I was very optimistic and excited when kiddie Academy opened in the area. It started out pretty…read moregreat but the high staff retention has caused this place to go down hill very quickly. If you are looking for a place of baby sitting this is the right place for you. If you are looking for a legitimate curriculum and education to prepare your kid, do yourself and your pockets a favor and look somewhere else. I'll start with the pro: -Location is convenient -New building/classroom -Cameras in the classroom(it's not common everywhere else) Cons: -Director is a joke. Terrible customer service, I wonder if the owners realizes she is tanking their business. -Pre-K teacher Jocelyn is rude and unprofessional. She will not help your kid; she will let them play all day and good Luck when they get to kindergarten. The way she speaks to the kids is VERY concerning. ...Stay away -There is a new teacher every week, and those they hire are not qualified. The good teachers left long time ago when they realized this daycare is not a good place for them to work or teach. -Just a place for kids to play and not learn anything. I can go on and on but I think you get the picture.

Kiddie Academy of Woodbridge-North has been such a blessing and life-saver for me and my daughter…read more First- let's talk about the facility. It is brand new and gorgeous. With COVID, it was important to know that everything in there was less than a year old and that their staff is constantly cleaning. Second- let's talk about the staff. EVERY ONE that works there is amazing. They are not just nice and friendly, which is important, but they are inviting. I feel that they truly care about my child and that they care about my needs. Ms Roxanna is always working with my daughter, on reading, which is what I had asked. She is so patient and kind but strict enough to get what I request done. They are also always doing fun and educational stuff, even in the summer. Third- I mentioned they have been a blessing. Christin, the director, has truly been our guardian angel. Even when we first didn't sign up since we decided to enroll her in Kindergarten vs pre-k, she still kept tabs on us, just to see how we were doing. When my daughter's nanny could no longer work, Christin made sure that not only could they watch my child but they were able to pick her up from Kindergarten. No matter how crazy my schedule is, Christin and Kiddie Academy have been and are there for me, completely flexible and willing to work with me and my needs. My child has been to other daycares and I felt that at times, I was just a dollar sign. At Kiddie Academy, I feel like we are friends and family and they do truly care about my child.

Taking my baby to a daycare had been one of the hardest decisions I've made as a mom because you…read morenever know who's going to be there taking care of her how she will be treated I'm so grateful for the new Director Zaraider she's a amazing leader she cares about the happiness and safety of our children's she's very professional and caring person My child is under care of a amazing teacher Ms Kamala who's very lovely and kind

Not for me. My first impression was waiting in the wait area and listening to the teacher yell at…read morethe toddlers in the toddler room. It didn't occur to her that perhaps parents are in the lobby waiting for a tour. It turned me off. I wasn't impressed. It didn't seem organized or well run. The staff didn't seem trained or equipped to adequately deal with children. I had already made up my mind before the end of the tour.

this place is horrible my son was there for a week and got HFMD now they're treatment if him is…read moreinhumane seems like they don't want my child to be there even with doctors notes and still he's not being accepted back

