Choosing a preschool for our child was very hard, especially coming from overseas. Today we are…read morevery happy with our choice of Full Circle Montessori School. The teachers and staff have consistently exceeded our expectations in making our child adjust to the new environment and making learning fun and engaging. Adjustment time was needed (very sensitive child)to fit into a new environment. But with a welcoming and comforting environment, our child adjusted to school very well. Also, with the thoughtfully designed curriculum that promotes both academic readiness and essential social-emotional skills, our child is very excited about going to school every day now. Communication with parents is superb; the scheduled updates and photos make us feel connected and informed about her activities. The facility itself is bright, clean, and safe, offering a wonderful space for the children to explore and play. We highly recommend Full Circle Montessori School for families seeking a positive, enriching, and high-quality early childhood education experience.

We started our son in public school for kindergarten, but halfway through the year, we became…read moreunhappy with the experience and began looking into other options. The lack of communication, heavy screen time, and the way our son was feeling about himself made it clear that we needed a change. He would often come home saying he was a "bad kid" because he kept getting in trouble at school, which was hard to hear as a parent. Switching to Full Circle Montessori has been one of the best decisions we've made for our family. The difference in our son was noticeable within a few weeks. He's much more regulated coming home from school, and we've seen a noticeable boost in his self-confidence. One of the first things he told us after starting at Full Circle was how nice the teachers are he said they actually talk to him instead of yelling. That shift alone was huge for him, and for us. Academically, he was at the top of his class in public school, but that often led to boredom. Since he wasn't being challenged, he would try to socialize, which would get him in trouble. At Full Circle, he learns at his own pace with a hands-on approach that keeps him curious and engaged. If you have a child who isn't thriving in a traditional school setting or struggles with the sit-still-all-day model, we can't recommend Full Circle Montessori enough. It's been a truly positive and empowering experience for our son and for us as parents.

Ignore the old posts from 6 years ago, because it's a totally different school. Probably more like…read more4.5, but always room for improvement! I have two children attending, one in preschool and the other has been there a few years and started in Kindergarten (no preschool when we started). The school has been changing, for example, the addition of the preschool program and a new principal after the other one left to get married. The current principal seems alright and is older, so more likely to stay. She is also better at communication than the old principal. I like that the school has more diversity that St. James, which also seems to be more conservative in its parent population. Tuition is reasonable, with discounts for multiple children and aftercare. The teachers love the students and there are some really involved parents that make the school year fun for the kids. It's like a family. I also like that the classes tend to be small (15-20 kids on avg). They have Spanish, art, music, and music classes as specials. CYO sports, band/orchestra, choir, are some after school activities to name a few. I don't like vendor run lunch program that costs more than I spend on lunch, so we mostly pack lunch. It would be nice to have two classes per grade, so there were more kids. I would also love if they switched over to a Spanish-immersion program for the diocese. Several of the teachers are bilingual along with the students. Some may have heard rumors about the proximity to Bailey's Crossroads. To date we have had no issues and the school has modern security, like controlled access to the school (i.e., badge or buzz in).

We currently have a 2nd Grader and a Junior Kindergartener attending St. Anthony. They both love…read morethe school and the environment it provides, and we as parents could not be happier. Each student receives plenty of attention, and teachers have a good understanding of students' personalities and needs in this small-classroom setting. Our kids think the world of their teachers, and the learning and advancement continues to exceed our expectations. I was particularly impressed with how the administration handled the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021. In-person classes were in session throughout the entire school year with the option for virtual learning. Measures were taken to ensure students stayed healthy and in-person learning persisted. Any reported cases were quickly addressed with proper quarantine and sanitation protocols. I had full confidence my child would be safe when dropping her off at school each day. This was a stark contrast to the local public schools whose doors remained closed during this school year. If you are looking for a small, nurturing, tight-knit community for your child's education, I highly recommend making a visit to St. Anthony.

Serious delay in security deposit refund. My daughter graduated from Guideposts West Alex, VA…read morelocation in July 2025. Nine months later, we still have not received her refund despite countless phone calls and email follow-ups. At one point they claimed a refund check had been issued and mailed, but they could not provide any documentation when asked. After that, they stopped responding entirely. We never received the check. Now it appears they are switching ownership and are using that as an excuse not to issue the refund. This level of unprofessionalism and stonewalling is infuriating -- we trusted this company and they have betrayed that trust. What a shady, irresponsible company.

