My son has been attending The Castle for the last 3 years. I love this school and so does my son!…read moreThe teachers all really love and care about the kids:) I feel completely comfortable and safe leaving my son in their care. They've helped me so much with my son, especially with potty training. They have been so helpful and have been more like an extended family. They also have a really great Summer program with lots of fun activities for the kids and there is also a pool and swimming lessons. I highly recommend this school :)

It's unfortunate that we're leaving a one-star review but here's why we're leaving it. We enrolled…read moreour child at Minnieland at the Castle for part-time care. Our child was at the daycare for a while and developed comfort with the teachers and seemed to enjoy attending. At the end of April 2019 the director abruptly left and a new director stepped in. One of the new director's first orders of business was to "get all the part-time children on a consistent schedule." Understood. Great idea. Then, all part-time parents were called in to "discuss their children's part-time needs." However, those meetings were not to discuss part-time care needs. Instead, the director informed parents of the school's part-time care policy which apparently is an "at will" policy meaning if they get a request for a full-time enrollment, your part-time child is forced to withdraw. Of course they give you the option to enroll full-time. The problem here is they enrolled students part-time without providing knowledge of the part-time care policy. Evidently, the school has set in motion some financial initiatives and the new director is merely executing those orders from a corporate standpoint. Minnieland claims to be dedicated to "supporting families and children throughout the communities of Virginia" but seemingly not all families. Additionally, in calling around town none of the other childcare providers have this kind of policy and many were shocked to hear that Minnieland has such a policy. Evidently one of the largest childcare providers in Virginia isn't willing to adapt to the needs of modern families, which is real shame especially given the overall high cost of full-time childcare, which for some families often equates to the cost of housing. And while we appreciate the response from the "Lee Group Staffing Agency" evidently hired to manage Minnieland's online reputation, we're quite certain the policy is not going to change.

My daughter has attended this daycare for 2 years now since we moved back to Fredericksburg. I was…read morehesitant at first because her teacher looked so exhausted and confused during our initial tour. Fortunately, all other daycares in the area with openings hours did not meet my needs so we enrolled here. I know about all reports because I check the website even when the school is not forced to inform parents of serious violations & incidents. At face value they are concerning, but several factors must be taken into consideration like other parents/ kids holding doors open etc. Lees Hill has acted quickly to rectify situations with a correction action plans (firing and retraining staff). I've had minor incidents but I am not a parent who doesn't understand accidents, hits, scratches, bites, etc. occur sometimes . I've worked in daycares and if you are very cautious/overprotective/ questioning everything parent daycare may not be the right fit for you! I do not worry about my 2 year old at all anymore once she is at daycare. The most I do is miss her and wonder what she is up to, which I did not feel with her previous daycare. All of the staff from directors to part time teachers and drivers are awesome. The only area for improvement I've seen is the need to replace the carpets (they are filthy), deep cleaning toys/furniture, or renovating. The professional deep cleaning service was there a few weeks ago , but that isn't enough after so many years things must be replaced.

I just want to take a moment to recognize Ms. Dawn for the amazing impact she's had on my son. From…read morethe very beginning, she has made him feel safe, seen, and genuinely cared for. You can tell she doesn't just watch the kids, she really knows them, understands their personalities and meets them where they are. As a parent, there is no better feeling than knowing your child is with someone who treats them with patience, kindness, and respect. That honestly goes for Ms. Bridgette, Ms. Carrol, Ms. Mkayla, and I know im missing at least 2 more names that I wanted to mention. We are truly grateful for all of you and i think COA is lucky to have you all.

