I recommend this school to everyone that is looking for a serious and true Montessori program. In…read moreMD any school that claims to be Montessori has to be approved by the state and has to have at least one Montessori-trained teacher. However, I have heard parents complain sending kids to Montessori is a waste of money because it's just a name to sell the school. So, not all state-approved Montessori programs have good quality of education. So being aware not all schools are the same, I toured 3 Montessori schools: Lone Oak, Manor and the Woods Academy. I found the Lone Oak Montessori on AMI website and Woods academy on AMS website. Manor was recommended by other parents and it seems to be a popular choice when it comes to Montessori preschools in Bethesda area. I took my 3-year-old son with me to all the tours and he loved the Woods the best because we were allowed to walk into the classroom and had very brief interactions with the students and teachers, to observe and also play some toys in the classroom while parents were talking to the director, Mrs. Gerber- who is very knowledgeable and experienced about Montessori programs and part of the reason we chose Montessori is because of her expertise and experience. After the tour, my son wanted to go back the next day because the classroom was just so fun and interesting for little kids. My son is happy every day and cannot wait to tell me what he learned in school. The teachers encourage independence, good manners, trying new things/food, healthy snacks, and creativity. They are caring and loving but also very firm when giving instructions. My son learns new things/facts each day and not just merely playing with expensive toys. For instance, he came home one day start singing "The family of the Sun," and talked about all the facts he learned about planets and I was amazed. And three weeks later, he started to learn the sounds of alphabets and try to read! The teacher told me she would advance any student if s/he is ready so there is no need to wait till 4 or 5 to learn how to read. The other pluses but not major factors are- 1) facility, it's a school so it has it's own gym, music/art classrooms, library, and playground. It's very spacious, clean and well-maintained. 2) it has PE, music and art classes once a week for 30 minutes. The school has a very strong art program. 3) faculty and staff are very friendly and they know student by names. I felt that students are given a lot of attention because of its small classroom size. The only downside is the tuition. It is about $2K more than other schools I checked/toured. We've been happy with our choice and would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good preschool in Bethesda. If you want more information about the Montessori program, check out the blog: http://woodsmontessori.blogspot.com/

This is a very good private school in the Potomac and Bethesda area. I went here for Montessori…read morethrough 8th grade and loved my experience here. There were incredible resources and the teachers were awesome! I definitely recommend looking here for your child.

We chose Mercy for our two young children as they entered PreK 4 and 1st grade because of the…read morestrong academics, Catholic principles, and welcoming community that it has. We moved to the area not knowing anyone and without family nearby, which was very challenging. We quickly this learned area has many good options, but after touring Mercy twice, once with the principal and once with the admissions counselor, it was a very easy choice to make. Mercy is the only three-time blue ribbon school in Maryland, and they pride themselves on education which is completely transparent. The teachers all have professional degrees in education and work very closely with their students. We were excited to learn the young grades have small groups for reading and math, (and as the daughter of a teacher) the levels of work they do has been impressive. We were greeted with friendly parents and our kids made new best friends very easily. One of our favorite things about the school is the enrichment programs they offer which have included Spanish, art club, Wondermakers, and chess. The art and music teachers are incredibly incredibly talented and would encourage anyone thinking of this school to meet them and learn about their projects. The principal, church, and school leadership are professional, welcoming, and open to new ideas that will encourage the best school community possible, including the current playground and school construction. The community has been wonderful to be a part of, and we've been grateful for such support and kindness. Recently, a group of fathers and some staff play soccer on Fridays, and there are fun events throughout the year which fosters the school community. As any school, it's the most of what you make of it, and we've found there are lots of opportunities here which make it a very special place.

Horrible!!! I was told my children had a place in the school and then suddenly they didn't. Not…read moremuch of an explanation and very indifferent.

