My kids attended preschool here and now my son is back for elementary school! I truly cannot say…read moreenough positive things about this school. Overall it has a very upbeat and positive vibe. The kids are given age appropriate levels of autonomy, which has really helped my son thrive. They get the kids outside as often as possible and utilize their great outdoor space, including a wooded area behind the school. One example of this is my son and his class have marked out small squares of land in the woods as part of a science project and they go out there with some frequency to monitor how the land changes over the seasons. I've heard very cool reports home about this. They also just go out there to be kids and to play! The school is doing a really outstanding job of meeting each kid where they are along their social/emotional/academic learning process. For a small school they also have an impressive availability of resources to scaffold the kids where they need help. As my son is currently in 5th grade, I was thrilled to learn they will be having a 6th grade next year (2023-2024 school year) and plan to open a full 6th - 8th middle school the following year! The teachers are top notch - very engaged in designing an individualized educational experience for each child and are highly communicative and supportive with both the parents and kids. They have gotten my son from hating school to telling us about all the cool things he's learning when he gets home. Truly an amazing place!

We have LOVED our time at REDS. Student classroom time is enriched by nature study, music and…read moremovement, and chapel. After school offerings include soccer, ballet, and science. The teachers are caring with years of teaching experience. The fact that families send all their children to the program and the lack of teacher turnover speaks to the strength of this program. The small classes and personal attention make this school feel like family. Highly recommend.

This school is a blessing to us! I can't praise enough the teachers, staff and the Christian based…read moreprogram. The classroom is small so the teacher can give a one-on-one feedback to the students. My Kids love going to school and we have peace of mind knowing that they are learning about God while having a great education.

When my wife and I moved to Richmond from Raleigh in 2010 in some ways it was like starting over…read more We had both lived in North Carolina for 17 & 14 years respectively and the change while welcomed presented many challenges, especially with 2 young children. One of the first things we did when we arrived was to seek out recommendations for a good pediatrician. From that point we had the amazing fortune of being given the contact information for Joan at Open Arms Christian Preschool by our children's new doctor. The pediatrician we ended up seeing knew that with a diagnosis of autism and being on the spectrum our son would be in great hands and care at Open Arms Christian Preschool. The nervousness we felt while driving to meet with Joan for an initial tour of the preschool was immediately forgotten as we were greeted with the kindest most genuine energy and welcome. Within 5 minutes of touring Open Arms we knew we had found the right place. In our time spent at Open Arms we had both of our kids enrolled. Even when we moved to Glen Allen after the first year I fixed my work schedule to be able to drive 40 minutes back and forth for drop off and pick up. Our oldest child is on the spectrum and has been diagnosed with autism. He is high functioning but to this day has sensory issues as well as social issues. Joan went above and beyond to work with us day in and day out, gave us guidance, put us in touch with different professionals and organizations and always made herself available. She was always a phone call away and as with any situation involving children the communication factor was key. There was even a point where an additional staff member was brought in to help. For all of these reasons my wife and I will forever be grateful. I could really go on and on raving about this preschool as we had a 4 year run there. There is not one negative thing I can say about our experience at Open Arms. If there was I would be honest and post it. There were times when we had reports come home about our oldest and quite frankly a few times where we thought, 'that's it they are going to ask us to leave'... but that never happened. And I believe the communication between the school and us was a vital part of our unique situation. Communication is always key. The tuition is very reasonable for what each family receives. Activities, special trips and guest 'speakers' just to name a few of the things which go on. Art comes home regularly and the kids are also in a true learning environment which is such a plus as they get ready to make the transition to elementary school. If I could give this preschool 10 stars I would. If I could give Joan and her amazing staff 10 stars I would. I have given Joan permission to give out my phone number to anyone who has parent to parent questions. We will be forever grateful for the foundation which Open Arms Christian Preschool has given both of our kids. And we will especially be forever grateful for the added support we received to help us set our first born and only son on the path to being able to deal with his autism related issues. While Open Arms was just one piece of the support chain we received it was a vital part which helped us truly make the difficult and important decisions about our situation without added stress. Without the positive reinforcement and guidance this would have been a much more difficult road for us. Reach out to Joan with any questions about this program. She is always eager and happy to meet and welcome new faces and families. Cheers! And thank you for reading my first novel! (sorry I got carried away...) -Michael Soekawa (yes my full name)

The post previously made is inaccurate and incorrect. We toured several schools and chose Open…read moreArms last September because of the attentiveness, love and professionalism of the teachers and Director. In January of last year, our son began having seizures - the first in his young 2 year old life. We were terrified and concerned about the present and future health, well-being and development of our child. Not only did the team at Open Arms show their love and support for us, but the families surround us with friendship and prayer! Our son Eli had a rough 4 months; spending over 80% of the time in the hospital. During that time, we received weekly emails and texts from the Director, Eli's teachers and parents checking in and asking how they could help. When Eli was stable enough to return, the entire team at Open Arms worked with us to give Eli a chance to come back to school - even part-time. I met with the Director, Joan Brennan, and his teachers regularly to discuss his development, areas of challenge and prognosis. They worked diligently to ensure that Eli had a supportive environment where he, and the other children, could thrive. They took care of our son and our entire family during one of the most traumatic times in our life. Eli has now been seizure free for several months and returned back to school full-time this year. Before starting the year, Joan and the teachers worked with my husband and I to determine where Eli might best thrive (in the older 2 or younger 3 classroom). They have walked with us over the last several months as we have evaluated his growth and development. During parent teacher conferences this week, his teachers shared with us areas of challenge for Eli and some options to help him thrive. While it is always tough to hear that your child may not be thriving and may need additional evaluation, the way that they lovingly and supportively discussed the challenges with me made me quickly aware that they were on our team. They wanted what was best for Eli's development and wanted to provide the right opportunities for he and the other children in the school. As a parent who is diligently involved in the well being of her child, I feel like I have a team of support at Open Arms. It is a community! I learned about Open Arms from a friend that entrusted the development of her two children to the school. Having now experienced the great support and student-to-teacher ratios she encountered, I have openly recommended the school to other families. Including families that have been dealing with issues such as epilepsy. While the school is not a school for children needing one-on-one shadowing or those with aggression and anger issues, it is a school for families that need a little extra support or those that simply want the best environment and greatest opportunity for the growth of their children. I love Open Arms and am saddened by the libelous comment below.

