My son did two years of preschool plus kindergarten at Lake Hills Montessori School. I'm sending my…read moredaughter next year, so I guess you could say we love it. The small class sizes mean that the teachers can really give each child individual attention: most often, lessons are one-on-one. This school has a great balance between discipline and freedom. Kids are allowed to choose what works they do, within reason, but the environment never feels hectic. My son was very shy and worried when he first started preschool and he had really blossomed in this environment. I think having consistent familiar teachers for all three years made a difference. They were willing to be patient with him and work slowly at his level until he was ready to open up. Financially speaking, this school is a really good deal for what you get. 5 days a week, 2.5 hours a day. The price is higher than a church-run play school, but much cheaper than a day care school, and the educational quality is much better than either of them. I love that my son really learned things instead of played all day, but did it in an age-appropriate way (no worksheets, no sitting at a desk). He was always so excited about the new things he had learned and remembered them years later.

My wife and I are so pleased to have our daughter enrolled at this school. Lake Hills Montessori…read moretakes awesome care of children, teaching them responsibility and giving them a sense of belonging. Literacy, team work, leadership, communication, respect, patience, all aspects that are important for littles to work on are addressed through meaningful and well-articulated curriculum. As a Bellevue School District teacher, I appreciate the communication I receive about what she is learning in class. My wife and I are empowered to ask questions about what she is learning in class thanks to the weekly themes and regular progress updates. Students going through the Montessori method are regularly creating things they can bring home with them, so we get a piece of her learning back with us nearly every day. The kinds of soft skills that Lake Hills Montessori enforces is on display anytime you go to visit. Classroom procedures and expectations are clear and transparent, and you regularly can observe students working on and teachers giving feedback about those procedures. This enables a classroom environment that is remarkably calm and focused for students as young as three years old. Our daughter is full of energy 24/7, but this program has an excellent way of channeling and focusing students learning during their time there. As a music teacher, I also appreciate the use of song and the recognition of composers throughout the school year. The implementation of music is clear when we drive home and hear fragments of new songs and lyrics that we don't recognize. This provides one more way for us to interact with our daughter about her education, seeking out videos of the music she is learning and singing with her at home. The staff at this school are kind and nurturing while also being fierce professionals at what they do. The intentional preparation and attention to detail is evident from the first visit when we met the staff and continues with each visit afterwards. We are both so thankful for this excellent program!

Just in case Natalie will explain my review from below in a long and overwhelming format. But you…read morecan always give me a red heart after you enrolled you kid and really learned about what I said in a hard way. And, you are welcome. We enrolled our child here for a few months and experienced so many problems that we decided to withdraw. Honestly, it's hard to put everything into words. If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be chaotic. The management is extremely disorganized, and it shows in every aspect of the school. They promise everything during the tour, but nothing is actually realized. For example, my son's potty training regressed while he was here, yet on his very first day at his new school, he was completely successful again--clearly showing where the issue was. Staffing is a major problem. The school feels understaffed, and instead of hiring enough people, they move teachers around constantly. Teachers are pulled from classrooms to cover the front desk, which leaves children without consistent caregivers and disrupts their sense of safety and stability. Sometimes multiple teachers sit at the front while classrooms and playgrounds remain short-staffed. When teachers are missing, children may be moved into other classrooms without parental consent or proper camera access. The facilities and environment are also concerning. The classrooms and floors are often dirty, even in the morning when children are first dropped off. The food quality is very poor, meals look like leftovers, often just cereal porridge with tiny bits of vegetables or meat, and not the organic quality that was promised. Supervision is lacking both indoors and outdoors. There are no cameras outside, and playgrounds are regularly understaffed. Our child was seriously injured outside and no report was provided. During one unannounced visit, I even witnessed children crying hysterically with no teacher comforting them, while other teachers raised their voices harshly at kids in full view of parents. Another disturbing concern is the culture: the school head's own child is in the school and acts as a bully in the classroom without intervention. Other staff members' children also receive special treatment. If teachers dislike your child, they may even allow or encourage other children to mistreat them. To make matters worse, they openly supports physical punishment, something every other preschool we toured explicitly prohibited. Unfortunately, our child experienced this firsthand. He was two years old, but punished in a harsh and rude way. The teacher had segregated and neglected him during nap time. We are contacting the agencies for the abuse. Hopefully they'll get punished soon. Communication with management is evasive and never provides reassuring answers. Overall, this school fails to provide the safe, nurturing, and trustworthy environment that children need. I cannot recommend it.

