Nurturing environment that expects every child to rise to excellence, but appreciates every child…read moreas unique. Emphasizes character, sports, & STEM learning. Great parent community. Students from many different backgrounds and countries. I feel that every adult in that building knows and loves every child in that building.

I have 4 kids two of which are attending Green Hedges. Also, I have attended both private and…read morepublic schools growing up. From my personal experience, this school's attention and love for the kids is as good as it gets. The experience and education these kids get is amazing. I feel so lucky every time I think about having such an amazing school for my kids to attend. Both of our kids just love the program and it has felt amazing to see how much they have grown from attending the school and interacting with the other kids. The staff is amazing and the families that we have met clearly have core values and a focus that we want our kids to be around.

Submitted application back in November. School promised to reach out to me in January for a child…read moreassessment. Didn't hear anything from them until March so I reached out to them. The answer was my child application was still incomplete. At that point, their admission process was pointless, and I was no longer interested sending my child there. However, they already withdrew my $75 back in November. Why would they take my money when application was incomplete, and they didn't perform child assessment yet. Long story short, they gave out absurd excuses and the whole process was just a mess. Big waste of time and money. Out of multiple schools I applied to, this school was by far the most disorganized, money-driven school. I highly doubt quality of education from this school. I'm glad my child will be attending other school.

Warning to parents - my 18m old daughter's teacher at Merritt DISLOCATED her elbow in what was…read moresupposedly an age appropriate disciplinary action! Dept of Social Services has investigated and cited Merritt for multiple violations (please view the report linked below). Our daughter's teacher lifted her by the forearm from a seated position to a standing position, immediately dislocating her elbow and causing her agonizing pain. We had to take her to the ER to have her elbow reset, which is an extremely painful process. I know exactly what happened because there is video surveillance of the incident. You do not have to trust my word - the Department of Social Services investigated, cited Merritt for 3 violations, and detailed the incident themselves. Their findings against Merritt are public info: https://dss.virginia.gov/facility/search/cc2.cgi?rm=Inspection;Inspection=135089;ID=9599;search_keywords_name=Merritt%20academy;#Violations Look at the Dept of Social Service's findings (based on their review of the classroom video surveillance) - my daughter TOOK A BOOK from another child, and for that the teacher said "really girl!", yanked her angrily from a seated position to a standing position (immediately dislocating her elbow) and then LEFT HER TO CRY after she was injured. Thank GOD for cameras or we would never have known what happened that day.

Decent high school located in Fairfax, VA. Came here on a field trip to watch the play Matilda…read more Staff was great while we were there.

Visited a High School that had special memories so so many years ago. There was the Annual Arts and…read moreCraft Fair and like so many parking was tough at the school so we took a bus ride to and from. The school has been renovated since we last visited and the Craft Fair took advantage of every room they could diss[play their merchandise. Easy to get to and navigate around. Nice to see it again.

If I could give more than 5 stars, I absolutely would! This school is not just the best Islamic…read moreschool in the world--it's the best in the entire universe. From the moment you walk through the doors, you're welcomed with warmth, sincerity, and the light of true knowledge. The teachers don't just educate--they inspire, nurture, and guide with heart and wisdom. The balance between deen and dunya is perfectly struck, offering students not only academic excellence but deep-rooted Islamic values that will carry them through life. The environment is safe, encouraging, and spiritually uplifting. The Qur'an and Islamic studies programs are phenomenal, and the character of the students is a true reflection of the school's powerful impact. It's rare to find a place that feels like both a second home and a stepping stone to Jannah--but this school is exactly that. Truly a gem, a blessing, and a dream for any parent or student seeking excellence in both faith and education and even the Arabic language 10/10 would recommend--actually, 1000/10!