My two kids attend here, one on the preschool side (3s classroom) and the other in the infant room…read more My oldest has been attending since 6 months old, so we've been at KinderCare now for several years. First, let me say that Miss Tee and Miss Carita in the infant room (who cared for my oldest when she was a baby, and now look after my youngest) are incredible. Absolutely incredible. They have years of experience in childcare, not to mention their personal experience as mothers, and are so skilled at caring for little ones, adjusting their approach and methods to accommodate each child's needs. They have many practical tips to offer parents (e.g. your baby seems to be having a hard time sucking on her bottle, have you tried switching to a bigger nipple size?) and put our children so at ease, that I have zero worries leaving my children in their very capable hands. I trust them implicitly. They are usually the first to pick up on changes in our little one's behavior (a suspected ear infection, teething, tummy issues, etc.) and are quick to communicate any concerns. They are completely transparent, but more importantly, I know that they truly care about my kids. My husband and I love dropping our kids off in the morning and chatting with both of them, and we deeply value the relationships we've built. Miss Sasha in the 2s room is perennially positive, greets parents with a smile, has a great sense of humor, and treats all the kids in her care with kindness. Miss Kassidy is skilled with teaching the Phonics program, and I've seen noticeable progress in my oldest since she took over recently. Miss Kristen, the center director, has an open door policy and is an empathetic listener. She genuinely cares about all the children in her care and works to provide a loving environment for them. Miss Sharon, the assistant director, has a natural "grandmother" warmth and all the kids are drawn to her as a result. I'm getting to know many of the newer teachers in the 2s and 4s rooms, as well as the new kitchen staff, and so far think they're all great as well. I'm sure I'm missing some, but wanted to be sure I gave a public shout-out to the many wonderful women at KinderCare who help care for my most precious possessions. The reason I gave four vs. five stars is that the center is a bit run down, and I think could benefit from some professional cleaning from time to time. This can be a turnoff for new families. (I do understand this could equate to slightly higher fees, but I'd be more than willing to pay extra for this.) There's also a fair amount of turnover, as well as teachers from time to time (no longer at the school) who didn't seem the best suited for caring for children (lacked patience, were yellers, or lacked common sense, in my opinion). I'd also love to see a bit more academic curriculum built into the school's programming. The phonics program, for instance, that my oldest participates in is something you have to add on (for an additional fee). Here's the impression I'm left with, though. And it's straight from the horse's mouth. I asked my oldest last night who her favorite teachers at school were, and she rattled off the following list: Miss Danielle, Miss Sasha, Miss Adrianna, Miss Megan, Miss Tee, Miss Nancy, Miss Kassidy and Miss Carita. To which I said, but who's your VERY favorite? She replied, "All of them, Mommy!" Enough said.

Ms Jeannine is awesome! She takes great care of our son!! Ms May is his primary teacher and she is…read morealso wonderful!

My wife always looks for the best place whenever we move to a new location. We are military if you…read moredidn't guess. Needless to say even though we have closer daycares to the house this one was the best in cleanliness, be able to monitor you kids while at work, and the staff is always so wonderful!

My son and nephew both attend this school and they both absolutely love it…read more My son specifically is a very high energy and strong minded child. His teachers have been very helpful in guiding him and guiding me on how to help him be his best self. They really do care and know what they are doing. He developed his speech more delayed than other students but now comes home every day saying new phrases and learning how to listen better. I am very happy with my experience here and would recommend this school 100 times over.

Beware of this school! Especially If you are a military family and your child may have autisum. Our…read moreson did a classroom visit and I thought he did well considering he has never been in any daycare and I explain this to Elisa Zago the Director of Enrollment and Outreach when I went to the parent visit. I had to follow up with them to see if he got in or not and she emailed me right away saying they wanted him to come in for a second visit. I thought it was strange but I went with it! idk how you can judge how a child is going to do or what they can do in a 15 min visit. Seemed very inaccurate to me. She said she would follow up with is but never did so I reached out to see because you we had not heard from them in about 2 weeks very unprofessional to me. I said Good Evening! I'm just following up about my son to see if he has gotten into your program? If not please let me know, so I can look into getting him in another Kindergarten program before spots are all filled up. Her response was thank you for your email. We are sorry but your son didn't make it into our program. We wish you the best. No explanation to why or not! I'm really upset because his pediatrician recommended this place thought it would be a great place for him to thrive but they passed judgment on my son without giving him the chance. As a military family this is disheartening. This is how they treat the people who serves this country's kids with a disability.

As a father I've reached out multiple times hoping to resolve real problems, but management keeps…read moreshrugging them off. Two years in, staff keeps quitting--already on our third principal. Biggest red flags? Letting him ride without proper car seat, even after I pointed it out. In twenties-degree cold he went without hat or gloves--no heads up. When he complained about being hot and threw up twice, thermometer sat unused and nobody called me. Emails about drop-off times? Wrong half the time, fixed never. Questions get vague answers or flat-out silence. Gate stays wide open during pick-up, sometimes no staff in sight--creepy. Small class, way ahead in work... first grade sheet still shows 'satisfactory.' Rules only apply when they feel like it. He likes the place, that's literally the only reason this review gets two stars. Principle & District Supervisor knows--does zip. Parents deserve respect, honesty & transparency.

