After seven months of mostly negative experiences, we finally removed our child from the Vinci Merrifield campus. It was truly one issue after another, and I would urge all parents looking for a daycare to at least explore other nearby options that provide far better care, culture, and leadership (in my opinion). Here's why we left: 1. Constant unchanged or poorly changed diapers Staff continually struggled to change our son's diaper properly. In November, he developed a severe diaper rash, and we notified the staff immediately. However, a week later, he was sent home with chunks of poop on his clothes from a terrible diaper change (see photos). We should have left then, but as parents know, it takes time for a child to adjust to daycare, and we didn't want to disrupt him again. Unfortunately, we experienced the same issue later on in February during a period of staff turnover, when one of the teachers clearly lacked the ability to change diapers properly. 2. Staff turnover Our son had become very attached to the primary Junior Toddler teacher, but she left without any notice to parents. It took Dr. Dan almost two weeks to inform families of her departure. In the meantime, we/our son kept asking where she was during drop-offs, and no one gave us a clear answer. Throughout all of January and February, there was a constant stream of floaters and new hires (none who inspired confidence), until a full-time replacement was finally brought on at the start of March. We then heard of more staff drama within our first month at Vinci, when we were notified about a Vinci teacher getting fired for tying a toddler to a chair. Definitely should've started looking elsewhere at that point... See news article here: https://www.alxnow.com/2025/09/15/teacher-at-alexandria-daycare-fired-for-tying-21-month-old-to-chair/ 3. Leadership turnover Aside from teaching staff turnover, we also experienced three different Directors at the Merrifield campus during our seven months there. One left due to having a baby, but she candidly told us she was not coming back after maternity leave in a way that now feels like we should've read between the lines. This speaks volumes about the culture here at every level, and also makes it difficult for parents to feel connected or supported in any consistent way as it's always a rotation of new faces in new roles. 4. Outdated childcare portal The Vinci parent portal feels outdated, like something from the early 2000s, and there is no dedicated mobile app like Brightwheel to provide clear, real-time updates or communication with staff. When we switched to another daycare, the difference was night and day! We received immediate push notifications with photos, nap updates, diaper changes, weather alerts, and more, and communication with staff was seamless. Staff would frequently say nothing about our son's activity for the day and not even record diaper change times and/or whether he ate their meal. 5. Unexpected restrictions Our son was not allowed to use a pacifier during nap time. This was a significant part of his sleep routine, and we were not informed of this restriction before enrolling. As a result, he struggled with sleep at school for nearly a month, which was difficult for him and for us. 6. The culture and leadership After switching daycares, it became even more apparent how the culture trickles down from the owner. At our new daycare, the owner is incredibly warm and involved (as is her staff). She was even present in the classroom to welcome our son during his first few drop offs. Dr. Dan, the owner of Vinci, is the complete opposite. She never introduced herself to us once during our time at Vinci. We only heard from her after we emailed about withdrawing our son from Vinci due to the repeated issues we raised about inexperienced staff neglecting his wellbeing. During that exchange, she was mostly focused on us paying a 30 day notice penalty and showed no understanding for the stress and frustration we experienced. We decided we'd rather throw away thousands of dollars than keep our son there another month - especially given his constant skin irritation from unchanged diapers, lack of experience in their staff, and growing lack of communication about his day's activity. Ultimately, we are SO happy we left Vinci, and I would strongly recommend any parents considering Vinci tour at least a few of the other daycares in the nearby area (A Child's Place, Lady Bug Academy, Carousel, etc). read more

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I would strongly not recommend Vinci. The staff turnover is constant, the owner treats children like problems to be solved, and their teachers rarely updated the parent portal with any significant information which let me wondering what my child was doing all day. read more

I worked here as a teacher assistant for three months and that was enough. The teacher turnover is high due to Dr. Dan not paying her staff what they are owed. My classroom was constantly left out of ratio. There were no cleaning ladies meaning you are not just the teacher but the cleaning lady as well. I have no idea how this place is still in business. read more

My son is absolutely thriving at Vinci Preschool! What stands out most is the caring teachers and our classroom and broadener school community. The teachers are not just educators, but truly friendly and caring individuals who create a warm, supportive atmosphere. Even teachers in other grades know my son and my family. I've never had any issues speaking with teachers or the directors, and have always gotten any concerns addressed promptly and thoroughly, and personally feel like Vinci has a really open door policy when it comes to parents coming in, and meeting with teachers/ admin. We are truly happy with the attention, care and education my son is receiving. read more

