Edlin School truly feels like a second home for our family. From the moment you walk through the doors, you can tell this is a place where children are known, valued, and genuinely cared for. The teachers are warm, attentive, and deeply invested in helping each child grow both academically and personally. What really sets Edlin apart is the sense of community. Families, staff, and students work together in a way that feels authentic and supportive, not forced. The school does a wonderful job balancing strong academics with creative programs in music, art, and enrichment that let students explore their interests and build confidence. Our child is excited to go to school each day, and that says everything. We are grateful for a school that nurtures curiosity, kindness, and a love of learning. Choosing Edlin School was one of the best decisions we have made for our family. read more

Love it! Our kids moved here from another private school this year and everything we were impressed by during the tour/application process remains! You actually know what your kids are learning and they have textbooks and read novels! if your wondering about the school do check it out. read more

Outstanding experience with Edlin so far. Diana and Gloria are a perfect team, balancing academic rigor with organized leadership. The accelerated curriculum has challenged our daughter and enabled so much growth in her first year. We're grateful for the Edlin community and highly recommend the school. read more

The school markets itself well, but the reality falls short. While small class sizes are advertised as a benefit, they're more likely the result of declining enrollment some graduating classes are barely a dozen students. Leadership is limited to just a couple individuals, neither of whom have the background or capacity to run a high-quality private school. There's no real administrative team, no active parent organization, and limited opportunities for student enrichment beyond the classroom. Parents are rarely engaged, and the school community feels disconnected. Before enrolling, ask questions like: * Who provides oversight and long-term planning? * What programs or services are missing compared to other schools in the area? This is a school with a boutique price tag, but little of the structure or substance you'd expect. For what you're paying, you can likely find a school either public or private that offers more stability, resources, and support for your child. read more

Edlin is a top-notch school for gifted kids up through 8th grade. My son is a rising 8th grader & we will be very sad to see this chapter end. The leadership team of Diana Dumont and Gloria Small is excellent. Teachers are of the highest quality and work with each student to get them into the right classes based on talent. Small class sizes are amazing and cutting-edge programs & electives such as data science offered for 7th & 8th graders this year took Edlin to an even higher level. Excellent school. read more

We are so lucky to have found this school! My daughter is thriving because of the focus on the balanced academics and fun activities the school offers. The best part, Edlin is located very close to our jobs in Reston! We always feel so welcome. We could tell immediately that Edlin understands children to their core. Between learning at a higher level and play time. My daughter always wants to go to school! In comparison to all of the other private schools in the area, we could tell just by the tour and the feeling of the building that everyone cared about each other. Thank you to the incredible teachers and staff at Edlin for welcoming our family into your community! read more

Edlin is exactly what a school for Pre-K - 8th Gr should be: an intimate environment with passionate and skilled teachers with a primary focus on a sharp early-elementary education, followed closely by an emphasis on community, celebration of diversity, friendship and fun. Young children are capable of meeting the challenges set before them, and Edlin is the first school I have encountered which actually challenges kids relative to their potential, instead of coddling and presuming they aren't capable. My son is advancing at lightning speed AND thrives with close friendships, respects and admires his teachers and has a wonderful appreciation and love for school. read more

I have 2 children in Edlin school. Our kids have been through K4 and now up to 3rd grade. We have had amazing teachers all throughout. The curriculum is very advanced and it is truly for gifted kids. They learn Spanish, Latin, music and art. The new ownership really gets it. They have children in the school and are always interested in how they can make our lives easier. They are very responsive. It's a small school so it really does have a family feel. For working parents, the extended hours are so convenient. read more

This seemed like a really good school when we first started. It seems that my daughter is learning a lot, I have no concerns about that. I do have concerns regarding the woman in reception, a heavy set, older woman with an accent. She called my daughter "sharmuta" (you will have to look this up in google translate, I will not repeat the translation), at first it seemed sweet, like a term of endearment, but it isn't. My husband speaks Arabic, he told me what it really means. I considered mentioning this to the owner, but then I talked with some other parents and found out that the older woman is the mother of the owner. I can't imagine what values a woman like that, who would use such ugly language about a six year old girl, would teach her own daughter, but clearly talking to the DuMonts isn't going to help. I felt that I should at least try to warn other parents about this. My daughter will finish this year at Edlin because we would prefer not to move her right now. We are considering our options for next year. read more

Our son spent his 5th and 6th grade here, and we have nothing but positive things to say about Edlin. 1. Advanced Curriculum - When most schools were struggling to keep up with at-level curriculum during the pandemic, Edlin continued to teach advanced curriculum. Our son ended up learning Math, Science, and Language / Arts two years ahead of his public school peers. 2. Caring and Nurturing Environment - With its small class sizes, teachers who are passionate about teaching, and administrators who truly care about early school education, Edlin provides an environment that is conducive for learning It was a joy to see our son come back home from school rattling away things that he learned that day read more