When I lived in Bethesda when my son was 3 years old, I toured Harbor School along with 40 other…read moreBethesda area schools (that's not a typo, actually 40), and Harbor school was my favorite of the 40 for early childhood education. I have 17 years of experience as a recruiter (mainly Microsoft, now Nike) and am honed in evaluating talent -- with schools, checking everything out, the student art on the walls, how the kids look, how the teachers interact with the children, how the environment feels, all of it. Harbor School is a special place in that the teachers are really exceptional -- exceptional care for the students, expertise, there's a healthy genuine feel to the school, the students look good. It's not a fancy hyper modern place, but note that it also doesn't come with a fancy hyper modern 40k tuition price tag. The school is real, and I think a gem. Sadly for us, we moved too far away from it, in Middleburg VA now. Our 6 year old is a bit school avoiding and so I recently called up Harbor School, where our dear friends with a 6yr old and 3 yr old attend, and I asked Andrea if she would be willing to tour me and my son again, let him be in the classroom of his best friend, let him see how his younger friend, the 3 year old, is also in school. She was gracious in allowing it, I spent a beautiful 15 minutes in the pre-k class, 2 students productive and engaged at each station. The 2 teachers were lovely, on the ball, inclusive to my son, it was just a wonderful visit. One of the teachers with 27 years of experience at the school. We got to see the art room, music room, the maker room with loads of hands-on crafts, and we spent 15 minutes outside at the playground in the back -- lovely space. You could pay more for a school, and help fund facilities that go with it, but common sense would advise checking out this lovely school that has keen focus on what matters most: recruitment of wonderful staff. I also valued the small teacher to student ratio I saw, which set the whole thing up for success. In terms of kindness/sensitivity/expert knowledge at the younger years, I'm definitely impressed with Harbor School. End of day, I think a young child benefits most from being surrounded by excellent compassionate teachers vs a shiny perfect gym that some schools with higher tuition offer. Apparently Harbor School is moving in a year, but I think this is a school that would be worth chasing after wherever nearby they relocate to. Being at Harbor School again yesterday I literally contemplated could we reasonably do the drive from Middleburg...sigh. But for Bethesda area parents you're in a lucky situation feels like to me, wherever they move, because they are taking their teachers and philosophy and humane student:teacher ratio with them.

A wonderful, caring school. It's a great foundation for young learners. The teachers are very…read moreexperienced, caring and kind. Students are embraced. Each child gets a lot of individual attention. They feel accepted and comfortable, so they truly learn and form meaningful relationships. The student-teacher ratio is amazing and makes such a big difference. They are up to date on growth mindset, mindfulness, hands on learning, flexible classroom space and sitting options, inquiry based learning, use of technology, etc. It's a traditional school with an innovative learning program. It has structure, but it is personalized and flexible to accomodate each student. We are in our final year at the Harbor School and very sad to be leaving this wonderful place.

Not what you'd expect from a private school…read more Most teachers at the school are public school teachers in Germany that come here to teach form a few years. This doesn't mean that they're bad teachers, but not what you expect from a private school. They will only do what is required and nothing more. During Covid my daughter's teachers would sometimes not show up to zoom classes. The cafeteria food is bad. One example is a baked potato with sour cream, that's it! Upon questioning the menu myself the reply was we'll look into it but never heard back. The air conditioner is always full blast having my kids wear a jacket in class during the warm months. When asked about it they said it's the way it is. The computers are old and outdated. Administration seemed helpful and friendly until you need help with a serious situation. Some children had a hard time with online classes and weren't doing as well as they were prior to covid, some teachers did not care and graded them as they always had even though the principal assured the parents that they wouldn't. When questioning the teachers they told us they weren't told or others said they were, but clearly not. The seniors (2021) had a problem with the travel agency with the money a teacher paid ahead of time before Covid for a trip to San Francisco. Instead of helping them get the money back they were told to let the money go. Even when parents got involved! They did end up going on a trip to West Virginia for 2 nights on a bus and paid almost the same amount that the 5 days in San Francisco would have costs!!!This is including airfare. The kids worked hard to save money for the trip and were shamelessly robbed by the agency. Several staff members literally told the parents to let the money go and one staff member was even rude and yelled when asked for support in the matter. I cloud go on and on but the idea of the non-supporting staff is clear. I do want to mention that one teacher did go above and beyond his responsibilities, Herr Tack. Sadly he left to Germany this Summer. My daughter and the other children will surely miss him. Had we had more choices than just this school we would have sent out kids elsewhere.

outside could use work, but it has students of many different backgrounds and has great teachers…read more all in all an underrated school. totally reccomend it!

What an impressive campus and faculty at Bullis. The grounds are beautiful the buildings and…read moreclassrooms are a site to see. The students are polite and well mannered. Bullis seems like an ideal place to learn and grow as a young person. A very impressive school.