My children went to the Leeland Station location for nearly 3 years. Over that time, there were…read moreNUMEROUS instances of negligent behavior including specifically an assistant putting her hands on my child's neck to redirect him, leaving claw marks from her long nails (no video evidence and my son wasnt old enough to explain well plus no other adult saw ... so oh well nothing they could do). Moved his room and the next teacher, though nice, missed him going out to the playground and left him there crying and reaching through the gate. They claim it was a few minutes but he was so upset it took a long time for him to calm down - that was more than a few minutes and another teacher was the one to notice him. There are constantly new, untrained assistants rotating around and they arent observant. My son was assaulted and violated in the room out in the open and no one helped him. Police report, hospital visit and cps involved but because it was a child there wasnt much they could do. No exact date to figure out which adult and they dont record the videos anyway. That is their way out of everything. Sons were pulled immediately but it is so disturbing that when you reach out about such serious things you are dismissed by the director and assistant director. They are good friends with the person in licensing who claims they dont have a violation for that or no way to prove this... its all a big run around and no one is really looking out for your babies except for the few amazing teachers that are too good for that place. Oh and an added awful detail - they (directors) forged my signature on my sons medical document they redid. The few good qualities do not come close to having your child neglected and traumatized. My oldest had a great experience, but my youngest literally has a standing appt for therapy through the county after they heard his video account of the last incident. That trauma was 100% preventable with decent supervision and they should be ashamed of themselves for not doing more to prevent these instances before they happen. Every concern was brushed off and no matter what route I went I was known as being a pain to deal with instead of an educator and parent bringing issues to the forefront before something awful happens. LLE is their management group and clearly not correcting things from the top down. Be careful when enrolling your kids around the area - MANY daycares in the area are also LLE and ran/trained by the same people. There are better options. The violations on the DSS website do not reflect all of this - they find ways to not get the violations or it falls in a gray area with no evidence. Dont just use those in your research - reviews matter! Best of luck finding a good fit for your little one. Like I said, we had one good experience and one traumatic one - are you willing to roll the dice? I wouldnt risk it.

I toured here a year prior to touring again and enrolling a few months ago. I wish I'd listened to…read moremy gut. Throughout the enrollment process I didn't even realize who the director was because she could hardly answer any questions about facility procedures or regarding my child's food allergy. I actually thought the assistant director was the director since she was the only one who gave me information. More days than not my son was picked up with poop in his diaper, dirty hands and dirty face. I understand they are little kids and there's a lot going on. I didn't want to be that mom so I waited a while to bring it up to admin hoping it would get better. It didn't. I bring it up to the assistant director, she says she'll check in with the teachers. It gets better for a week or so but not consistently. On top of this, the door to the outside toddler playground is left unlocked and cracked with no one out there open multiple times at varying times of day. Each occasion I let a staff member know it was open. At a 630am drop off, it's open. I told a staff member and she replied that "they had a training the previous day and someone must've left it open" not seeming surprised. Concerned that this door was open all night I emailed the director asking if there was a reason for this that I wasn't thinking of. I detailed days and times this previously occurred and who I let know. She responded that this is the first she's hearing about it and she'll address it. Not even two weeks later it happens again. This tells me that she doesn't walk around the building and employees don't bring concerns to her attention. The final straw was coordinating with the director about moving my son to the next room. She thought he would get more attention and better care with the next teacher up. I definitely wanted to do this since his current room was chaos with no consistent lead teacher. Director and I agreed that he would transition for few hours a day for a week and then move up. The week he is supposed to be moved I see notifications from his old room. I call asking what's going on with the room situation. She doesn't know what room he's in, why he didn't go to the new room as he was supposed to etc. just in general no clue about the plan for my son. This was the last straw for me. The next day I grabbed his stuff and went to grab his EpiPens from the medication box where staff showed me it was since there was no one around other than the 2 opening room teachers. It was unlatched and unlocked. I didn't even find my son's EpiPen's in the medication box. Immediately emailed the director saying he wouldn't be returning or fulfilling the two weeks notice because of my documented concerns and to ask where the epi pens were since it wasn't in the box. She said that they had it, but didn't tell me where it was. We did pick up the epi pens but they were clearly not where staff previously told me it was kept. In addition to all this, one day I had my mom pick up my son. I gave her the door code and told her to bring her license. She walked in, the director was in her office with another staff member. They didn't pay her any mind. My mom asked if they needed to check her ID. They hesitated and then the director said "we'll take a look since you have it out." I filed complaints with DSS about the medication box and the door being left unlocked and open multiple times. The investigator called me and said she couldn't cite them for the door being unlocked and open since there's no specific code for that, but recommended I reach out to their district director. I did reach out to the district director who told me the door and medication box had been fixed. Too bad the center couldn't do that all along with my concerns instead of me having to submit complaints with DSS.