I have only been at Merit for the elemententy school. We had Ms. Robertson and she is an amazing…read moreteacher! When you think of a teacher you want for your kid, that's Ms. Robertson! Your child will not be bored in her class. She meets your kids where they are, and she cares for all her students. With my child having been online through covid, they needed help with handwriting. Not only does she have great handwriting, she also learned cursive this year, too! Ms. Robertson teaches in fun ways, and the kids really retain the information! I also got to work with the 4th grade teacher, Ms. Smithson at Merit Girl Scouts, and she is an amazing teacher, too. She also goes out of her way for her students. She cares about all of them. I look forward to having her as a teacher next year. These two teachers are a great team and that is why I am reviewing The Merit School. The education has been great! My child made a lot of friends at this school, and it's nice that bullying is not allowed.

I regret enrolling my daughter here. Despite committing early (touring in Feb 2024, paying a…read moredeposit, and submitting all forms), the school's lack of communication, disorganization, and disregard for basic safety and hygiene created a deeply frustrating and emotionally exhausting year. From misplaced incident reports and unaddressed injuries, to administrative errors and tone-deaf leadership, this school consistently failed to provide a safe, transparent, and developmentally supportive environment. My daughter came home with swollen lips, unexplained bruises, missing shoes, and stories of peer mistreatment -- with no formal documentation provided, despite repeated requests. These were not isolated events; I have video/photo documentation, and other parents voiced similar concerns in meetings. The director's conduct was both inappropriate and hypocritical -- once sending me a photo of my 3-year-old with paper in her mouth and demanding I "talk to her about telling the truth" over a harmless joke (gum from dad), while gaslighting parents about emails that were never sent. We were made to feel like the problem, when in reality the school's tech systems, operations, and staffing plans were simply broken. Staffing was unstable -- the lead teacher left for maternity leave with no real succession plan. Parents were informed of changes through hallway gossip before any official notice. Other red flags included: * Poor nap hygiene (child's skin broke out); * No proper underwear/clean clothes sent home; * Unsafe food handling policies; * Lost orthopedic shoes due to mishandling after an accident -- only replaced after escalation; * Inconsistent behavioral reporting, with my child being singled out for normal 3-year-old behavior, while aggressive peer behavior went unaddressed all year. The school showed a lack of respect for working parents, sending critical updates (like school closures) late at night and offering no accessible options for required events (no childcare, no virtual options, last-minute notices). They ran meetings on free Zoom accounts that cut off mid-call, used free Gmail accounts, and misunderstood basic tools like unlisted YouTube links. My concerns were dismissed, incident reports were never filed, and when I reported this to the county, I was told it was "too late." Given how long and hard I tried to resolve these issues internally -- and my documentation of events -- this only added to the heartbreak. In hindsight, I should have trusted my gut and pulled my child out much earlier. If you're a parent considering this school, please ask hard questions about staff turnover, behavior policies, safety reporting, and operational transparency. And if something feels off -- trust yourself.

