Both our children are beginning their fifth year at Rockbridge Academy. Our educational journey…read morebegan as a homeschool family, and we later needed to find a school to place them. At the core of our search was a school that was Christ-centered and where parents were considered the primary educators of their child(ren). At Rockbridge, we have found that and more. Education there is perceived as the exploring, unpacking and understanding of God's creation, and this philosophy undergirds every subject area. They follow a classical curriculum, which essentially translates to an education that aligns with a child's natural development. The fruit of this form of education has been wonderful to witness as a parent. What really has been the "clincher" for my husband and I is the way they handle discipline. At the heart is forgiveness and restoration of the student. I am so incredibly grateful for the education they are receiving there and that they experience the Lord's grace there and at home.

From the owner: Rockbridge Academy offers a classical Christian approach to education designed to create…read moreself-motivated learners who pursue truth, beauty, and goodness in all endeavors. Our curriculum seeks to instill a love for learning and to equip students to meet challenges with enthusiasm and determination. Our dedicated teachers love their subjects and their students, encouraging them to take every thought captive to Christ.

I truly love the fact my daughter is able to attend this school. I remember doing the walk-through…read more6 years ago. My wife and I were overwhelmed with the passion of the teachers and counselors for the children. My daughter has excelled with all of her classes. Her grades have been outstanding so far and we look forward to what she will accomplish in the future. As for safety here, it's top notch. Everyone has to be buzzed in and show I.D. this was a very important part of our decision making process. I highly recommend for parents looking for a wonderful private school for their kids to attend!

You know, I had a great time here. I spent 13 years here (not in the elementary school, but total)…read more The thing is, this school is designed to make dumb people look smart. The campus is beautiful (see: Carroll House), though the school itself could use some updating. The teachers are adequate, it's just as cliquey as every private school out there, most of the kids have an overinflated sense of entitlement, and the programs (art, music, etc) are pretty much non-existant. The benefits are the small environment--you really get to know everyone in your class, your teachers, principals (which can be good or bad, lol), etc, the close-knit community, the whole God thing (if you're into that), the uniforms (my favorite part of a private school,and I'm not even kidding. I miss those damn things!). If it's your deal, give it a try. Going to the elementary school makes getting into the high school super-easy, and the high school, while a joke, looks good on a college app.

I run an after school martial arts program and one of the schools we pick up from is the Naval…read moreAcademy Primary School (NAPS for short). Parents ask me all the time which school gets the most out of their students. My answer is always the same; NAPS. This is the best run, most efficient, and nicest school you'll ever come across, period. I don't know much about how tuition works or any of that but I'm sure it's expensive to send your child here and for good reason, you get what you pay for. The quality of the education your son or daughter receives stands head and shoulders above the rest. I'm not saying other schools in the area are garbage or anything like that. I'm not putting other schools down let me be clear. Just that in my years of experience working with kids in after school, the teachers and administrators at NAPS do a better job than most. If you care about your child's future then definitely check this school out. I give them two thumbs up!

NAPS is a warm and welcoming school. The teachers are phenomenal, the curriculum is rigorous, and…read morethe children are kind and friendly. The staff is responsive and helpful. I particularly like that social/emotional learning is a major focus at NAPS. Intentionally building and teaching character is very important to me. Great school!

In my opinion this school is bomb. I am a 4th grader at this school and let me just say this school…read moreis great. The teachers are nice, and they reward you for good doings. 1 thing they have is an ambassador which mean when someone new comes to your class the counselor picks 2 students from that child's class and those 2 children help the "new kid" learn the rules. So I prefer this school over all others.BTW (i have been at this school my whole life, so i have lots of experience with it)

Love this church and little school. Father Jim is amazing and just cannot say enough positive…read morethings about our experience. His sermons are inspiring and I always walk out thinking did he write that just for me? Blessed to have such a wonderful shepherd for this flock. So many opportunities to serve and participate, you could be busy every night of the week! If you need a faith community, this is the place for you.

As parents, we are very fortunate to have a principal and teachers at St John the Evangelist School…read morewho are dedicated to providing children with a quality Catholic Education. Our principal was named 2012 Archidoces Of Baltimore Principal of the Year. The school is a recipient of the 2008 National Blue Ribbon Award as well. Each of our four sons ages (twelve and under) enrolled at St John"s benefit daily from these many achievements in academic excellence the school has achieved. There is the chance to attend Weekly Mass together as a School Family. The Sisters of St Joseph Convent located on our school campus grounds and children are blessed by the daily interaction and contact with these dedicated Nuns. By attending St John's, we are confident that our children will be better prepared academically, spiritually and emotionally for both their future educational and life experiences.

When you enroll your kid at SOTI, you have just enrolled yourself at SOTI. Thats the biggest…read moredifference between this school and the public schools in the area. So make sure that you quickly form a routine that works best with your schedule, especially if you're student is in K-5. I don't say this as a bad thing, but it is something to be noted. The SOTI staff was great, their system keeps parent in the loop of whats going on in classes, and also with homework and events. My child had her favorites when it comes to teachers, but I try to explain that there is no one style of teaching. Sometimes you get a teacher that just seems to get you, and other times you get a teacher that others may love, but you don't connect with their method of teaching. It happens... We started out child at SOTI in the 4th grade, and there was definitely a bit of a learning curve that they had to overcome to catch up with the curriculum. I feel like SOTI is about 1 year ahead of the county schools. We definitely had to be hands on with helping play catch up, and the teachers met with us regularly for support. Even though we only stayed for 1 year. Our time here made a huge difference, that I can still see in our child's development. For new students coming in, the summer programs give the kids a chance to make friends before the school year starts. Events like the Father/Daughter dance and Gala give parents a chance to be social with and without the kids. We made so many new friends during out time at SOTI, parting ways wasn't any easy decision to make.

This school only cares about money. There are some good teachers. The administration is only…read morethere to raise money. They will email you twice a week to ask for money. If you email with any concerns about your child you most likely won't even get a response. If you email enough times you may get a generic response passing the buck. On more than one occasion we got emails with another child's name where they copied and pasted a generic response to another parent and didn't even bother to proof read and change the name.

I appreciate the extra steps taken when a parent visits the school. ID checks are conducted and I'm…read morealways promptly helped. When transferring my son into the Anne Arundel County School District, his counsel (Ms. Worsham) was very involved and accomodating with the process. Improvements could be made on the etiquette of the school bus drivers. I've had my son relay some interesting events that happen on the bus. Often when you go to the school parking is reserved for the administration so on parent/teacher conferences, picking up after a school outing the parking lot cannot accomodate a lot of vehicles so you'll find people parked in the grass, bus lane or anywhere their car will fit. The availability of the online accesses to communicate with teachers is great. What I don't like is when I get an email about an assignment that hasn't been turned in only to be told upon further inquiry that it hasn't been entered in the system. This is a good way to track progress, homework and school assignments so that when a child gets their grades you are not surprised because you have the tools to monitor it. Gone are the days of free field trips. I'm not in love with the many field trips they have @ $35 a pop. I understand cultural events but if you read the notices they send home it states that if for any reason the trip is canceled you won't recieve a refund. Not a fan of that and I'm sure that they are obligated to disclose how/where your money was spent. Overall, good notification protocols when there are unforeseen events, weather or simply keeping parents in the loop on upcoming school events.