Unequivocally, my husband and I made the right choice when we selected Prince William Academy. They…read morechallenged our boys minds and nurture their hearts. The teachers go the extra mile to ensure that we were kept updated with their progress. Even using Classdojo and HiMama app. That came in very handy when my husband was away for work for several months. Our 3 yr old is counting in Spanish and singing in Chinese! We recently moved cross country and our 5 yr old was placed in 1st Grade. I credit the strong curriculum at PWA. They offer many afterschool activities. Our eldest played chess and Tennis. Our younger was in Dance. Just to name a few of the programs offered. Please stop by and check this school out. Speak to the families and you will hear great things. We miss this school very much.

My review is to rebuttal the, what seems to be a gang up on PWA by a past employee. I mean Stevie…read moreWonder can see that. PWA is a great school. We have some of the best teachers I've ever seen. We do NOT do fast food, I bust my butt every day putting out homemade, healthy, well balanced meals. (Yes I am the chef). Of course, life happens and I might become ill and call out, but then and only then will PWA need to get something "fast". I personally take umbrage in what was written by "Martha J & A.J". These two are obviously out to trash PWA, and I say that it's a former employee because, there was information written that only the staff would know. They'd best be careful...untruths, and putting peoples last names our there is NOT cool. My experience at PWA for 5 years and counting is great. The staff work harder than ever to keep this place at the top out our game. All students here excel and none are bullied by staff. NONE, that's an out and out lie! I plan on being here until retire. Administration always has time to listen and fix any situation that arises. They expect us to go above and beyond, and I say, why not? Let's set a higher standard for education. All this being said, I am here defending the establishment that I have grown to love working for, and I appreciate them employing me!

Fitzgarald is a very good school I am in 4th grade and i love it i have been there for 3 years I…read morereally recameod this school

My son transferred here for his kindergarten year (2018-2019) and I this is an awesome school. My…read moreson literally asks to go to school on the weekend. He enjoyed his kindergarten teacher this year and she was very attentive to his academic needs and behavior socially. She kept in touch with me when he was struggling in areas. Very secure with him going here. First time parenting is nerve wrecking and they all handle it well, especially the ladies in the front office, principle always called back within 3 hrs or less whenever I called in with a concern. If you're in this area, this is a very good school.

Love this school! Have had 3 children in this school over the past six years. Excellent…read moreadministrative staff, teachers, and PTO. The lunch staff and custodial staff are friendly and remember the kids names. The principal is in his second year at Penn. He has made a lot of changes to the look and feel of the school. The kids and parents are always welcome to talk to him at events. Great teachers at all grade levels from pre-K to 5th. I can't say enough about the staff at this school. There is a lot of parental involvement. There are a lot of events throughout the year for the students from field trips, movie night, ice cream social, science fair, reading fair, spelling bee, gym nights, spirit night at local restaurants, and more. There is a great deal of emphasis on the whole child...education, community, health and fun! I still have 3 years left and plan to keep my last two at Penn. I am a PTO member and a huge school volunteer. Penn is a great place to learn and grow.

This school is dangerous because the teachers either don't care or they are afraid of the sudents…read more My kids tell me that the students take over the classroom and use profanity and the teachers just let it happen with no concern for the few students who actually want to learn. There have been multiple gang activity related incidents and the front office staff are rude and unhelpful. The bathrooms smell like kids have been vaping in them. My kids cry sometimes knowing they have to spend another day at this school. Its really sad. Lake Ridge Middle School is much better.

They don't give you much food there's been crazy fights and there's a full crowd in the hallway no…read morewonder some people get tardy

I like this school but it has it's problems, the teachers didn't watch my special education son and…read moresaid. "Come pick up your son he hit his head." They could've prevented it but they didn't. I don't recommend putting your kids in that school. But it has its advantages. Some kids enjoy this school. They have decent lunch, there's a book vending machines or something like that. If you have special education kids I would not recommend, but if you have kids and your nearby Dumfries VA I would recommend. Thank you for taking your time to read this review.

My son went to Bel Air from kindergarten to end of 3rd grade before we moved to another county. We…read morewere really sad he had to leave. I cant say enough good things about the administration and staff at Bel Air. They are always open to listen to the parents. They do award ceremonies to reward the students for good work. They make school fun yet they enforce the rules. They have quality teachers and the secretary Ms Evelyn is so friendly. My son excelled at Bel Air. Great school!

I regret enrolling my daughter here. Despite committing early (touring in Feb 2024, paying a…read moredeposit, and submitting all forms), the school's lack of communication, disorganization, and disregard for basic safety and hygiene created a deeply frustrating and emotionally exhausting year. From misplaced incident reports and unaddressed injuries, to administrative errors and tone-deaf leadership, this school consistently failed to provide a safe, transparent, and developmentally supportive environment. My daughter came home with swollen lips, unexplained bruises, missing shoes, and stories of peer mistreatment -- with no formal documentation provided, despite repeated requests. These were not isolated events; I have video/photo documentation, and other parents voiced similar concerns in meetings. The director's conduct was both inappropriate and hypocritical -- once sending me a photo of my 3-year-old with paper in her mouth and demanding I "talk to her about telling the truth" over a harmless joke (gum from dad), while gaslighting parents about emails that were never sent. We were made to feel like the problem, when in reality the school's tech systems, operations, and staffing plans were simply broken. Staffing was unstable -- the lead teacher left for maternity leave with no real succession plan. Parents were informed of changes through hallway gossip before any official notice. Other red flags included: * Poor nap hygiene (child's skin broke out); * No proper underwear/clean clothes sent home; * Unsafe food handling policies; * Lost orthopedic shoes due to mishandling after an accident -- only replaced after escalation; * Inconsistent behavioral reporting, with my child being singled out for normal 3-year-old behavior, while aggressive peer behavior went unaddressed all year. The school showed a lack of respect for working parents, sending critical updates (like school closures) late at night and offering no accessible options for required events (no childcare, no virtual options, last-minute notices). They ran meetings on free Zoom accounts that cut off mid-call, used free Gmail accounts, and misunderstood basic tools like unlisted YouTube links. My concerns were dismissed, incident reports were never filed, and when I reported this to the county, I was told it was "too late." Given how long and hard I tried to resolve these issues internally -- and my documentation of events -- this only added to the heartbreak. In hindsight, I should have trusted my gut and pulled my child out much earlier. If you're a parent considering this school, please ask hard questions about staff turnover, behavior policies, safety reporting, and operational transparency. And if something feels off -- trust yourself.

