I have never taken the time to write a review which indicates how strongly I feel about providing…read morethis one. I started my daughter in Winwood at Reston when she was around 5 months old. I would have put her in this school from the beginning had there been a spot for her but knowing what I know now, I am not surprised that there was a waiting list. I had my child in another school when she was 10 weeks old until we moved her to Winwood. From the first day that I brought her to Winwood, I saw an actual difference in her. At the end of the day when I picked her up, she was very alert and engaged. I could tell she had been actively engaged by the teachers and environment all day. So what makes it so great? Here is my top list of reasons: 1. The teachers are WONDERFUL! They truly treat your child as their own. They also help new parents like myself navigate the different development stages (such as rolling over, crawling, using a sip cup to using a regular cup, sharing, etc...). 2. The facility itself is warm and inviting and each class room is well laid out, maintained and decorated. My daughter goes into the classroom and immediately gets immersed in something. 3. They have solid security features. They have a passcode to get into the building, a check in/out system and security cameras in all of the rooms that parents and family members can view. The grandparents LOVE being able to peek in on her throughout the day! 4. The curriculum. I know my daughter is less than 2 but she has learned sign language, animals and their sounds, colors, and more. I love that she gets to play but is also getting educated! 5. The level of communication with the parents. I love the consistent emails and newsletters from the administration and teachers. 6. And finally did I mention the teachers!!!!!! They are all so wonderful. Just when I thought I would never be able to like her next set up teachers better than the ones in her last class room, I always have. So if you are looking for a daycare...look no further! You MUST go see Winwood at Reston!

Our son has blossomed at Winwood (Reston). Ms. Ruth, Mr. Wayne, and Ms. Pushpa (Pre-K) introduce…read moretopics and concepts in an interesting manner, while teaching important social skills. Our son embraces the fun and engaging curriculum and applies what he's learned outside the classroom with excitement. The Director/Assistant Director invest in each child, becoming part of the daily experience. I also love that the children are exposed to all cultures, celebrating holidays and traditions of their classmates and learning to appreciate difference and celebrate who they are.

We've had such a wonderful experience at Chesterbrook Academy Herndon! From the very beginning, the…read morePrincipal has been warm, communicative, and truly invested in creating a safe and supportive environment for the kids. She takes the time to get to know each family, which really makes the school feel like a community. The teachers are incredible--patient, caring, and full of energy. You can tell they genuinely enjoy what they do. Our child looks forward to going each day, and we've seen so much growth in confidence, learning, and social skills. The curriculum strikes a great balance between academics and play, and the updates we receive throughout the day give us real peace of mind. It's clear the staff here go above and beyond to make sure every child is engaged, nurtured, and celebrated. We couldn't be happier with our decision to enroll at Chesterbrook Academy Herndon and highly recommend it to other families.

Love taking my grand daughter here. Very nice teachers and facility. Classrooms for all preschool…read morechildren.

I love being able to see the Saint Andrew Lutheran Preschool staff and children interact! Learning…read moreis through play with many hands-on activities, singing, story time, music, dress up, outdoor playground area, fire truck visits, Art Museum, Lunch Bunches, special events & visitors. I enjoy volunteering to read stories and hearing the individual groups of children singing their way down the hall to meet their waiting parents for pick up. Great care is made by the entire staff to meet the individual needs of each child. They are a group of caring, dedicated professionals. The 2024-2025 school year will be the Preschool's 40 Anniversary-with good reason This is a caring, nurturing place for young children.

The staff truly loves what they do and it shows. My daughter attended the 3 year old and 4 year old…read moreprograms and loved going to preschool. She was more than prepared heading into kindergarten due to the base learning they provided. The additional enrichment programs made it extra special with visits from animal experts, the fire department and mother's day tea events. Being a part of the church allowed us access to more activities and I appreciated having a community of support. I would highly recommend St. Andrew Lutheran Preschool.