We've had an incredibly positive experience with Guidepost West Alex…read more Our daughter has thrived in both the Toddler cohort, and now since turning 3, in Children's House. The guides foster an environment of curiosity and learning, and I love hearing our daughter talk about the activities and conversations she has throughout the day. Interactions are positive and numerous. This ranges from warm greetings in the morning to getting updates via Smart Classroom to weekly email updates to 1:1 meetings with the guides. We always feel included and in-the-loop on what's going on in the school broadly and how our daughter is doing specifically. From a leadership and administrative perspective, there has been a positive shift since Ms. Mary started in the Summer of 2022. There is a strong sense of community throughout the school, including after-school and outside-of-school events and meetups. She and her leadership team are always accessible and open. If you notice all the sub-par reviews are old and are from prospective parents. I want to recognize that we experienced some of those same challenges too, however the caveat is that this was with the prior leadership team and during COVID when admissions had a modified onboarding process. As a current parent I have full trust for the guides and administrative team to do what's best for our daughter's physical, emotional, and cognitive safety and development.

recently had a terrible experience trying to voice a concern about my child's school. Despite…read morerepeated attempts to speak with the school board and the Department of Education, no one seemed to be willing to listen to my complaints. I found that the school administration was unresponsive and unwilling to address my concerns. They seemed more focused on protecting their own interests than on providing a quality education for my child. I ultimately decided to find another school for my child, as it became clear that the current school was not a good fit for him. However, it was frustrating and disheartening to feel like my concerns were completely ignored by the school board and the Department of Education. Overall, I would not recommend this school to anyone. The lack of responsiveness and willingness to address concerns is unacceptable and does not provide a safe and effective learning environment for students. Parents should be aware that if they have any concerns, they will likely not be heard or addressed by the school or the governing authorities.

Reviews for the Sake of Reviews: Can't speak about the quality of the teachers but John Adams has a…read moregreat gym facility for basketball.

If I could give it zero stars I would. Every time I came to…read morepick up my son, he was wet. Extra clothes were provided to staff for a reason. I don't see why my child has to sit in wet clothes and why nobody is paying enough attention to him to notice that he has had an accident. I did not appreciate the way my grandma was disregarded when asked if the staff could also ask my son every so often if he needed to potty. The sheet that was provided for me at the end of the day never made sense and it was never filled out correctly. His last filled out potty break was always at 11am, but we would not be picked up after 3pm. It always said that he took a two-hour nap, but he would come home so exhausted he would nap them. Whoever the women are that he was with at the end of the day are not professional. The way the walk to the children is very inappropriate. There is not reason why they should be raising their voices at toddlers. They also need to WAKE UP and pay attention to what is going on around them and with the children. My husband called one day to ask if my son was okay because he was crying when his dad left and immediately got the answer, "he is fine, he's not crying". I did not appreciate that the time was not taken to call the classroom and check on him, that is very unprofessional. This is not a safe space for any child. His water shoes were never returned to me along with his sunscreen but they were being requested AGAIN in the sheet that was sent home. This facility is nothing like it is made out to be. Needless to say he is no longer attending. They could not even get back to me in a timely manner about the withdrawal.

This is a wonderful preschool. My son loves coming every day and is learning alot. The teachers…read moreare fantastic and there are great activities.

We had a wonderful Easter celebration at Our Savior Lutheran Church. The sermon was very moving and…read morethey even included the little ones up at the altar to tell the Easter story. We all took holy communion, After the service we had a delicious brunch. It was truly amazing! Then the children had a fun egg hunt. Our granddaughter attends the school associated with this church. I can't tell you how much we love this place. Everyone is so kind and truly have a gift for serving the Lord.

Grew up attending OSLC. Sadly, did not live in the area when I was in elementary school, so was…read moreunable to attend the school. I was delighted when I learned my grandchildren would be attending OSLC and both were students there from Kindergarten through 8th grade. They not only got an excellent education but also learned about God's love for them. Definitely a Christ-centered place with loving teachers where they received an excellent, solid base for their secular education.

We joined the AUCP community in 2017 when our daughter was 1 and we're going on our 7th year now…read morewith our second child. The focus on each child's needs and interests, along with low teacher:student ratios have really supported our kids developmentally. The nature exposure (daily in the classroom and in the garden, as well as bi-weekly in the woods) is another big plus for us. Community is by far the best part for the whole family though. Co-oping in class helps parents get to know the other kids and their families, in addition to experiencing what the kids are doing in class. There are also lots of social opportunities informally (the playground after pick-up) and formally (Bike and Book Fest for one) throughout the year. I highly recommend the school to everyone, but especially those new to the area and those wanting to be involved in their child's preschool experience.

Our family will forever be grateful to have had our children attend AUCP. With only a couple of…read moremonths to prep our family of five to move across the country I looked to Yelp to help me find a good preschool within a 10 mile radius of our Falls Church home. It was late April when I reached out and connected with the Membership team and while they had one last spot for my 4 year old daughter, we were on the waitlist for my 1.5 year old son. (It all ended up working out to where my daughter attended 5 days a week and my son was 2 days a week.) From the very first contact, everyone was wonderful. My kids teachers welcomed not only them, but our whole family with open arms and helped us create a sense of community when we didn't know a single soul. The teachers are amazing and the play based opportunities afforded to the children are unparalleled. Some of our favorite things about AUCP are the bi-weekly outdoor program at Long Branch, their commitment to getting the kids outside every day (I wish all schools had this philosophy), the community building events, the garden, ride on toys etc. I can't recommend this school enough. It's been a gem in so many ways.