read morea bit small but organized and the people are very friendly. It's tucked away in a nice corner right behind the Leesburg post office and is easy to find with a lot of parking.

Shhh! Don't tell anyone this secret! Catoctin School of Music (CSM) is the BEST music school in the…read morearea. We have 2 children who have been studying at CSM for 8 years (voice, violin, guitar, and music theory). The instructors are talented, compassionate, and passionate educators. They work with both children and adults to foster a love of music and a safe place for creative expression. They view every student individually, demonstrating an intuitive balance of pushing for results and encouraging the best work. They listen and tailor their teaching styles to suit the students. My children have received expert advice to help them achieve their dreams as well as mentors who care about them. CSM has many wonderful offerings, including private lessons, group learning, ensembles, open mic nights, and music labs. In addition to running a fantastic music education program, the owners of CSM give back to the community and the world, sponsoring music scholarships and Salvation Army giving campaigns and volunteering their time to teach music in Haiti. If you want a quality music program, CSM is the music school for you!

I had a lot of anxiety when driving, and it felt impossible to get over this challenge. The Star…read moreDriving School (Miss Khan) has such a great way of teaching their students. I have made so much progress in just a few sessions!

I first registered my son with Star Driving School for "Behind the Wheel Course" on 27 Dec. The…read morecommunications with very unprofessional from the beginning as they did not know who they were communicating with at every contact, (they kept referring to my son as she). After registering two separate times on their website, and several text messages of when the lesson would begin, I had to introduce myself (via text) and ask who was the instructor and give my location information all over again. Sitara Khan finally introduced herself as the instructor, and made arrangement to begin lesson on 16 Jan 2023 between 4:30 and 5;00PM. On the day the lesson were to begin, 16 Jan 2023 at 8:09AM, Sitara Khan texted and asked if we can go earlier because she just realized it was MLK Jr. Holiday. We agreed on 1:00PM at her request. After adjusting schedules, Sitara Khan did not show up as scheduled. After 10 min later, I texted to asked if we were still scheduled for 1:00. She texted back to explain that another student was driving slow and nervous (that is to be expected), but was on the way. Sitara Khan did finally show up at 1:45 with the student driving (I was standing outside waiting and watching as they drove up). At that point I had serious concerns with their decision making and safety, along with their unprofessionalism. As I was under the impression this is why these are scheduled time (as some student need more time than others). I cancelled our services with Sitara Khan and The Star Driving School.