We've been at the school for over 2 years, and my kid is transitioning out of this school and going…read moreinto first grade in our neighborhood public school. Thought it's time for an update! During the past two years, lots has changed--Our lead guide (teacher), the school admin team, guides in other classrooms, etc. While all changes are hard, I think the school does a pretty good job keeping kids and parents informed, and minimizing any transition challenges. Overall, I stand by my impressions from 2 years ago--Ms. Christine (our previous lead guide, now the head of school), Ms. Freshta (our previous assistant guide, now a lead guide in a different classroom and a lead guide in the kindergarten program), Ms. Vinita (our current lead guide who was previously our assistant guide), Ms. Dawn (float guide), and other guides/staff, are all amazing. They continue to be my daughter's anchor during many of the school administrative changes. Because of the high teacher quality, I would highly recommend this school to any families wanting to go with a Montessori education. Now, the school is not perfect--there are some things that were inconvenient and/or different from our expectations, but as someone who used to work in schools, the most important things is that the staff are qualified and truly care. We can deal with some hiccups here and there: - The biggest friction I had with the school is that I noticed not all staff are well-trained in the Montessori methods. For example, even when I observed briefly at a recent school event, I noticed one of the (newer) guides VERY QUICKLY took over what my daughter was working on when she struggled (for like 10 seconds). When I asked my daughter about this guide, she told me that this happens a lot. I get that the guides come from different background and learn at different speeds...and so we practiced how to push back respectfully instead of us talking to the guides. This is an easily missable detail for busy parents, however. - The guides do a great job not using technology or screens for the most part, and when they do (which is extremely rare), they are intentional and thoughtful. HOWEVER, my daughter and her classmates brought to our attention of a fairly inappropriate song in a foreign language--and they claimed that a guide had shown them the song. The song is not our guide's native language, it is catchy, and I can see it accidentally/automatically come up on Spotify or other music platforms. It is also entirely possible that the song didn't originate from the guides, but from another student. - We stayed with guidepost for 5 years (3 at another guidepost location, 2 at the south riding location), and my favorite thing about it was the holiday hours--They used to only close on MAJOR holidays such as thanksgiving and christmas, but not smaller holidays such as president's day or Juneteenth. They now close on a lot more holidays, which is harder for us who don't get these days off. But their calendar is still better than many daycares following public school schedules. - Some admin transitions (such as a company buying out the school, leaving the staff with very limited notice and preparation) was ROCKY, although I think Ms. Christine and the staff dealt with it the best that they can. - There were quite a lot of staff turnover this past year, especially in the younger kids' classrooms. Overall, we find that the pros significantly outweighs the cons for our family at this school. I would still recommend it to anyone without hesitance, and we are so, so grateful to all the amazing staff--Our heroes without capes!

we enrolled our son here back in 2024 after shopping around for a Montessori in the South Riding…read morearea. I enjoyed our initial visit and Monica (the previous head of the school) was great to work with. our son quickly adapted to his classroom & became very close with his teacher who is no longer there (Ms. Aya). he has since moved up to Children's House with Ms. Freshta and Ms. Priyanka! they know how to work with each children as they are all different in their way of learning. they have been nothing but patient and they love challenging my son to help him reach new heights. in his time there, he has learned a lot. they took potty training very seriously and he started just about as soon as he joined the school. he loves going to school & as a Montessori, they are very "children based". the students do everything themselves in the classroom to help them gain independence at an early age. when we first signed up, we were told our son would know his multiplication table by 4 and fractions by 5 so I'm excited to watch him progress. the new director, Ms. Desirae, has been a pleasure to work with. she has quickly immersed herself in the school and learned every child in all the classrooms. Ms. Cady at the front desk is very helpful and greets everyone as they come in. the after school teacher assistants like Ms. Dawn are super helpful and the children love her! my only gripe is that lunch is not provided. my daughter went to a school nearby growing up that did provide lunch, but it seems a lot of the daycares in the area no longer provide lunch. but different times I guess.

They taught my son that you can have two dads or two moms because he told me that he learned it…read morethere. Now he keeps bringing it up and is asking me who he's going to marry. THANKS. I had enjoyed everything up until I found this out, now my trust in them has completely changed.

My daughter has been going to school here for almost a year. It has done wonders for her social…read moreskills, academic skills, and behavior! The owners, staff members, and teachers are amazing and I love the tadpoles app where they post pictures and videos of her throughout the day to keep me connected. I can ask her about specific activities she did to help start a discussion about her day! The daily report is also incredibly detailed and they have a thorough curriculum which they follow. She just missed the county's cut off to start kindergarten this Fall but I believe she is kindergarten ready because of this school! She will attend their kindergarten program instead. The quality of the work I have seen from kids in that class is far above and beyond what I have seen in a typical kindergarten classroom. I did a lot of research before I selected this school for her and we could not be happier with our choice!

Our two kids both loved Spring-Mar and their teachers. It's such a warm, nurturing environment and…read morewe trusted that our kids were provided with the best care. As a parent, it was great to co-op (help) in their class: it's a great chance to see your kids interacting with other kids, teachers, and helpers. Their play-based learning approach is great--at that age, learning to play with peers, and act out what it would be like in a role, is more helpful than rushing to teach academic skills. It's also nice to join a community of like-minded families. Our kids are in mid-late elementary school and we still use Spring-Mar phrases like "walking feet!" (walk, don't run) with them.

The teachers in the Spring-Mar Cooperative Preschool are wonderful. They create a warm, structured…read moreenvironment where kids feel safe and supported. Communication with parents is consistent and thoughtful, and it's clear they genuinely care about each child. Our daughter talks about her teachers (Ms. Claire, Ms. Alison, Ms. Patti, Ms. Cooper, Ms. Laura, Ms. Liza, and Ms. Mitcho) at home all the time, which says everything.

