The grounds at this school are beautiful they have done an amazing job incorporating the school…read moreinto the natural area surrounding it They have an outdoor classroom and several bridges connecting the areas They have quite a few playgrounds for the kids including an obstacle course The art patio has a beautiful statue and a few art installations The school itself has high recommendations and I know several students that have graduated from here it is one of the top schools in the area and has all grades on the same campus

This is one of the best schools in Hampton Roads. They have superb academics and sports. The…read moreteachers are all great with the children and they are very active with the community.

friendly, great gallery. lovely mid century modern building. Classes too. Summer camps,! lecturesread more

What a cute museum! The people are so friendly here. I have taken a few silver clay classes that…read morewere fun and happy with the pieces I made. The children's clay nativity workshop was a big hit for my 9 year old and the clay figurines made are actually cute enough to display.

I have only had positive experiences at the CTVAC. They have open call art shows through out the…read moreyear. You should check it out when you can. :)

The Charles Taylor Arts Center is the proverbial gem in our own backyard!!! They have an exciting…read moreand diverse schedule of visual art exhibitions focused primarily on the creations of artists living and working in Hampton Roads and the state of Virginia. It is great that they promote contemporary art makers and provide an opportunity for the untalented people like me an opportunity to interact with the artists. The emphasis is on group exhibitions which offer a broad range of artists, media, styles, content and perspectives on our world. Just go and support our community!!!!

Finally! A full service arts facility offering stained glass classes, beginners jewelry, felt…read moremaking, soap & candle making classes, kids classes, paint & pour parties and birthday parties! So cool! You no longer have to go to Raleigh for such intense and fun art classes! Great instructor. Highly recommend!

Great Focused degree school for the fine arts.. the school is young (less than 3 years old) but…read morethey are accredited through the Atlanta Art Institute.. the gallery is constantly changing and is open to the public the student show will run from October to January you should stop by and see the wonderful work that the schools students are producing (including my own :-))

Having one on one interaction with your professor to understand the learning needs, is better than…read moreno attentiveness from a professor and learning little to nothing.

This school is a great atmosphere for children. Teachers care about their students! In Home…read moreschool Unlimited students get the individual attention they need for success. There so many extracurricular activities that appeal to children, again small groups where they can participate and succeed. My experiences include first grade and sewing classes.

Just attended mommy & me and music school for the first time this morning with my 15 month old…read moredaughter. She had an excellent time, and I can tell that she will learn a lot as we continue classes. Thanks Virginia!

I went to a weekend workshop on figurative sculpture. While I am an experienced wheel-thrower, I…read morehad never done any handbuilding or sculpture. I looked up the instructor online - Gabrielle Graber - and was so impressed with her work it made me a bit nervous that the class was going to be above my head. Gabe was terrific - she was able to break down the process into very achieveable segments. I made a couple of small pieces, then a life-size foot. If someone told me last week that I would make a realistic looking body part from clay as a result of this class, I would have told them they were nuts. But I did - I'm usually overly critical of my own work, but I was very happy with what I was able to accomplish. This workshop absolutely exceeded my expectations. Additionally, the staff was friendly, the sleeping rooms were spotless, and I really enjoyed getting to know Gabe. Pocosin runs workshops in all kinds of media - clay, painting, metalwork, etc. If you are looking for a creative outlet and/or a fun weekend away, go to Pocosin!

I've attended workshops both in their building site, and at their retreat "Cabin Fever Reliever"…read moremultiple years. They know how to do it, and they bring in very worth while instructors, who I've learned a lot from. Cabin Fever is one of my favorite weekends of the year when I get to attend. I highly recommend visiting, and doing workshops with them.

This school destroyed my daughter. She has been with them since middle school. They failed to…read moreprepare my child for college, and instead of exposing her to college experiences, they withheld them from her as punishment. This failed to motivate her to do better. The school is for underprivileged low income families, and putting my child in there only exposed her to kids who were already troubled and she couldn't handle the lifestyle change. They labeled her trouble and punished her every chance they got. Now, because of a social media post 50 days until graduation, they expelled her and crushed the last of her remaining dreams. Then they want to tell her she will always be a dreamer and part of the dreamer family. I hope those meaningless promises made them feel better about destroying any remaining hopes and dreams my daughter has. She has given up on herself and her future. The school counselor was the absolute worst and always presented to my daughter with a negative attitude. The school failed to deliver what they promised and let both me and my daughter down with no place to turn. Words can't describe how utterly disappointed I am with the Achievable Dream Administration. The CEO of the school made a special connection with my daughter and gave her a phone number to call if she ever needed her help and when my daughter called it in distress prior to being expelled she failed to answer my daughters call for help and the administrator refused to let my daughter speak with the one person who could have made a difference. How do you invest in a child for 6 years and then kick them out with less than 50 days left to go. This school likes to brag about successes but hides their failures.

I became familiar with this organization through some work I did with them. An Achievable Dream…read moresaves children from poverty through education. Yes, that sounds dramatic, but their results are dramatic. An Achievable Dream is a magnet school. But rather than choosing high performing students, they choose their students from kids with the highest risk factors. They all must be eligible for free lunch -- in other words, living in poverty -- most of them are being raised in single parent or guardian households, and many of them have behavioral problems as well. Achievable Dream teaches the standard classes -- science, math, history -- but they also teach a variety of "life skills" classes, such as conflict resolution, money management, and "speaking green," which basically using standard American English. (The class is called "speaking green," because the idea is that in order to succeed in a business environment, you need to be able to speak properly.) They even have classes in etiquette, which may seem strange, until you realize that the goal is to provide these kids with the structure and discipline they don't have in their lives outside of school. Members of the community -- business leaders, police officers, and soldiers from a nearby military base -- serve as mentors and role models for the students. In addition, their school day is 8 hours long -- 2 hours longer than a standard day -- and they only get 5 weeks off in the summer. The results have been astounding. Over the past 15 years, AAD's students have closed the achievement gap between them and students in the rest of the state, regularly testing in the top percentiles. The organization now runs a grade school and a middle/high school, and students who complete the program are guaranteed college tuition. 90% of their graduates go on to college, and the other 10% serve in the military. An Achievable Dream has taken kids who would most likely have fallen between the cracks -- many of whom would be 1) unwed mothers, 2) in jail, or 3) dead before their 18th birthday, and helped them become productive members of society. In recent years, other school districts (including one in Waukegan, IL) have started using some of AAD's "best practices." For those of us who believe that education is the path to solving a lot of our problems, An Achievable Dream is truly inspiring.