Will only state the facts that lead to this review…read more.. In preparation for our move to VA this year, my family and I have been searching for a suitable Montessori school within this area. After speaking with Cardinal several times via the phone we felt that this might be a great option. A few weeks ago, my wife had scheduled a school tour and staff meet with Cardinal's senior coordinator (not official title) to allow us to see a routine day at the school and view its operation. We scheduled the tour for a Friday, which we were told was not "normal" but would be allowed given the fact that my family had to drive 5+ hours to get there. The tour was locked on that Monday with a 0930 start time on Friday. We had no other communication from the school throughout the week and on Thursday afternoon, we hit the road after I had gotten off work and arrived in VA just after midnight. We were up the following Friday morning and arrived at Cardinal at 0910 to an empty parking lot, locked building, lights off, and no one on site... We sat, waited, and attempted to call anyone with no luck and no response. It was about 0930 when finally a car pulled up and a women was dropped off. She didn't engage us at all and simply walked into the school. My wife proceeded to knock on the door and was met by said women who appeared to be cleaning. My wife explained our situation to the women who simply laughed, nodded, and said that the school was closed due to a maintenance emergency. A few minutes later, another women arrived who identified herself as a teacher. We calmly explained how we were scheduled to meet with a Ms. Igera for our tour but had not been able to reach her or anyone else. The teacher looked surprised and quickly reiterated that the school had been closed for the last few days. She then pulled out her phone and said she would call the "school owner" who was already on her way to Cardinal. At approx. 0945 the school co-owner arrived and welcomed us inside. We explained, again, who we were and why we were there. She quickly apologized and then explained how the school closed on Wednesday and Thursday due to plumbing issues. They had sent all the students and staff home and were now back (Friday morning) in order to clean for the reopening on Monday. She didn't ask any further about the botched tour appointment, but rather tried to go right into her pitch for the school. At the end of the walk-through, we were on our way out the door when we asked for Ms. Igera to call us about the clear failure in communication. The Co-owner said she would, glorified her staff, and said she hoped we would consider them when we moved... Fast forward 2+ weeks later....we got that call.... And it was to schedule yet another tour at the school. Nothing more. The level of complete disregard, disrespect, and sheer unprofessionalism that went into this waste of time is truly astounding. For better perspective, here is a better overview of all my family and I sacrificed in order to simply VISIT the school and observe its operation. - late night drive 5+ hours after work. - pulled my 4yo daughter out of current school in order to see the Cardinal school and meet the teachers. - my wife is 7 months pregnant at the time of all this. And she had to make all these movements. - I scheduled a full day away from work to make this trip happen. - spent hundreds on gas to make the round trip. Along with paying for a hotel in order to stay overnight... The Cardinal school may do just fine in some things, but I find it hard to imagine what. The coordination, communication, and lack of accountability is frightening. To make a commitment to an outside family who is willing to spend thousands on the betterment of their children's care and education and then not even have the courtesy to communicate a simple appointment change is unacceptable. I would HIGHLY encourage any family seeking a Montessori program to move on and explore other options (military families or otherwise). I have nothing negative to post about the teachers who work here, simply the lack of efficient and effective administrative overview of the school itself. This was not a sophisticated encounter, but rather a simple and what I would image routine engagement with an interested party. If this is how they treat an unaffiliated party, how do they respond under higher stress situations? Who actually maintains the schools appointments? Who is charge of registrations? Etc... Bottom line, keep searching. There are other great options within this region of VA, as my family and I learned. So disappointed to leave a review of this manner on a Montessori related establishment, but title alone does not guarantee quality. I truly hope this review can bring about a greater awareness of the low standard practices at Cardinal.

theres a lot of bullying and no hoodies and kids get in tr for no reason and the music teacher…read moregives people refirls for no reason

Well, I attended this school when it first opened in 1990, and I'd say the teachers did right by…read moreme. Pay my taxes, went to a pretty cool university, now work as an engineer. I remember I always kicked butt on Field Day every year. Recess, oh how I miss the good times.

horrible. my children are attending this school and they come home all upset and not happy! I ask…read morethem why and they say "the bathrooms are terrible, and the water fountains don't work, and the teachers are so mean!" just by listening from what my children have told me, I am very upset!! please do better!!

Right off of Route 1, the school is kinda hidden. It shares the same lot with an elementary…read moreschool, separated by the parking lot. I found myself here for a girls basketball game. The staff here was very welcoming. The two ladies working the ticket table were a pleasant welcoming committee. The school was super clean and the bathrooms were well maintained. Not too much to report here as my visit was contained to the gym. You could tell this school is one of the older ones in the county because of the layout of the gym with the vintage scoreboards.

My son just finished fifth grade here and I can't say enough wonderful things about the school…read more The teachers have been great and I loved the administration too. I felt that they really cared about the kids and not just for the time they were in elementary school. They did whatever they could to se the kids up for success in Middle School and beyond.

the front staff are very rude, give unnecessary commentary, I really do not understand why they…read moreare like that.