My twins (age 5) have been at this Centreville daycare/pre-school since they were three months old,…read moreand they (and I) love it. The school accepts children from "infant-age" through pre-K. AND, in September 2020, the school added a new, private Kindergarten class. I have been very impressed with the school's COVID-prevention measures. Staff and children over 5 years-old wear face masks. Temps are taken every morning, and drop-off and pick-up are handled outside (people traffic is restricted the building). The staff members follow extremely stringent cleaning and sanitizing protocols. Willowcreek also just upgraded its HVAC systems. My husband and I feel that our kids are safe and healthy there. Willowcreek has done everything possible to keep their lives as normal as possible during this pandemic. Other important things: Willowcreek is open from 7:00am to 6:00pm Part-time and full-time spots are available Willowcreek provides food to children (breakfast, lunch, snacks) Willowcreek provides a "sibling discount" (20% off the second child's tuition)

My experience with the enrollment process was extremely disappointing. I toured the facility and…read morelater paid a deposit to reserve a spot for my son, who was not scheduled to start until January 2027. Before paying, I was told that the deposit would be fully refundable with two weeks' notice. When I withdrew more than six months before the planned start date and requested a refund, I was informed that the deposit was non-refundable because my son had not yet started attending. This was contrary to my understanding based on the information provided during enrollment. I cannot comment on the childcare itself because my son never attended. However, I was left feeling misled by the enrollment and refund process. I recommend that prospective families get any refund promises in writing before paying a deposit.

Absolute worst place for my grandson to learn. In my opinion Guidepost Chantilly was very…read moredysfunctional at many levels. My grandson was tested at Guidepost and entered first grade for the 2024 through 2025 school year. The mixed level classroom had about twenty-two students, ranging between 1st and 5th grade. In the beginning of the school year there were two teachers, one of which clearly was not acclimated to talking to younger students. Her fast cadence of speaking was incoherent, and level of explanation was not focused at a first grade level. It took six months of meeting with the Guidepost corporate administrator for action to be taken regarding the teacher. The remaining teacher was very in tune with her students and tried her best to teach to the various level of the group. Unfortunately, there were several students in the class with major behavioral problems. Two of the students displayed physical bullying to the other students. My grandson was hit in the head with a stick, breaking the skin. This was inside of the classroom. One student yelled for a significant part of the day, which caused so much disruption my grandson could not focus on the educational tasks. Much of the teacher's day was spent trying to maintain order in the classroom. This was again discussed with the Guidepost Chantilly corporate administrator. The administrator always had an excuse for the incidents and behaviors, with no concrete corrective action taken. When I came at 5:30 to pick up my grandson, I could see a great deal of disarray in his classroom. Papers were out of place and on the floor. Books, educational materials and student belongings were very out of order along with several other things. The classroom was clearly not clean, with visible garbage around the floor. How could this be a functional classroom? One of the bullies in the class was a student of a Guidepost Chantilly teacher. After two months of the aggressive and bullying behavior toward my grandson, I addressed the parent myself. I did this in a very non-aggressive way. The parent put her hand in my face and stated, "I don't want to talk about it" and walked away. The Guidepost administrator admonished me for going directly to the parent. Other parents expressed that this is a trend with this school, allowing their teachers to bring their children and not addressing their students' aggressive and disruptive behaviors. Everyone should be allowed to raise their children how they see fit, but when it impacts other children's safety and ability to learn the problems must be addressed. During the time at Guidepost, we had two parent teacher conferences. At the second conference my grandson was evaluated to be one step past the first conference. We were told he was falling behind and could have a learning disability. The conclusion was that my grandson had learned very little in eight months. We were paying a private school tuition, but he was not getting the education for which we were paying. After the evaluation in late April 2025, we removed my grandson from Guidepost Chantilly and placed him in public school. He was tested when he entered public school at the mid-kindergarten level. In public school, he came home smiling every day. He said no one was yelling all day and he was able to work on his schoolwork. He was not worried about anyone hitting him. This structured environment allowed him to excel for the remainder of the year. He was voted most helpful of his peers and most improved student at the year ceremony. These two awards were from a total of four kindergarten classes, or eighty-five students. He is now in first grade, and we just had the first parent teacher conference. He is excelling in math doing second grade work and is at level for reading and comprehension. We did a tremendous amount of work with him over the summer to bring him to grade level. It is my opinion that if he had a proper education at Guidepost Chantilly, he would not have been behind in his education and not labeled as learning disabled. In my opinion, Guidepost Chantilly wasted eight months of his educational life which is unacceptable. It is my opinion that Guidepost Chantilly is a disgrace and should not have the ability to be called an educational school. Perhaps this is why the corporate parent of Guidepost declared bankruptcy in the summer of 2025. Lack of student enrollment and poor educational ability. Of course, this is only my opinion, I did not waste my time to do the bankruptcy research because I had actual firsthand knowledge.

Our two daughters, 2.5 and 4 years old, attend Guidepost Montessori Chantilly. From the first time…read morethat I reached out to the Assistant Head of School to find out more about their programs, we felt like part of the Guidepost Family. When we needed help with the Financial Aid process, we had assistance the whole way. Couldn't have been more grateful. Our children have flourished under this Accredited Montessori School with Trained Guides. We could not feel more comfortable that no question seems silly or bothersome by the Guides or Administration. As I said, we truly feel welcome and a member of the Guidepost Family. Also, the way they have handled the COVID-19 pandemic has been incredible. Feeling our children are in safe hands at times like these is paramount and we do at Guidepost. Cannot recommend highly enough! We are so blessed to be here.