I was not impressed with the "teaching" staff. I was even less impressed with the director of this…read moredaycare center.

Just called to ask if they had availability for my daughter, and the response was an impressively…read morerude, curt, "Nope," followed by a long pause. Glad I won't be going there. I would have expected at least a LITTLE more friendly customer service. Maybe an, "I'm sorry, we are full but we would be happy to put you on our waiting list..." etc etc. I expect a much higher level of professionalism from an institution that is caring for, and educating, children.

I have mixed feelings about St. Columbkille Partnership School. On the surface, the school presents…read moreas warm, community-oriented, and supportive, and many of the teachers and families are wonderful. I personally gave a great deal of time and energy to the school community this year, volunteering more than 140 hours in various capacities. However, I was deeply disappointed by my experience with school leadership when an issue arose regarding a school trip. What concerned me most was not simply the financial issue itself, but the lack of transparency and flexibility in how it was handled. A significant cancellation policy affecting families financially was never disclosed in the enrollment materials we signed, and school leadership did not appear familiar with the applicable policy when questions first arose. Despite repeated requests, we were only provided with the policy after the trip had already concluded. At no point were families provided with clear information regarding illness-related cancellations, reimbursement timelines, or whether trip insurance was recommended or available. In hindsight, that information was critically important. In my experience, leadership was pleasant and collaborative when things were going smoothly, but far less flexible or solution-oriented when a genuine concern arose. Despite our family's significant involvement and goodwill toward the school, there was no willingness to consider even a partial compromise. Parents should make sure they carefully ask questions about financial policies, trip terms, cancellation rules, and how disputes are handled before committing to programs or payments.

We are still so VERY happy with St Columbkille School. Our kids are thriving academically and…read moresocially and they are happy at school. We are so thankful for the amazing staff and the school leadership is exceptional.

We love First Circle! Our daughter has been here almost a year and the teachers take extraordinary…read morecare of the little ones, with so much love, learning, and silly fun throughout the day. They're also so helpful in helping our daughter progress and become independent. Big shoutout to Amber and Naomi in infant 3! And to Clay and Kaitie for jumping in to help whenever needed!

We love this place! My job forces us to travel often, and I wanted some stability for my son. First…read moreCircle provided that and lots of love, care, and patience. I can not speak more highly of the staff!

Cambridge Montessori School embraced both of my children and placed them at the center of the…read morelearning experience. They love going to this school and their CMS experience has taught them to love learning. My second grader interacts with adults gracefully and articulately because of the skills and confidence this schooling experience has given her. CMS has an excellent arts, music, and drama offering and the teachers encourage academic excellence. I would recommend CMS to any parent looking for a school that supports a curriculum that encourages independence and confidence in addition to accelerated learning.

The school culture is rigid and judgmental, with a culture of pathologizing normal toddler…read morebehavior. Some of the things that made us withdraw our 3yo mid-year: Despite a stated open-door policy, parents were actively discouraged from involvement in or visiting the classroom. In March, a formal school memo forbade parents from speaking to each other at drop-off/pickup, asked parents to drop their children off at the front door instead of at the classroom door, and instructed parents not to carry their children or their children's belongings. The memo specifically suggested that any discipline problems at home were caused by not following the same rigid "expectations" as the school. When our son was afraid to use the toilet at school, the teacher forced him to sit on the toilet for 45 min while he cried in frustration. He was criticized for not doing work exactly the way the teachers wanted (e.g. sorting puzzle in the "right" order). In a parent conference, we were told our son was "too literal" because asked where rain came from, he said "From the sky," not "From clouds." He was already reading and adding at 3, but we were told this, along with his shyness, were signs of a possible psychological problem. We were bullied to take him for autism screening, even after a specialist and our pediatrician said he was likely fine. Administration, up to the head of school, either ignored problems or blamed us. When we sent a formal letter detailing our complaints, the school offered us a partial tuition refund if we signed a nondisparagement agreement. We refused. We've since learned other families had similar experiences. If you click on Yelp's "non-recommended reviews"--which are weeded out by algorithm--you'll see that other families have made similar complaints.