Our kids have been to Birch Tree (BTA) over the past 4 years. We've had an amazing experience, and…read morerecently realized how exceptional it is compared to other daycares. We took for granted the high quality care and high standards set by the management and staff. We took a short break and moved our youngest to another daycare for a month just to be closer to our house (national chain daycare in Kenmore), and it was literally night and day. The other daycare was subpar in quality and extremely short staffed, even though the tuition was comparable. We decided to move them back to Birch Tree, and drive the extra miles. What we love about Birch Tree is the management, warm and caring teachers who give lots of hugs, home cooked food, facilities, quality education, classroom camera and Bright Wheel App. Despite the locations expansion, BTA still feels locally owned and the owner Natalie and head of schools Jessica are very much involved in all of their schools. You will still see them in-person floating around the different locations. They generally know all student's names, and the local staff are always friendly and greating parents. They hold their staff to high standards and also expect the same of parents. Kids are well behaved, they wear inside vs outside shoes. Food is better than my home cooked meals, classrooms are modern with high ceilings and large windows, and all teachers have open communication with parents via the instant messaging feature. The admin staff is also on top of communication, and they have an abundance of teachers and admin staff. They also offer weekly PE, music, and Spanish classes which are all included in the price. They also offer parents night-out occasionally, and host events and weekly summer field trips for pre-k. You can do 3, 4, or 5 days a week. Speaking with staff, they enjoy working there and say that there's opportunity for them to grow and take on different roles within the school or office. Other parents we've met have moved from other daycares to go to BTA and seem very happy with BTA. They have well prepared our oldest for kindergarten and we are so thankful. None of these things we observed with the national chain daycare.

My kid started at 3 at this place and WOW this place is amazing!…read moreThis place provides the perfect setting for kids to develop and grow! On top of that we REALLY LOVE the TEACHERS! YES every single one! They love the kids and treat them with love!. Our kid have developed so much from this place. It was the best decision that we have made for our kid! We are really thankful to all the teachers that helped our kid grow and we are going to miss this place alot! Highly recommend this place!

Our daughter is thriving at The Treehouse! She adores going to school where she plays with her…read morefriends, engages in dance and gymnastics, and gets to express herself through a wide variety of arts and crafts activities. It's been really wonderful seeing her express herself more clearly and forge lasting friendships with her classmates. The teaching staff is warm, friendly and genuinely has the best interests of the kids as their top priority. Their interest in getting to know our entire family and the kindness they show our younger son (who will soon enroll at The Treehouse himself) is truly heartwarming. I cannot recommend The Treehouse enough to families who are looking for a welcoming community and play-based learning environment.

Our daughter has been at ECS since 1st grade and is now in 2nd. She's built such strong bonds with…read moreher classmates, and we've seen how much those friendships actually help her in the classroom. When they hit tough topics--like some of the more advanced math concepts--having that supportive group of friends keeps her motivated and makes the challenges feel much more manageable. We also really value how the school handles social growth. When a conflict came up, the teachers and the principal didn't just 'fix' it; they helped her develop a real strategy for resolution and taught her how to navigate things in the future. It gave her so much confidence. Most importantly, we love that the school is centered on God and faith. Seeing her so excited to talk about Jesus after chapel is a huge blessing to our family. It's a wonderful, supportive community and we're so glad to be part of it.

Eastside Christian School is a Great school. I learned a lot from that Eastside I learned that we…read moreare a strong community growing up we were one community even thought there was multicultural. But if you ask anybody where they're from that, I grew up with hear how they say the east side they're gonna say what they gonna say, proudly strongly..