As an educator myself, I can confidently say that this is not a daycare facility that will help your child learn. This is a money-making business for the owner. Her underpaid and undertrained staff is the best evidence for this. I had my daughter there for only two months, and during that time we had several incidents: One time when I came to pick up my daughter, I found that she had been taken outside for a walk without a coat or even a pair of shoes. Her hands were freezing cold, and she was crying in her stroller, clearly because she was cold. It was 57 degrees outside, but she was wearing only one layer of clothing, while the staffers were wearing coats, as was I. On at least two occasions, I noticed that Vinci had violated the required child-to-teacher ratio of no more than four or five to one, as recommended by the state of Virginia. Our child received head injuries twice in the same week, on a Monday and a Thursday. And even worse, when she was injured on Thursday, the teacher did not tell me about it. When I noticed my child's injury and asked about it, the teacher couldn't tell me how it happened. My child came home twice wearing a different brand diapers than the ones we provided the school, though we had provided plenty of diapers to the school for our child. PLEASE STAY AWAY! Your child deserves better. read more

This is a long overdue review. My child attended the Merrifield location of Vinci School but since Dr. Dan is in charge of all the Vinci School locations, people should be aware of how Dr. Dan operates. Dr. Dan lacks true compassion for the children and their parents. She put on a good show, I was very impressed at her open house. However after a couple of weeks, her true nature was revealed. She wanted my two children to leave her school after she concluded my older child most likely had a disability. She made this assessment in the middle of the night by herself. She didn't even have the decency to tell us this in person but in an email. We met in person to discuss the email. We questioned her rash decision. She was outright defensive and said she didn't come to this decision lightly. We asked three other teachers whether they thought my child had this disability and none of them thought it. We asked to see the tool she used to assess our child. It turned out the tool specifically said to not be used to diagnose a child (see picture for the disclaimer notice). I had a real assessment for the disability completed and the assessors concluded my child did not meet the diagnosis that Dr. Dan came up with. The real assessment is done by at least three members with a diverse set of specialized skills over several months in which they observed and test the child. Dr. Dan should not so arrogantly made this diagnosis on a whim. She put my family through unnecessary distress. In addition, Dr. Dan agreed to refund my two children's security deposit since it wasn't our choice to leave. When it came time to settle the account. She kept both children's security deposits stating it was policy that she keep them and made it sounds like it was out of her hand. She is the owner and she makes the rules. I also didn't understand why my younger child had to leave as I was told "You have no choice." There were ZERO complaints about my younger child. I think she was afraid my younger child might have this disability too so she was proactive in kicking both my children out. Aside for the misdiagnosis, this school seem like a good value at first but there are hidden fees. You pay for an expensive material fee but the school would ask you to bring all these art supplies, tissue boxes, ziplock bags, etc. You also have to buy an extra pair of shoes to be used indoors only while at school. That cost can add up as the kids grow over the years. There is also the required uniforms which also add up over the years. We weren't leaving the school fast enough (it was two days since we were notified) so Dr. Dan had a teacher document a disturbing behavior from my child that was not even true. I felt bullied by Dr. Dan in her tactic. Please stay away from this awful person for your and children sake. All Dr. Dan care about is making money as easily as possible. Don't bother enrolling your child here unless you meet the following criteria: -Your child is meeting or exceeding their milestones at ALL time ( I think Dr. Dan only want smart kids to boost her "results"). -Your child is well behaved at ALL time no exceptions. My child was misbehaving due to adjustment problems. -Your willingness to agree with Dr. Dan ALL the time no matter what the topic as her arrogance cannot allow her to be wrong. read more