Will only state the facts that lead to this review…read more.. In preparation for our move to VA this year, my family and I have been searching for a suitable Montessori school within this area. After speaking with Cardinal several times via the phone we felt that this might be a great option. A few weeks ago, my wife had scheduled a school tour and staff meet with Cardinal's senior coordinator (not official title) to allow us to see a routine day at the school and view its operation. We scheduled the tour for a Friday, which we were told was not "normal" but would be allowed given the fact that my family had to drive 5+ hours to get there. The tour was locked on that Monday with a 0930 start time on Friday. We had no other communication from the school throughout the week and on Thursday afternoon, we hit the road after I had gotten off work and arrived in VA just after midnight. We were up the following Friday morning and arrived at Cardinal at 0910 to an empty parking lot, locked building, lights off, and no one on site... We sat, waited, and attempted to call anyone with no luck and no response. It was about 0930 when finally a car pulled up and a women was dropped off. She didn't engage us at all and simply walked into the school. My wife proceeded to knock on the door and was met by said women who appeared to be cleaning. My wife explained our situation to the women who simply laughed, nodded, and said that the school was closed due to a maintenance emergency. A few minutes later, another women arrived who identified herself as a teacher. We calmly explained how we were scheduled to meet with a Ms. Igera for our tour but had not been able to reach her or anyone else. The teacher looked surprised and quickly reiterated that the school had been closed for the last few days. She then pulled out her phone and said she would call the "school owner" who was already on her way to Cardinal. At approx. 0945 the school co-owner arrived and welcomed us inside. We explained, again, who we were and why we were there. She quickly apologized and then explained how the school closed on Wednesday and Thursday due to plumbing issues. They had sent all the students and staff home and were now back (Friday morning) in order to clean for the reopening on Monday. She didn't ask any further about the botched tour appointment, but rather tried to go right into her pitch for the school. At the end of the walk-through, we were on our way out the door when we asked for Ms. Igera to call us about the clear failure in communication. The Co-owner said she would, glorified her staff, and said she hoped we would consider them when we moved... Fast forward 2+ weeks later....we got that call.... And it was to schedule yet another tour at the school. Nothing more. The level of complete disregard, disrespect, and sheer unprofessionalism that went into this waste of time is truly astounding. For better perspective, here is a better overview of all my family and I sacrificed in order to simply VISIT the school and observe its operation. - late night drive 5+ hours after work. - pulled my 4yo daughter out of current school in order to see the Cardinal school and meet the teachers. - my wife is 7 months pregnant at the time of all this. And she had to make all these movements. - I scheduled a full day away from work to make this trip happen. - spent hundreds on gas to make the round trip. Along with paying for a hotel in order to stay overnight... The Cardinal school may do just fine in some things, but I find it hard to imagine what. The coordination, communication, and lack of accountability is frightening. To make a commitment to an outside family who is willing to spend thousands on the betterment of their children's care and education and then not even have the courtesy to communicate a simple appointment change is unacceptable. I would HIGHLY encourage any family seeking a Montessori program to move on and explore other options (military families or otherwise). I have nothing negative to post about the teachers who work here, simply the lack of efficient and effective administrative overview of the school itself. This was not a sophisticated encounter, but rather a simple and what I would image routine engagement with an interested party. If this is how they treat an unaffiliated party, how do they respond under higher stress situations? Who actually maintains the schools appointments? Who is charge of registrations? Etc... Bottom line, keep searching. There are other great options within this region of VA, as my family and I learned. So disappointed to leave a review of this manner on a Montessori related establishment, but title alone does not guarantee quality. I truly hope this review can bring about a greater awareness of the low standard practices at Cardinal.

Absolutely the BEST. Our child was enrolled here and we can't even begin to thank the staff here…read moreenough - Lara. Dani, Patrice, etc. Each one of them treated us like family and provided excellent communication to us. We were very sad to be leaving and will miss the entire staff there. This was our first experience with daycare and we couldn't be happier. We are staying in the Kindercare family but on the other side of the country. Thank you to EACH and EVERY employee at this location

Horrible!!! Dani worst ever, she should not be able to the run the building without LARA, she lacks…read morecompetency and control!!! Also Dani lacks sense of urgency!!!! She shouldn't be in the child care field they should ban her!!!!!!!! Jasmine (2/3 teacher )doesn't know what she is completely clueless!!! All of this because my son hit his head I wasn't notified. Also their DM Kurtis lied about talking to my grandmother who has been deceased for the past two years. Then He was more focus on bringing his kids to my one of parks, so unprofessional!!!!!The only good person there was Lara!!!