Poorly managed school with very average teachers. Definitely not running a gifted curriculum. Teachers won't respond to parents for weeks at a time. The administration keeps changing its story. Fortunately, our son is bright and learns on his own. Save your money. read more

New Management same horrible school. Please don't waste your time or money here. There are much better schools in the area. For the quality education you are paying for, you'd be better off in public school. What a complete disappointment!!! read more

My son has been attending Edlin for 2 years and is currently in Grade 3. He attended a Montessori school until Kindergarten and online public school in Grade 1 during Covid. I was very happy with the public school system but I felt like my son was academically ahead and wasn't getting challenged to his full potential. So I started looking into private schools. I am one of those parents who just don't rely on online ratings or brand value and so I spent months researching schools in the Reston, Herndon, Fairfax areas. I read through the curriculum, met the Principals, owners, teachers, spoke to parents of almost all highly rated schools (ACE, NySmith, Edlin, BASIS, Flint Hill). I chose Edlin over the other schools primarily due to the following reasons: 1. Well-designed curriculum - Offers a great balance between math, science, reading, language, arts, music, sports. Edlin is the only private school in the area that offers Spanish, French and Latin from Grade 1-8. Math and English are more than 1 hour everyday with foreign languages 4 times a week and art/music/computers everyday. He gets 15-20 mins of homework everyday and spends about 1 hour per month on special projects/presentations. We do not send him to any external coaching/kumon/private tutors. 2. Teachers with well-rounded experience - When we joined the school, it was bought by a new owner. As a management consultant, I loved her strategy of bringing on a new Principal and teachers who have many years of experience teaching at NySmith and other top rated schools. Any parent deciding to enroll their kids should definitely talk to the teachers to understand their teaching philosophy and get a "gut" reaction. 3. Personalized care - Our child was diagnosed with stuttering and speech dis-fluency and we were very concerned about potential bullying. We expressed our concern to the owner, teachers, and the Principal. His teacher was gracious enough to conduct a talk on stuttering with the kids to normalize it and even pointed out that Joe Biden stuttered as a child. The management is also very open to parent feedback and makes immediate changes to address concerns. For e.g., I shared feedback with the 1st grade math teacher that my son was not getting challenged enough and within 2 months i saw a change in the assignments and study guides. 4. Community building - Edlin offers a lot of opportunities for community engagement both within and outside the school. The PTO is very active and the school organizes field trips, camps, international night, fall festival, cultural presentations to promote diversity and a sense of belonging and inclusion. I was very skeptical about Edlin initially because of the bad reviews online but have been very satisfied for 2 years now. I realized that online reviews are skewed because usually only dissatisfied parents take the time to write reviews so I decided to break the trend by writing a review and sharing my positive experience :) Overall, I will highly recommend Edlin to potential parents but will also encourage you to meet the owner, Principal and teachers to understand if Edlin is a good fit for your child and family. read more

We have had children at Edlin for nearly 15 consecutive years. We can't recommend Edlin more highly. Our 19 year old attended from K4 - 8th. Our 13 year old has been there since K4. Edlin provides an exceptional educational curriculum in small classes tailored to the individual student's social and educational needs. Our children have absolutely thrived there both socially and academically. The positive, supportive culture and environment at Edlin extends to a zero tolerance for bullying and other serious negative behavior. Both of our children and their Edlin friends have told us that they feel supported yet challenged. They have commented countless times about the positive environment that this small, academically advanced school has provided them for many years. Despite the small class sizes and the relatively small size of the school, our older son transitioned to Marshall High School extremely well. Edlin not only provided him with an exceptional educational background which allowed him to excel at Marshal and to graduate with honors, but it helped to provide him with the moral foundation and confidence to resist the adverse peer pressure inevitably found among some kids at large, public high schools. He is just beginning his second year at Virginia Tech as an animal science, pre-veterinary medicine major. He completed a very rigorous freshman year of hard science pre-vet "weeder courses" with 3.74 GPA, having achieved Dean's List during both semesters. He has said on numerous occasions that his educational and social preparation at Edlin were invaluable - that his time at Edlin set him up for success. Our younger son is about to enter 8th grade. He is excited to get back to Edlin. He also has many times told us how much that he loves Edlin - the small class sizes, individual attention, friendly and supportive atmosphere and the opportunity to participate in the many extra-curricular activities offered. My wife and I have read some of the negative reviews with astonishment. While one is bound to encounter a teacher that they don't like, a class that they felt needed improvement, etc. this is true at any school. Comments about the fact that some of the faculty's children attend Edlin do not make sense to us. This is the case with most any private school. Further, what better testament to the quality of an education than for the faculty to trust a school with their own kids?? I would be concerned about schools where the faculty don't send their kids! Another benefit of Edlin is that quite unlike some other schools, Edlin is totally focused on a solid educational foundation and does not engage the promotion of controversial social theories which have led to distraction and confusion in so many other schools. As other's have noted, the teacher communication and updates are excellent as is the communication from the administration. In short, our family has had a long and extremely positive experience with Edlin. We recommend this truly exceptional school wholeheartedly and without reservation. read more