Our 2.5 yo son has been going to the Growing Tree for 6 months now, and we couldn't be happier. He…read morehad previously always been watched by his grandparents, but when he turned two we decided we wanted to enroll him somewhere he could learn to interact with other kids. We visited a bunch of daycare facilities, especially the big named ones, but none of them fit our schedule well and we had not heard the best reviews from a lot of them. We heard about the Growing Tree from another mom and initially we were drawn to them because of their flexibility. But quickly we realized how much these teachers care and how much we love having them in our sons' life. He comes home and talks all about 'school'. He has learned so much and asks to go to school almost every morning now. We couldn't have found a better place for our little man to go to and spend his mornings.

My kid started at 3 at this place and WOW this place is amazing!…read moreThis place provides the perfect setting for kids to develop and grow! On top of that we REALLY LOVE the TEACHERS! YES every single one! They love the kids and treat them with love!. Our kid have developed so much from this place. It was the best decision that we have made for our kid!

We've had a wonderful experience at Evergreen Montessori Academy! The Montessori curriculum is…read morethoughtfully designed and encourages our child to grow into an independent, curious, and confident learner. It's been amazing to see how much she developed both academically and socially through hands-on learning and self-directed activities. One of the things we appreciate most is the low student-to-teacher ratio. The teachers truly get to know each child and tailor their support to meet individual needs. It's clear that the staff genuinely care about the students, and that makes a huge difference in how our child feels about school every day. Another unexpected bonus has been the lunch program. Chef Renato prepare food that is healthy, balanced, and kid-friendly--and our child actually looks forward to lunch! It gives us peace of mind knowing she is being well-nourished during the day. We're so grateful to have found a school that aligns with our values and supports our child in such a holistic way.

My daughter Nora is having a great time at school here. She not only has learned to respect other…read moreteachers and friends, but also has become more independent and confident. I highly recommend EMA.

This school is so good! We have been with this school since 2016, and might I say, it is so good. I…read morelove how not only to they teach the kids to strive in academics, but they also encourage leadership using the 8 habits. I also love the staff, who teach and encourage the students daily. This year, my fifth grade daughter is graduating, and we are so sad to leave! Last of all, thank you to the Head of School, who made their Washington D.C trip so fun!

The school has an excellent teaching staff, and the teachers have a great relationship with the…read morechildren. My child enjoys going to school very much

Worked formerly as a teacher here so this comes from my own personal views and opinions, although I…read morecan say that many former colleagues would agree with me... I can say with confidence this school is the worst school I have ever seen, been to, or worked at. To start, the tuition rate is outrageous, they have a turnover rate of almost 50% of staff every year, and they barely pay teachers with Masters and PHD's a living wage. In working at public schools before this, I can say the curriculum here is substantially worse and far less engaging. Parents get scammed into thinking this is some elite school for gifted kids. Your child will be far better off at any public school than here. Save your money for a good college or a real private school, not this horrendous place that calls itself a "school". PS after paying over $30,000 a year per child for tuition, that doesnt even cover school lunches, field trips, or any after school enrichment opportunities or activities. They just want your money, and if you pay enough I am sure they will give your kid amazing grades without them having to learn anything! (The school will pressure teachers to give students better grades so it will reflect better on them and make student look more capable than they are)

I'm so glad that we chose BCA a year ago and here's why:…read more 1) I see my son's remarkable progress in Math. Thanks to the engaging curriculum and teacher helps kids to build a solid foundation. Learning is fun. Each kids has their personalized math journal books. 2) Presentation skills have blossomed, with lots of opportunities to present in front of peers. Each child seeks the spotlight, showcasing their ideas with confidence. 3) The peer groups are exceptional, with students excelling in various fields like ice hockey, chess, dance, art performance, etc. 4) The school culture fosters a sense of inclusivity and compassion, emphasizing that everyone is a winner. My son's desire to raise funds for street kids reflects the school's values of community contribution. Special thanks to Mrs. Wilson, our classroom teacher. Not only myself but I've heard from several other parents in this class mention how much the kids love her.