Bullis has a new Head who is phenomenal. It's a school that is innovative and moving forward.read more

Holton-Arms runs a summer camp called, "Creative Summer "at their spacious private school. They…read morehave excellent counselors and a phenomenal variety of activities. They offer hip hop dancing, science activities, yoga, knitting, and ceramics. That is just a few choices. They have a spacious campus and are very well organized. This year, I attended the dance recital and it was really entertaining. The kids love the camp. Drop off and pick up are well organized as well. They have a lower camp for younger students and upper camp, for older students. If you are looking for a great summer camp, I highly recommend it.

The school is nice with really encouraging teachers and fun filled school days. The sports team is…read morealso amazing and the after school clubs have a big selection .

I went to Whitman and had mixed opinions. I enjoyed the activities and classes I chose, but the…read morepeople really brought it down a notch. It's definitely very challenging academically. It either pushes students to excel or burns them out and causes them to give up. It just depends on each students ability to handle stress. Even so, the school has a class, activity, friend group, caring teacher for everyone.

I went to this school at the end of the Seventies and graduated in 1980. I made many friends. I…read morewould say it was better than other schools nearby at the time I went there for academics but also because of the unique landscape and architecture that was destroyed in a teardown and rebuild project which came ten years after I graduated. We had a domed arena that was in the style of Finnish architect Ero Saarinen and was great to play sports in. The principal was pretty good: Dr. Jerome Marco-he served a long time and had the current Football field named after him. He didn't like underage drinking so he got rid of the Rugby team which was a club sport-not varsity. That team became the Maryland Exiles thanks to Dan Soso who kept it going. I did academics with great teachers like Bari Bergman for English, Speech and Drama but sports was really what I was into at the time. We had arguably the best football team in the history of the school. I played each season. We were not undefeated in the regular season but 9-1 then lost the state AA Championship-our QB got injured in the semifinal. The 2003 team went 10-0 but lost their first playoff game that makes us better in my opinion. Our coach, Rich Cameron was good. He had us in the wishbone offense that just could not be stopped. Our rugby team won tournaments-the coach was John Haberman. I also wrestled. That was more fun than anything. Many of the students have gone on to great careers and spread out across the country nowadays. We had great colors and a great mascot but I do not agree with the gender equity changes made to our mascot. Our Colors were Black, White and Columbia Blue. We were the Vikings and we had a great Viking but nowadays any depiction of our Viking must be accompanied by a Lady Viking. I went to our reunion and saw Lady Viking drawings which we did not have. If you want to have Lady Viking Drawings in 2013 O.K. but we did not have them in 1980 so don't go back and try to re-write history. Cafeteria food was good. We even had a salad bar which I used in wrestling season. We always had a weight room open after school. Other notable teachers were Mr. Cleary-English and Yearbook, Jack Freeman-JV Football and Al Patini-Driver's Education, Mr. Peters and Mr. Debone-gym, Hugh Hammet-Tennis Coach, Ms. Linda Niedbalski and Melanie Sorg-Biology, Mrs. Trebor-Home Economics, Ms. Guiterrez-English, Ms. Cummings-English. Some great teachers have names I forgot-sorry. This was a high school you would want to go to. 4 stars.

absolutely horrible school. the teachers are not qualified, not able to properly deliver…read moreinformation. they keep complaining the parents about children's low results trying to shift their own responsibility. constantly begging for donations in add to tuition fee increases every year. strict dress code, the girls are not allowed to wear tights in winter but teachers can wear pijamas. shame to this school

Absolutely horrible experience. Waste of money. For this…read morehuge amount of money children are not even taught handwriting or good behaving but they are educated how to sue their own parents. Poor girls are not allowed to wear warm tights in winter, instead they have to go with bare legs when it's freezing cold. Is that normal? Teachers wear pijamas, that's ok, but little girls can't wear tights? Why the child isn't allowed to bring even warm tea for lunch? Ice water is ok but warm tea is not, in winter? The teachers have very poor level of behaving and education (mostly online). Constantly collecting money in something else. Don't send your child there!

I wanted to add a review of the Cavalier Battalion Airsoft Camp that the school offers in their…read moresummer programs for anyone thinking about enrolling their children. This was a wonderful way to learn leadership, discipline and safety for both boys. They made so many friends and each day came home to tell us how much fun they had. Both boys had to pass an extensive Airsoft Safety course and they had the chance to learn many different games. The staff of the camp did a great job of communicating daily with their dad about many different issues and were such a pleasure to work with. I can not speak highly enough of the structure and discipline provided while making this past week what was described as " the best week" of their summer. Thanks to the whole program and I would definitely recommend it to anyone thinking of a way to build strong values and character for their kids in a fun way over the summer.