This review is for the preschool. If you are expecting an outdoor / nature school it is not nature…read more- centered under age 5. They include some things like a barn tour, and they ride a pony at the end of the year for the 4 year old class, but they aren't outside playing or incorporating outside learning. They are largely inside with ditto sheets, and doing typical preschool curriculum (ABCs, 123s), circle time, coloring on a coloring sheet, music, art and PE. That was a little disappointing and maybe I should have done more research on it. There also aren't stations in the class. They get moved to various locations like the music room, PE, library and that was not a fit for my kid. She was afraid of having to leave the classroom as a child getting used to going to school for the first time. The farm felt big for her They are also not very supportive if you have a child who regresses with the potty. They need to be 100% potty trained and must stay home if they have 2 accidents in a week. If you need an accommodation, like using a different potty in the building, that's not accommodated. Their stance on child psychology and education principles are largely old - school and not at all geared towards the child. It's more one size fits all. There is also limited time to volunteer in the class if you want, or even interact with the teachers. You drop off at the door, pick up later, and need to call the front office to schedule anything further. You don't get many updates on your child, just a "they did good or they had a hard day " if your child is out sick or for another issue, they do not check in after an extended period of time. I found that to be strange. Communication lacks as there is no email or way to communicate with parents outside a red folder with some assignments and a calendar. There is an app they use for (I think weather alerts?) but they never once updated it with any information. If you have a concern you have to call the office. They could benefit from an upgrade into the year 2024 on how to communicate with parents and use technology. For a parent with a 3 year old or 4 trying school for the first time, I can imagine communication feels very important to feel your kid is ok. I'm writing this as neutral as possible for parents to make up their own mind on if this could be a fit for their child. A huge positive is the option for half day Kindergarten when that time comes. The class sizes are also fairly small.

While I have not had a chance to visit the farm or take classes, I wanted to give them credit for…read moretheir excellent customer service. I contacted three stables in the area and all but Hazelwild gave me the runaround; requesting call backs and emails only to be told in the end that they were available for the service I was requesting. My time and effort were wasted and I ended up having no time to develop an alternate plan. However the Hazelwild staff were responsive and let me know the first time what they offered and that they were unavailable for me. I can't say how much I appreciated that.

What is represented in the tour is NOT what we experienced. Our experiences over 3 years included:…read moreHigh teacher turn over year to year and sometimes mid-year, to include 5 different heads of School in 4 years plus a rotation of office staff and other admin support... Rude and defensive responses when problems arise or questions are asked Low opportunity for meaningful parent involvement which decreased over years. "We know best" attitude toward parent (handbook touts "partnership"...this is NOT a partnership) One grade per class is typical. In lieu of hiring 2nd teacher they will create a big class. Curriculum is Abeka. The teachers do not use all components. Extracurricular offerings vary year to year and also mid-year - seem to struggle with staffing. Sports are limited and begin in middle school. No science labs. No library. Teachers rely on youtube videos for "brain breaks", "down-time" and "enrichment". The admin has no real concept of how often this is happening.

I love this place!!! Great structure for the kids. My older daughter goes there and my son will…read morestart in the fall. Great place and growing

I love it here wouldn't trade it for the world. Great education and athletics. Nice peopleread more

This school was very abusive and discriminatory. Teachers gossip and spread rumors. They will pin…read morepoint students and target them. School has a lot of cliques and is overall not challenging for students.

We are so pleased with this daycare! The school is clean and well stocked with quality toys and…read moreeducational tools. There is no better review of a school than a child who does not want to leave because they are having such a good time. Our children love this school and the staff. We also love the location!

Ms. Ashley is wonderful, my kids love her. Met her when I was pregnant with my now 4 year old. We…read morehave had a good experience with all the current teachers! The babies get a lot of love and cuddles, and the big kids get plenty of outdoor time and activities!

We love this preschool! As a cooperative school, there is a lot of parent involvement. You really…read moreget to know the teachers, parents, and kids. The teachers are wonderful. My daughter is always excited to go.