My experience at this private school was frustrating, overly controlling, and academically…read moredisappointing. One moment that still stands out happened during lunch when I was seated with younger students, around 9 years old. One of the kids criticized another student for eating McDonald's because it was "unhealthy" and claimed he never ate fast food. I pointed out that he was literally eating Subway, which is also fast food, and called him a hypocrite. The child started crying, reported me to the principal, and I was immediately pulled into the office. Instead of handling the situation rationally, the principal accused me of using a "curse word" because I said "hypocrite," then launched into a religious lecture about how God curses hypocrites and how I should never use that word, even if what I said was true. It felt less like discipline and more like being shamed for basic honesty and critical thinking. The school also enforced rules in ways that felt extreme and disconnected from reality. At one point I had a very short haircut, yet staff told me it was "haram" because the sides were faded -- despite the top being just as short and not even long enough to comb. It came across as nitpicking appearances rather than focusing on education or character. What made the environment even more infantilizing was the way students were treated regardless of age. I was 14 years old and still being escorted around 15 feet to my father's car by a student patrol member who was literally 9 years old. Experiences like this made the school feel unnecessarily controlling and embarrassing instead of supportive or academically focused. Academically, I genuinely have no idea what kind of education this school advertises or how my parents believed it was acceptable. Looking back, I'm extremely glad I was pulled out. The school seemed far more focused on religious studies than on building strong academic foundations, yet many of the instructors did not seem qualified to properly teach either. I remember answering extremely basic questions that any average 9th grader in a public school should know, and the students around me reacted as if I were some kind of genius. The academic standard honestly did not feel comparable to even a general education class in Fairfax County public schools. If your goal is for your child to become well-rounded, intellectually sharp, and properly prepared for higher education or the real world, I would strongly reconsider enrolling them here. Unless your only priority is having your child heavily immersed in the school's particular interpretation of Islam and religious instruction, I believe the academic environment does students a disservice rather than helping them grow.

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If you want criticism that's fair and realistic, here are some common complaints students sometimes…read morehave about Oakton High School: Heavy academic pressure and competition School can feel overly focused on academics instead of student balance Some students say it's harder to stand out because the school is highly competitive Older parts of the building or inconsistent maintenance complaints Homework load can feel intense depending on teachers/classes

I had my child here for one whole year but unfortunately we had to move why I couldn't have my…read moredaughter there twice. I loved the unique learning method that worked best for her. She has been ahead of fellow classmates. The playground in the spacious backyard is perfect for little kids to run up their energy. Ms. Thea has been a very understanding and attentive to our child. Her space is very warm & inviting to children. Her decorations around the room changes with the learning theme they are on at the time. It's different from most aces that are boring and business office environment. Since I have moved out of the area i have recommended many friends to go to Appletree. Thank you for all your hard work Ms. Thea!!!

We started our 3 year old there a few weeks ago and are super impressed with Ms. Thea and her…read morestaff, and the entire operation there. Our son was previously at (arguably) the best pre-k school in Indianapolis and we were concerned we'd be able to find a similar quality school here in NoVA, or at least one that had a reasonable wait list. We feel like we found a real gem at Appletree Montessori, which currently has a few more openings for kids aged 3-5 years old. You can find out more about the school here: https://www.appletreemontessoriva.com/

Our child is enrolled in Congressional School's kindergarten program. We are relatively new to the…read moreschool, but we extremely pleased that we made the decision to send him to this school. The class sizes are small and the student to teacher ratio is very low. In addition to that, the kids see several specialist teachers (art, music, P.E., foreign language) throughout the week which allows the main kindergarten teachers ample time to set up for special projects, etc. One specific reason that we are really happy with the school is that our son is reading at well above grade level, and the school has resource teachers that can help assist with children who are both higher and lower performing. This was very important to us because we did not want our son to be bored. I have been extremely impressed at the individual levels of attention that were given to the kids by our son's kindergarten teachers in order to assess each child's educational background and work with the children from where their own personal starting point was. The kindergarten teachers here all have many years of experience, which is great. All of the teachers and the administration are very warm and enthusiastic. The school has a good sense of community and everyone seems to get very involved and genuinely enjoy themselves. Even though the academics are very high caliber, there also seems to be a large emphasis on fun and play, which is also very important to us. The kindergarten students have P.E. 4 out of every 6 days, they also have recess every day, and in addition to that they also take "brain breaks" where they play short, fun games such as "Duck, Duck, Goose" to get the energy out. It concerns me when I hear about other schools that are cutting things such as physical activity and play. (This was a main reason why we chose a private school.) One other thing to mention is that the campus itself is absolutely gorgeous, and the school building is very nice as well, particularly the large gym. Just being in the environment is very pleasant. The kids get a lot of opportunities to get out into nature which is another thing that is very important to me. We are very happy that our child is enrolled here. I truly feel that he is having a great educational experience. Also, he enjoys coming to school each day and he is excited about learning.