This is a very welcoming and loving, patient thriving environment for children of ethnicity and all…read moreothers.

I am very disappointed in our experience at this school. To sum it all up, the school could benefit…read morefrom a new head of school and new principal. They have high turnover in staff, especially teachers. The head of school and school principal are unprofessional and does not represent what this school says it represents. The curriculum is whitewashed and they do not like parent feedback, nor are they welcoming to new families. The administration gives me high school cliche vibes. I knew I should've left the moment the school principal told me that the parents that drove Mercedes, were the ones that paid little to no tuition. For the amount of money that you pay, there aren't any resources. It doesn't appear that money is being funneled back into the school. You literally have to pay for everything, including the curriculum. The unorganization is the worst I've ever seen. I didn't even know who my child's teacher was until the night before the first day of school. I had to research on Facebook the night before to see what she looked like. The head of school, I believe is the downfall to this school. I was in disbelief, when him and the principal were on social media making fun of a situation and calling me out of my name because I disagreed how they handled an assault! My previous review has been removed or hidden. In that review, I included screenshots of my claims. My advice, don't ignore the red flags- they are there in the beginning. Look at their website, that tells it all.

Love it. It's great to see a school that actually prepares the students for college life. It's a…read morelittle more laid back and forces the kids to figure it out for themselves, but the extra freedom surely pays off. Great classes, great programs, and the best support system you can get.

When going onto school grounds you can't help but flashback to your school days. HSHS is a state of…read morethe art school. I saw young athletes on the field practicing track and field events. I was there for a play called Drama in da church. There was plenty of parking. The auditorium had comfortable seating and was handicapped accessible.

This school is huge!…read more It is so large it reminded me of a hospital. Very upscale here and I love it! I attended the school's gym a week ago to root on our Bulldogs. But they fell short at the end. You would think, one would enter in the front of the school to attend the basketball game. But there was another entrance about a mile around the school where we needed to enter. Instead of walking in the cold, we drove around to bus ramp area and this is where the gym is located. The gym here is pretty large it definitely accommodated the large crowd on a weeknight... Varina vs Kings Fork... a rematch from last year. The Bulldogs fell short again! I am not sure if the concession stand was open because when we arrived it wasn't. As a result, minus one star. If the stand did open, they must not have offered a lot because I did not see one nacho, one hotdog... nothing... bummed! Plenty of parking. Check it out if you are in the area. It's massive. Have fun and enjoy life :)

After applying and being accepted but wait-pooled for 2 years, I decided to try one more time for…read moremy daughter going into Kindergarten. The process is tedious. Instead of making it easier for prior accepted applicants to enroll, they treat you like a brand new applicant. Needless to say, my daughter was once again waitlisted along with "50 others". If they are THIS full, they should stop accepting applications. But I guess they don't want to lose the application fee revenue they're getting ($50 per application...) Their readiness visits are also not Montessori based. They clearly "test" your child, I saw it with my own eyes and ears last year during my daughters readiness visit. The teacher asked her explicitly "what letter is this?" And when I mentioned it to the organizer (Makayla) she said "oh, no we don't test" basically telling me what I saw and heard was wrong. It's also clear that they only enroll kids who are already incredibly advanced so that the school staff can take credit for their excellence. My daughter is clearly very on track for her age, can make out the sounds of most letters, and already knows basic math at the age of 5. (Her readiness visit she was 4 going on 5) But they want 5 year olds to be advanced kindergartners and first graders before even entering kindergarten. I'm also guessing there is some other discrimination going on. Because being "accepted" but waitlisted more than once, but thrice, should not happen in any school. Why even take applicants at that point? Hire more teachers, or stop taking applications every year. This is not what Montessori is about and they need to research what Maria Montessori's mission was. Because this is not it. Also, during Christmas they sent out the most vague "holiday greeting", so that was also pretty strange. I hope this feedback reaches the right people. I will not be applying again.

We are in our third year with RMS and have two children attending the school. We have been thrilled…read morewith our RMS experience. Specifically, there is a great community of engaged parents and educators working together to achieve outstanding educational outcomes. We feel that we are getting something unique and differentiated from the more standard approach to education that a lot of other independent schools offer. Moreover, our kids absolutely love going to school here! My children's enthusiasm for their school, passion for learning, and solid academic advancement will keep us coming back to RMS year after year. I encourage anyone interested in the Montessori approach to visit the website and school for more information and resources.

This childcare is awesome. The director Ms. Heather is very caring, and so knowledgeable, it is…read moreimpressive. The school is so clean, bright colors, and those characters on the wall are so cute. My son always has a smile and he is always happy to go every morning. This is a great place for your kiddos.

Safe daycare with great teachers. Priced right too! I would definitely recommend this daycare.read more