While sitting at my desk, stressed about a work assignment, I looked out my window and saw my…read moredaughter happily prancing around our cherry blossom tree--full of light and carefree. At that moment, I realized I wanted to keep that spark in her as long as possible. So when it came time to choose a kindergarten, I knew I wanted more than our local neighborhood school and standardized testing. Enter Green Acres School, a hidden gem that focuses on outdoor play and creative learning - a school that would build a solid foundation for these early years. The atmosphere at Green Acres is warm and supportive from the moment the kids hop out of the car at drop-off. The staff respectfully engages with the children, giving them a voice to grow into independent thinkers who advocate for themselves. When the school recognized that my daughter was excelling academically, they adapted to her needs while keeping learning fun and engaging (and have done so with my son, too). She's eager to go to school every day and, to her father's and my irritation, even cried during a Disney World vacation because she missed it! That love for school isn't typical, and I attribute it to the outstanding teachers at Green Acres. I also want to highlight the fantastic work of the new head of the school. Under her leadership, the school is making great strides while staying true to its values. The balance between strong academics and a low-stress environment is something our family deeply appreciates--it's a place where kids are challenged without feeling overwhelmed. Overall, I couldn't be happier with our experience at Green Acres. If you want a place where your child isn't just fine but is great, Green Acres is the one.

Our child went to Green Acres for a few years, and we would never recommend Green Acres. We found…read moreit to be too small, with limited academic and extracurricular opportunities. Teachers, staff, and administrators at Green Acres did not seem organized and lacked the social-emotional skills and training to support students of varying academic, social and emotional abilities. They were quick to blame individual kids for systemic issues at the school. Classroom management was poor, and outside time for middle school kids is not monitored as it should be, both of which leads to highly unproductive behavior among the students. For parents interested in Green Acres, you should ask many questions about classroom management and overall supervision. In addition, we highly suggest you ask about the school's financial standing (income statements and other financial information) and how the school plans to address the loss of income from lost rent related to the Diener School move. Finally, we suggest that interested parents talk with doctors or others who know a lot of school aged kids. The problems at Green Acres are well-known in these circles. There are many great public and private schools in Montgomery County, and we highly suggest that you look elsewhere. We did, and we are thrilled with our child's new school.

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.

The level of care is fine, but the billing practices aren't acceptable. We ran into multiple…read moreissues, including being overcharged and then the school not giving back our money. Leaving for another school.

All 4 of my children have gone through Georgetown Hill Early School at the Bells Mill campus (so I…read morehave been with this preschool for over 10 years) and it has been a wonderful experience! Whenever the topic of preschools comes up in conversation, I cannot praise this preschool enough for the skilled staff they have, the attention to education and lesson plans they provide for the kids, the attention to safety and positive discipline, and much more! This preschool truly values children and always strives to bring out the best in them. I honestly believe it is the best preschool in the area!

We are in our third year at McLean School and we have been very happy with our school. Our son had…read moreattended two other independent schools and by the end of the 1st grade he was still unable to read. We had a neuropsychological study conducted and found out our son has ADHD and dyslexia. Where the other schools were unable to teach him effectively and even categorizing our son as a behavioral problem, McLean understood his struggles and brought him to grade level in 2 years. The school is a very supportive environment for the students but also for the parents. It is a supportive and engaged parent community and I am proud to be heavily involved with the Parents Association. In reading some of the reviews, I am saddened to hear that other families had issues with bullying. When we were made aware of another student engaging in bully-like behavior with our son, the school reacted swiftly and addressed the issues. We look forward to continuing with McLean for the foreseeable future.

Wonderful leadership and faculty who thoughtfully consider the needs of students who are not served…read morein traditional classrooms. Beautiful facilities and happy students.

i literally hate it here. ive never been unhappier. I pay 30,000 a year to come to a building and…read morecry all day. worst teachers and even worse administrators. i dont wish anyone to attend here, not even my worst enemy. scary bugs everywhere and construction makes focasing impossible. only positive thing about the school is how the student application rate is sinking so fast, so the school will be exstinct in 10 years. not to mention how we are selling land because we are secretly bankrupt. goodnight.

We just moved from another state this past summer and the school came strongly recommended. Even as…read morewe enjoyed July and August, everyone at our community pool was familiar with the school and had only overheard positive things. We even ran into some future classmates for my son! Since my son has started kindergarten things have been going very well! Communication has been good and he's been having a lot of fun and definitely making friends! Getting uniforms was a little bit crazy, so definitely make sure you buy early! But otherwise were very happy and excited for him to try soccer for the first time!

The teachers here are great - and they are the reason why the school is as good as it is. But…read moreeverything starts at the top and the Head of School not only has no background in education or business but is not held accountable by the Board for all her massive, messy errors. She hires like minded people that are just nasty. Turnover in the administration is shockingly high; and sadly it's the good people that leave. Something like 7 people quit this year? And it's a small team. If management could be replaced with someone who enjoys the job, and parents and children, this school would be top in area.

As an English-speaking parent of a child that has been at Rochambeau since she was three years old,…read moreI am extremely happy with how my child has grown over the years with her knowledge of French, English, and now Spanish. She is also someone who, given the extremely diverse community at Rochambeau (now, I believe over 80 nationalities represented!) is comfortable and informed about the world! No school is perfect--I know of highly rated private schools in the DC area where students struggled with math and parents were paying upwards of $45k a year! Communication is a struggle at times with the administration--but they have listened from American parents and have grown tremendously, for instance now making sure all parent/family programs are in English and French. Rochambeau is an amazing global education with incredibly dedicated teachers at a reasonable price point. I highly recommend it to parents looking for a school that invests in the children and an international education!