This place is always causing a significant traffic back up for the surrounding area. There is…read moreconstantly a quarter to half mile line of cars that are always delayed because the school needs its own separate traffic up. They really need to figure out a better way.

My kids absolutely loved the camp offered by this school!!! They were super excited to go each day…read moreand looked forward to the scheduled activities. Their summer was jam packed with fun. Not only did each week have a fun and creative theme, they were also loaded with field trips and swimming. They also really connected with the Christian songs and instructions. My eldest child would come home in the evenings and YouTube videos of the songs they learned at camp. Both kids sing and do hand motions to the songs. I LOVE seeing them this excited about the Bible! As a parent knowing my kids are happy is super important. I also need to know that they are safe. I really felt like the camp did a great job with this as well. The doors are secure, they adhere to a buddy system and I was ID'd during pickup when new teachers did not know me at the beginning of summer. My interactions with the staff (counselors and front staff) has all been professional. One time my youngest child had a sore belly. They called me and kept him in the office until I arrived. They were also very helpful with any other questions and concerns I had. We are not members of this church or school but due to such a great summer experience we attended a service and it truly felt like home. What a great place!

calvary is a good school overall and Mr Lewis and his wife are amazing people here are my problems…read morewarnings all they do is not give kids ice cream but any kid with a warning can just go to the store and buy some and the teachers are focused towards girls and it is extremely unfair another complaint the bathroom door on one of the doors dosent lock people are extremely uncomfortable in there knowing any kid can open the door on them but the some of the teachers are amazing like Mr Mayer and dr elk too and Mrs Peffer and Mrs Lewis does his best because most pf this things are caused by kids but they still need to be fixed

My almost-four-year-old son currently attends Griffin Academy. We are working parents and needed…read morefull-day care, and we did a pretty exhaustive search in the area for an affordable preschool. I cannot BELIEVE how lucky we are to have found this place. Let me tell you why you should send your kids here. Even before I talk about my son's experience, I need to mention how well this program is run. Kristine Lee, the preschool director, is one of the warmest, kindest, most competent and professional humans with whom I've had the pleasure of interacting. She was so responsive and helpful throughout our enrollment process that we felt like we were already family members from the first contact. This was not our experience with other preschool programs. Many private preschools, like the one our older daughter attended, have strict arbitrary rules, parent work hour requirements, and intimidating admission processes that (for us) made us feel a tiny bit unwelcome. None of this from Westminster. This private school, with its classical focus, has managed to wrap us in its arms and surround us with a community of funny, warm, and down-to-earth people. It feels EASY, not stressful, to attend school here. As private school first-timers, we had to adjust to uniforms, but it's been no sweat. Teachers. We knew that our son liked his teacher, and that she (and all of the Griffin teachers) had been kind to him, and patient as he adjusted to a full day of school. We were so incredibly impressed when we met her in person at back-to-school night. Beyond having exactly the personality you would want for a preschool teacher (gentle, nurturing, and understanding), Miss Horner brings incredible expertise and professional knowledge to her job as classroom teacher. I myself am a board-certified teacher, so I have some clue about what they do, and my son's teacher is at the top of her game. Literally every aspect of her students' experience seems to have been designed with their development in mind. Everything in the classroom is accessible to the children, with the goal of fostering their independence, improving their fine and gross motor skills, and promoting harmony. The children are taught to greet each other respectfully, refer to their classmates as "friends", and express appreciation frequently. We toured other schools in our search, and at some well-known schools, we were dismayed to notice that the teachers did not seem to have a loving relationship with their students. My son's teachers LOVE him, and it shows. This was the single most important thing that we as parents were looking for. Every child deserves to experience preschool in a class like my son's, and we cannot overstate how fortunate we feel to have landed here. Here are some other fun things that we love: - They go on field trips (on the Westminster bus!) on almost a monthly basis. That is so many out-of-class experiences! - Each classroom has an imaginative play area that changes monthly (post office! garden! cave! grocery store!). - You can pack your child's lunch, OR order hot lunch from their service! Or both! - Excite Soccer offers a short after-school class on Thursdays, and our son goes to this and LOVES it. - French. Library. Music. Science. Our preschooler's schedule is as varied and rich as our 1st-grader's. My son is a wiggly little boy. Was I worried that he wouldn't have enough opportunity to move and play in the course of his rigorous classical education? I was. I've got one word for you: GYMNASIUM. If you can show me another preschool where kids get to run around a huge gym first thing every single morning, I'll be astonished. My guy comes home happy and tired every day. I'm typing all of this because when we were looking for preschools, there weren't a lot of parent reviews to read, and parents need to know that this wonderful option is available. Look no further!