Best school ever!!! Having shopped around at almost all the preschools in camberville, we are so…read more thrilled to have found this Haven! emphasis on social and emotional development, yoga, and music, lots of outdoor time, community engagement with tufts and the town. Just wish they took toddlers too!

I got a little behind with work on the Teacher Appreciation Month (May) and wasn't able to leave a…read morerequested feedback on their website, so I am going to the Yelp masses. I cannot say enough of great things about this location of BH! My 3 year old daughter absolutely thrived in this school! The teachers are very well trained and educated in their jobs, and give a lot of individual attention to kids. Mine is sometimes a dare-devil, sometimes is defiant and stubborn, sometimes sweet and energetic, and they find the way and approach to deal with all her moods. Yoshanna (preschool lead teacher) is especially good at her job. Not only that she fosters good habits and behaviors in kids, she knows how to channel their (otherwise annoying) personality traits into a productive and useful actions and uses those for a healthy kids development. For example, my kid loves to talk and sort of argue why she should or shouldn't do something, like nap. I find it frustrating that she won't nap, but Yoshanna is very patient and while she still works towards the goal of having my kid to nap, she appreciates my kid's brain working ability to "reason" in her own way. Ally is another wonderful and patient teacher. Kids just gravitate to her. She is young, but very knowledgeable and experienced care giver and very, very good with kids. When my kid has a hard time, Ally comes to the rescue. Other teachers come and go, and there are a lot of shared staff between the groups. But I have learned to trust the directors, because they seem very dedicated and experienced. Betty, Stacy and Jane, these ladies know what they are doing! They are always available for any concerns or advice, or just a chat, and it is very comforting to see that they will stop whatever they are doing to hear you out. It has been very re-assuring support for me as a parent. I highly recommend this school, and I know a lot of parents who feel like this center is a big extended family, myself included!

We switched our eldest to Fayerweather at the start of 3rd grade seeking a school where the…read morelearning would be significantly challenging, values-rooted, and joyful. We wanted a place where our inquisitive kid could really stretch her edges and feel comfortable taking academic risks (and sometimes making mistakes). Now 12, she has a deep sense of who she is and what matters to her - and this strong sense of self has allowed her to take risks (academically and socially) and push herself as a learner and community member. She understands that justice and community are the essential foundations for learning and social impact. Our younger child (now 7) started at FSS in kindergarten and we have found that, while quite different from his older sibling, he is just as seen, valued, and supported. He has gotten incredible guidance navigating his intensity and high energy, and he is academically challenged in just the right ways - he works on meaningful problems and his sense of accomplishment is significant. Fayerweather has helped him have a voice and language for his feelings, his challenges, and his successes. The loving support and developmentally appropriate and thoughtful curriculum have allowed him to discover his best self and build the skills and agency to choose his actions wisely. FSS is all we hoped, for both kids.

We just started school at Fayerweather this fall, and my 1st grader and 6th grader cannot get over…read morehow friendly the school community is. My son came home from school after his second week of being a new kid (a middle schooler, no less -- in the 6th grade) and said "mom I give it 5 stars!!! Everyone is SO nice, teachers and kids, and I love it!!!." Now that we are four months in, happily his review remains. He also says that his homeroom and math teacher is "literally THE best math teacher" he's ever had. I'm continually impressed with how in touch with my son's learning style the teachers are, and he's growing leaps and bounds. My 6 year old daughter, who is usually shy, is coming out of her shell socially and is really starting to take to reading (which she has avoided prior to Fayerweather). Her teachers are incredible and so in tune with her and helping her to grow where she is ready to, and there is such insight into the social emotional ecosystem of the classroom. Fayerweather has the academics *and* the community we'd hoped for -- the school has a joyful, healthy, connected vibe and is inclusive and diverse to boot. We couldn't be happier.

