We love Lakeside Charter. My child went to kindergarten and now in 1st grade here. She's had…read moreamazing teachers and even though we lost our principal we started with, the interim principal has been nothing but amazing. All we ask and look for is making sure our child is happy, learning and around people who care about her and her growth and we have that at Lakeside! I LOVE the fact it's smaller and we can proudly say we have literally had 0 complaints!

Horrible experience the new principal does not Communicate…read morewell, not friendly or interpersonal and the schools special education program violates many federal laws. There is significant bullying in middle school and no one does anything about it. This will be our last year I beg you if you care about your child's academic and emotional well being don't come here.

Our daughter had a wonderful 2 year experience at Grace Covenant Academy for pre-school…read more We had been to Grace for church several times with friends, but do not regularly attend this congregation. We live about 35 minutes away and are happy with our church, which is closer to home. We knew the church was nice and really enjoyed the services, but we were still very impressed when we came back to tour the GCA side of the church campus. The facilities are new, well maintained, and very clean. The entire staff, from the teachers to the front office, were friendly, kind, and even caring. They definitely helped set a solid foundation for her. I cannot say enough about the job that both teachers did to help with the development of her social skills and character. We would have kept her there for elementary, but the hours and commute were not conducive to my work schedule. I would highly recommend looking into GCA if you are considering preschool or private school in the Lake Norman area.

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The Children's Cottage is an amazing school and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for…read morechild care. My daughter started going there at 12 weeks and is now almost 2 years old. She has absolutely thrived and can't wait to get to school each day. She truly loves the staff and they sincerely love her as well. She's not just another student at the school, they love her and take pride in her accomplishments and achievements, as do I and that means so much to me as a parent. The teachers are caring and patient and use excellent state provided curriculum to ensure every student is prepared for kindergarten. The outdoor play area is like nothing else offered by other schools in the area and fosters a whole new level of outdoor learning and play. The Children's Cottage has been established since the mid 1990s and I am so thankful that my daughter is a student there. I know that when she is dropped off each morning, she is well taken care of, is learning, and has of fun!

This is a very good school, and I highly recommend it. It's small classes can give a student one on…read moreone time with the teacher. It's staff are super nice, and are always willing to help, and the lunches are absolutely delicious.

Administration turn over is super high here and is reflected in employee and student turn over as…read morewell. It is not a stable environment! This was a good school 3 years ago, but has gone down hill, quicker with every passing year. Don't make the same mistake we did and fall for the marketing and admissions hype. They sell a good story, but after you are in, the dream becomes a nightmare. We are not coming back next year and we dread having to work with the registrar and admissions to get our transcripts for our children.

In choosing a preschool for my twins I was the mom who treated it like picking out a college. I…read moreresearched, went on multiple site visits and tours, did my homework, and asked a ton of "interview" questions. I had spreadsheets going of what I liked, didn't like, the schools' responses to my questions, and notes on what made each unique. At that time I also had already had experiences in multiple preschools from my first child, from church preschools to Montessori schools, to a well-rated private Jr. K-12 school that she still attends, so I felt a bit more prepared. My priorities: very high academic achievement that pushed our children to their full capabilities while maintaining the excitement of learning and going to school, a love of curiosity, the acceptance that it's ok to fail (and ok for us as parents and teachers to allow it) because that is how we learn life-long lessons, and how good the teachers are (my theory is that a school is no better than its teachers). I finally ended up at a preschool in Huntersville that was not this one but ended up being the right place for us because, though we decided at the end of the year that we needed to be elsewhere for various managerial reasons, we met the most fantastic assistant teacher in the process who happened to be moving to Discovery Village the following year to teach their TK program, the class in which my twins needed to be enrolled anyway. Miss Melissa was the twins' head teacher that year, and the next 2 years also taught my youngest daughter, so we have had her for 3 years straight, and she now happens to be the director of the school as well as the TK lead teacher. The things that stand out about this school to me: - Absolute passion for the kids - A true love and strong bond with each child - Teaching a child to achieve her full potential at whatever level that may be. They are all different, and even my own children at times worked on different levels in areas of struggle. - A happy and exciting environment - A greenhouse! Kids were taught about recycling, growing and tending to the plants themselves, compost, etc. - After-school offerings that included soccer, after-school enrichment (science day or music day, for example) - For my youngest child, a complete excitement for school that I did not see in her preschool from the prior year. The kids feel comfortable and safe there. - The teachers are actually corrected if they do not allow the students to make mistakes. For example, if they are doing an art project where they could be using the scissors to cut everything out themselves and a teacher decides to do it herself then let them glue the shapes, they are not allowing the child to experience the trial and error from which they could be learning and therefore improving. In the world of preschool parents, I have run into SO many parents who, when I mention how great our teacher Miss Melissa is, they light up and say, "You have Miss Melissa??!" Then they absolutely light up and go on and on about their own child's out-of-this-world experience with her. It's a small world sometimes, but the number of parents who have happened to know her and the fact that 100% of them say she is the BEST teacher they have ever had to date makes quite a big statement. I am a big believer in finding the right teacher AND the right environment, and I can't sing enough praises about Discovery Village Academy.

Great preschool. They over-communicate which is what I love. From my initial phone call scrambling…read moreto find placement for my two kids with 1 week notice, they've been pleasant, professional, and transparent. I enjoy getting the daily updates and tracking throughout the day. Highly recommend them and love that lunch, snacks, breakfast is all provided.

This place was highly recommended to me by many people. I called and they told me when to come in…read morefor a tour. When we arrived, they were clearly caught off guard by and were not expecting us. The director, Tiffany, seemed bothered by our presence and wasn't friendly. She received a phone call and quickly went back to her office. Janet took over for Tiffany and started providing us information. When it came to our daughter's age, suddenly Tiffany took enough interest to tell us that there were already 6 children in front of us on the waiting list. She seemed to be trying to ward us off. Janet provided us with a tour and was very friendly and kind. When we left Tiffany was still in her office. I told Janet that we would pay the holding fee to be on the waiting list because I thought the uncomfortable feeling I got from Tiffany was all in my head. But, when my husband and I left, he told me he received the same cold and uncaring feeling from her. Perhaps it was my fault and I messed up the day/time that we were supposed arrive. I certainly wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone. I still don't think that excuses the treatment we received. They could have told us to come back another time or they needed some time to prepare because they weren't expecting us. The place was immaculate and I'm sure it's one of the nicest daycares around. Too bad their treatment of people doesn't match their facilities.