Our son went to Griffin Academy for preschool and he attended some of the Griffin camps (winter,…read morespring, summer.) Griffin Academy is part of the Westminster School, however, it is on a different campus and it is run by a different headmaster. So first, I must say that this review is for Griffin Academy not Westminster as we do not have any experience with Westminster directly. The best part of Griffin Academy is the teaching staff (actually, all of the staff) and the facilities. If you take a tour of the facilities I have no doubt you will be very impressed. Having an indoor gym-type of space in the winter was hugely beneficial. Also, the teaching staff was excellent, and I mean really excellent. My son had a primary teacher who he adored and then he did rotate through other teachers who teach specialty subjects, and they all got to know him and I was really impressed with all of them. The expectations, educationally, were set very high which works well for my son and our family because I felt that he was pushed just the right amount. The class sizes are small so the teachers are really able to work with the kids at the level that they are at. They also worked a lot on his manners and his social interactions. My son came out of Griffin at age 4, able to sight read entire books on his own, silently, to himself. So educationally, I cannot fault Griffin at all; I was very impressed. Our son was definitely not bored, which is a big thing for us. The hours that they provide childcare/school for are also very good for working parents, as they provide a variety of options to allow the parents to be able to choose and manage the hours of school and childcare that they need. The price was also surprisingly much more affordable than a lot of other preschools. The only reason I am not giving the school 5 stars is because, just out of bad luck, is our son really didn't have that many other boys in his class, so unfortunately a lot of the stereotypical boy activities, he was not able to partake in to the fullest extent of what he would have preferred, so I ended up having to enroll him in some outside extracurricular activities (karate, etc.) just to kind of make up that deficit. The class he was in was almost all girls. However, as I say, I realize that experience was probably just unique to us and unfortunate due to the way the classes broke down. The reason that is a big deal to me is my son needs a lot of physical activity to get his energy out and that really requires him basically running around like a maniac playing soccer, etc. He is already at the age where he doesn't want to play what he thinks of as girly games so that was a bit of an issue during the school times, was not having enough physical activity for his liking. (***During the camps sessions it was a better mixture of boys and girls so this problem actually completely went away for us during all of the Griffin camp sessions.) The only other pretty minor complaint I had about the school was at times I felt they were a bit too strict on some things that I myself am pretty relaxed on - especially the "clean your plate" mentality, I am not really that into. On the flip side, his manners were much improved and he is able to do a lot more on his own and for himself than he was when he went into Griffin, so I have mixed feelings about that. All in all, I would really recommend Griffin, it is a very good preschool, and when our daughter is old enough we will probably be sending our daughter there.

Daniels Run is a K-6 elementary school located in the city of Fairfax. They are a part of Fairfax…read moreCounty Public Schools. At this school they also have special education services. Some of these classrooms include Preschool Autism Classroom (PAC), Enhanced Autism Classroom (EAC), Early Childhood Class Based (ECCB).