I've two kids - one Pre-K and the other being in 1st grade. The school builds on five principles:…read morecommunity, stewardship, integrity, simplicity, and equality - but it doesn't just talk about it. It _embraces_ them. It instills the value of community teaching the kids to be good people - to care about other folks, to think of other folk feelings. At the same time it balances the individual spark each kid has - recognizing our differences and building on the strengths. With the class sizes being on the small size it means that the kids who are excelling can get more individual attention to get more challenging problems (so that they don't get lazy), and for those who are having a harder time they can get the attention to improve. The older kids are buddies with the younger ones - sending inter-school mail, to foster reading and writing skills. Stewardship is manifested via its focus on the tangible things - recycling, carrying for the butterflies (yup, every day in the spring they learn about metamorphosis seeing caterpillars turning into butterflies), and taking care of the garden. Integrity - the kids learn to take ownership of their actions, of being truthful by setting plans out ahead and understanding ones strengths and weakness. This is a hard -try asking a kid "what were you thinking?" and the answer is never straightforward. But the teachers have a knack of asking and listening and getting to the bottom of the issue and un-jamming the emotions the little ones have. Simplicity and equality is embraced by their social justice program. The kids learn about very touchy subjects such as class injustice and racial injustice at Pre-K level! They did a play where each kid would take a different role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott - bus driver, Rosa, etc. And then swap to have other roles to try to understand each person viewpoint. Academically they are able to focus on high performers to challenge them and on the low-performers to help them. This is math, writing and reading, gym, etc. They also are able to deal with the more "energetic" kids by having ways in the class for those kids to get their energy out (swing, or climbing structures, chairs with balloon), and for the Pre-K kids having _two_ recess time. This was especially important for me as our kids are very high energy. We are very happy with our kids at CFS.

A sad excuse for a school. Back when I went here I was bullied and even spanked by teachers, in…read moreaddition I got locked in a closet for forgetting to put a block away. Not to mention the relentless bullying which included attempted strangling, isolation, physical assault, harassment, etc, and later led to death threats so bad that I had to switch towns and schools, and of course the teachers didn't do anything about it. The sheer lack of supervision also meant that kids (under the age of 10 even) would be making out in the bathrooms, in addition to vaping. And don't even get me started on the faculty, that's a whole other story. In short, I'm for the schools ultimate downfall.

My older daughter graduated from the school two years ago and my youngest is about to begin her…read moresecond year. For our family the school has been wonderful. The staff is talented and committed. There is a parent participation component, as with all cooperative programs. This is something that drew me to the program. I was amazed my first year how varied people's situations are - one or both parents working outside the home part or full time, nanny's, grandparents and family friends helping out at pick-up and drop-off, as well as moms and dads working as stay-at-home parents. I didn't carpool, but some families arranged carpools. I often swapped child-care of my youngest daughter (when my oldest was in school) on parent-help days and then would watch another family's younger child when it was their turn. I've benefited from the sense of community at the school, and the chance to have a few hours every month or so to be with my child at school. The best part though is the positive experience my children have had at the school, developing social skills and learning through play.

My youngest attended their toddler program last year, and will be entering the 3-year-old program…read morethis fall. We had a great experience in his first year. It is a cooperative program, so you have to be open to that aspect. I personally loved helping in the classroom and getting to observe my child interacting with his friends. There are some volunteer components -- one work day a year to help maintain the school and grounds and service on one committee -- but they certainly aren't onerous. It's not for everyone, but so far I've found it very manageable as a working parent. The other parents are very supportive and open to switching schedules. I'm new to town, so I've found it a valuable way to meet other people and find a sense of community. The curriculum is play-based, so the focus is more on developing imagination, healthy social interaction, etc. I'm looking forward to seeing how the curriculum develops as my son progresses.