RUN DON'T WALK - Most of the teachers here have kids who attend the school, which might not seem initially to be a problem, but some of teachers here are related to the owners, and to each other, weirdly.  For example, (music teacher related to a grade school teacher, and they have a couple of kids at the school; PE teacher related to science teacher and they have a couple of kids at the school; the owners kids work at the school and their grandkids attend; and so on). It creates a weird environment of "staff kids" (there are a lot of them) who run amok at the school and regular kids who get picked up after school. - Incredibly inept Administration:  refusals to return emails by staff (why should they, they work there and their kids attend), last minute scheduling changes, incorrect parent emails, billing errors, in short - chaotically run.  The music teacher relies on video too much and spends a lot of his time showing off his trumpet skills....barf. The art teacher is from West Virginia and is TERRIBLE. The science teacher is a yeller, rings a cow bell to silence the kids, and is a terrible communicator.   - Honestly it's a weird little school and instead of hiring the best teachers which at 25k tuition they should do, they hire their friends and family. The teachers are not good and don't seem trained in dealing with children. - The school is not accredited and they don't follow any sort of schedule, so we were surprised to see that we have a 2 week spring break, ugh. They will randomly throw in a holiday or day off here or there. They do not follow the FCPS calendar or any established guideline for snow days. PROS: - there is an emphasis on academics, they pack a lot of work in a day (up to you whether this is good) and move at a brisk pace. - classes are small, but as the kids get older (like older than 2nd grade) this becomes socially limiting. read more

Edlin has been an amazing school and partner to our family. The small classes, excellent teachers, and supportive staff recognize each child's unique gifts and talents and helps them to thrive! I currently have two kids at Edlin in 8th and 5th grade. We've attended for the past three years and joined when FCPS went remote during COVID. I was rightfully concerned that remote learning was not the right choice and wanted a school that was willing to be in-person, which Edlin was pioneering. Both my kids were in the Level IV AAP program at FCPS and I did not consider them challenged to their full potential. The transition to Edlin was tough at first, in that they had some catching up to do in Spanish, English and Latin. But after the first 6-8 weeks they were actively engaged, excited to attend, and proud of their strides. The teachers worked with our children individually and recognized and encouraged their needs and strengths. My kids leaned hard into the Latin courses, novel and Shakespeare studies, increased field trip opportunities, and the exciting electives offered. The high school counseling is also a competitive strength as they recognize how advanced the kids are at 8th grade, compared to their peers, and the administration is well equipped to prepare and support the students in the highly competitive high school admissions process. Our 5th grader will be returning in the 2023-2024 school year and we look forward to his remaining 3 years at Edlin. read more

School with caring and extremely effective teachers, and an advanced and deep curriculum. The children are challenged and are encouraged to do well. My children started out as average kids who didn't care about school to kids who are well adjusted, confident. They now care about learning and doing well in school. Teacher communication and weekly updates are excellent. I get a good feel of what they're learning week to week. As much as I love the school, I would like to the administration to modernize some administrative aspects such as billing/payments (it'd be nice to have an auto debit or credit card option), communication (text messaging for sudden schedule changes, early pickup). read more

We had a very bad experience with this school. Don't waste your time or money. There are MUCH better schools in the area.

Not a good experience. At one point had 3 kids there. Would never recommend. Took a lot to get my kids over the experience

This is the little "K4 through 8" school with big results. I'm a HUGE fan. My children have gone to Edlin the past four years and the results are impressive. They entered as average students, but are currently performing at one to two full grade levels ahead and are very happy. We'd considered several other schools before we sent them to Edlin, and this has clearly been a great choice for us. Things I like most about Edlin: * Small Class Sizes - my children's classes average 10 to 12 students. They get personal attention. They learn! * Gifted Studies - children are allowed to study at their highest level while remaining with their peers. This means, for example, a 7-year-old second grader can learn fourth-grade material, but remain in children his or her age, in a second grade class. While my children are supposedly only a grade or two ahead, they are frequently studying concepts that I didn't get until I was in high school. * School Spirit - Edlin, being a smaller school, has a tight-knit, community feeling to it. Our kids, and their friends, take great pride in going to Edlin. The teachers are always accessible and responsive, and take the time to get to know the students and parents in a way that builds strong relationships. Edlin also does a great job with extra-curricular activities - tons of field trips, school plays, field day, etc. The school is also affordable relative to most of its peers. And for that, it generally outperforms them in terms of acceptance rates into top high schools like Thomas Jefferson. For my family, it's a big tuition check but for us it's worth every penny. We owe a big thanks to Linda Scheibstein and her husband, Bert, whose vision for this school has enriched many lives. read more

My kids loved this school and graduated from here. Fantastic administration and all the knowledgeable teachers.

When we signed up for the school we were told they would follow COVID practices. There is no social distancing. The classrooms are tiny and the kids are last than 3 feet apart. They are filling up the classrooms so they can make money. I would not be surprised if the school shuts down soon. They are not accredited and they are definitely not following Virginia or CDC guidelines. read more

Pros: Its a great school. Excellent teachers. Good community of students. Great student to teacher ratio. Room for improvement: After school programs are generally bad / ok / limited options. Cons: Extended afternoon care is $28 per day and $1 per minute after 6 PM. That is why they lost 1 star for that greediness/ripoff. read more

I attended this school when I was 10 years old. I had a teacher named Mrs Evans who taught latin and math. It was my first year in this new school and going through a rough transition adjusting to this Christian school. She would constantly pull me out of class and talk down to me and make me feel dumb. I did not continue attending Edlin and went to another school. I later was admitted to the University of California Irvine as an undergraduate majoring in biology, and now am in the process of receiving my masters from UCLA in genetic engineering. I will never forget how horrible Mrs Evans treated me and will forever take that experience with a grain of salt and make sure that another Mrs Evans will never come into my children's life. Mr Lopez was a great music teacher at the time but Mrs Evans really hurt me and my learning experience at the time. read more

I am beyond grateful that my daughter is at Edlin this year! While we originally thought this would only be for the year, after such a great experience, we will never send her back to public school. (And this is coming from a public school teacher!) My daughter has been challenged this year and has learned more in a year than she did in 3 years of public school. For example, my daughter's writing is very strong- better than high school students. She is learning 5th grade science in 3rd grade. She walks around telling me parts of speech and her cursive writing is beautiful. Besides the academics, the social atmosphere is great. There is absolutely no bullying. My daughter is able to be with like-minded GT students who are intelligent and eager to learn. I am also extremely excited that the school will be under new, energetic leadership! I am beyond grateful that my daughter is fortunate enough to receive an excellent, advanced, challenging education at Edlin! read more

My daughter started out in this school in K4 and I took her out for a year and put her in the Fairfax County Public school AAP program (no comparison at all!). I love Edlin, here are the reasons why: 1. Student to teacher ratio is 12:1 2. They teach a language plus latin 3. The teachers are warm, caring and professional 4. Uniforms!!!! 5. The students are taught that they are lucky to be in the position to attend a private school and should help those who are not lucky-this runs counter to Nysmith, I found when I went on the school tour that the director felt the students were "special and elite" and she actually felt the need to tell me that "these are the children of lawyers and doctors" (Dear Nysmith, I am neither a Doctor or a lawyer-are your kids really smart or can they just afford your high tuition?) 6. The students are taught respect for themselves and other people. When the director comes in the room, the kids stand up and address her. In addition, diversity is CELEBRATED, there is no pretence that we are all the same like in Public School. The kids celebrate holidays like Dewali and (thank God!) dress up for Halloween if they choose to. They learn about other cultures which I think is extremely important in our increasingly global society. 7. The lessons arent dumbed down, kids are expected to do well and given the tools to succeed. 8. If a concern of yours, the student body is pretty diverse, though not as diverse as the Reston public schools, but I think this is one of the most racially diverse private schools in Fairfax county. 9. Children are challenged! I found in the AAP program that my daughter was handed a math book but not really taught what to do. She was always told to do her best but not really expected to learn anything, which brings me to number 10... 10. NO TOTAL CONCENTRATION ALL YEAR ROUND ON THE SOLs!!!!!!!!!!! I have always been very pleased with Edlin. This year my daughter is returning after her hiatus. read more

Very pleased with the education from this little school. The curriculum is challenging and stimulating. Warm teachers and administration, absolutely outstanding for the gifted student. Edlin School is willing to level up your child if he or she would benefit from more challenge, public school GT/AAP programs pale in comparison. read more

Absolutely awful. The administration at this school makes it a miserable experience for all students and makes it very difficult for parents to deal with any issues. They also charge almost $30 for extended care, which shows how greedy the school is. read more

I attended Edlin in the late 90s. It was a fantastic experience. The teachers are amazing. Hands down the best private school I ever attended. read more

Terrible. My child used to attend the Edlin School. Administration was awful, technology in the school was non-existent, and the education that students received was terrible. Only one or two teachers in the entire school were good, the rest had little to no experience whatsoever. The administration really controls the school and doesn't give the students the opportunity to learn or grow. They are also mean to teachers. I recommend asking about the hiring process when, and if, you visit this school, and ask to meet some of the newer teachers. This school does not well prepare students for high school and I do not recommend it. read more