I would not recommend VINCI to anyone I love. I feel actually horrible that my daughter stayed there as long as she did (5 months). we had a very similar experience that another reviewer had. Our child was born in COVID times so we kept her home with us for over two years. When we started her at VINCI (Alexandria Fairfax street location), she was vibrant and happy at home but was not at school. not at all. We thought this was due to it just being a hard transition for her, but I began to worry about how she was being cared for. My daughter regressed at school and refused to even get up and walk and refused to speak to or acknowledge anyone, she was completely withdrawn. I was told by Dr. Dan that my child had special needs that could not be addressed by VINCI and that my child needed to see a psychologist. This didn't make sense to me because every day when she got the heck out of that place, my daughter was her happy, busy, running, walking, talking self. It was clearly something about the environment and not about my daughter. Dr. Dan as far as I can tell doesn't have an education or child development background. The curriculum she created was rarely ever followed. When it came to the learning activities we would be told that our child didn't engage at all or didn't want to do things, but the things described were not appropriate for her development stage at just over two years old. For example, they harped several times on her inability to cut with scissors. The lessons were heavily worksheet based rather than play based. So no my child cannot cut out words and match the words with the parts of a plant. that's not a two year old activity. Additionally, towards the end of our time there, our child came home with a large bruise on her arm, we were told they had no idea how she got it. she also came home once with a big knot on her head. Since moving her to a new school, our child has been 100% herself since day one in her new environment. She engages appropriately, she has never refused to walk or talk. She has really flourished. I can say with confidence though, that the 5 months she spent at VINCI set her back developmentally, and I don't want to think how she'd be if Dr. Dan hadn't done us the huge favor of kicking her out. We have seen a development specialist, and our child who Dr.Dan determined needed psychological help, was assessed to have no development issues and on track overall. read more

Agree with all of the terrible reviews below. There is no way in all heck that Dr. Dan is a child care / education professional. The Duke street location teachers always look like they are chickens running around with their heads cut off. Try showing up in the middle of the day, nope - you have to have an appointment. Want to get a tour of a classroom? No, you can visit on the weekends when there are no teachers or students! (?) Any trustworthy school has an open door policy. Drop off after 9am because you have a doctors appointment or Physical Therapy- no, not allowed, you have to wait until 10am. You want to park to drop your kid off? Forget it, parking is a nightmare. There are only 4 parking spots because the Director and the school van take up two spots. The teacher to student ratio was always a struggle in the AM for drop offs. You have to pay an annual $500 tech fee. For what? An app that has generic information dropped in about lesson plans for infants. Pictures get uploaded maybe once a week maybe. My daughter was in the infant class room from Aug 2022 to June 2023 (FAR TOO LONG). She came home with diaper rash day after day, sickness, day after day, bite marks with no explanation, at least twice, I think three times. In uploaded pictures on the portal, my infant daughter was eating food that I did not send in for her. She was eating the kids food sitting next to her. Did anyone pay attention? Obviously not, they were too busy taking pictures. Since she was so young and still developing, we thought her reaction of crying every day at drop off was just her personality and not wanting to leave. Pick ups were always a night mare as well. Our daughter was always such an emotional mess. It wasn't until switching to a new care center that we saw that NONE of the above was normal. Pick ups and drop offs became a breeze, no diaper rashes EVER, no bites from classmates, ample parking, pick up and drop off your kid whenever YOU want - not when Ms. Afreyea wants. The director, Afreyea, sells you on a dream and the minute you pay and drop your kid off, poof- bait and switch. The cold, impersonal personalities come out. Her office door is always closed or slightly closed. If you want to talk to her, you have to email her because she is "always busy, mom" Roughly 10 months in advance, I asked if it would be possible to delay my daughter moving on to the next class by a month because our new baby would be born within a month of this move and I didn't want to have too many big life changes all at the time same time for her. The answer from Afreyea, " I can't guarantee this mom. We need to keep kids moving because we have a waiting list and there are already new kids slotted to take her place." For real, 10 months in advance for a currently enrolled student and you can't even say, hmmm I will see what I can do, do you mind if I follow up with you? This is not a warm, loving, developmentally enriching, environment for children of any age. You don't know what you don't know until you try something new. For any one reading who has made it this far, don't do it - pick another day care/ school - any school. You can get WAY better care and teaching from other centers that do not cost as much as Vinci. read more

Terrible treatment if children and teachers. Would not recommend as we had a terrible experience and our child did not learn how to read.

Stay away. Explore other options. Dr. Dan closed the N. Fairfax location providing parents with 3 days notice during Covid. Then, she demanded payment for a 1/2 month tuition even though she already laid off all her support staff off. http://www.dss.virginia.gov/facility/search/cc.cgi...h_keywords_name=Vinci%20School The N. Fairfax location does not have a dedicated playground, but parents receive no reduction in fees due to the liability cost savings. read more

What a horrific institution this place has proven to be. During our initial visit my husband, daughter and I walked right into the front door of the daycare. No one was in sight. There was no one running the front office for 15 minutes as we waited. This is an immediate safety concern. Babies were sleeping in several rooms near the front office! Additionally I heard babies crying and screaming at the top of their lungs for 15-minute durations before anyone tended to their needs. How does this place stay open? If you care about your child, do not take them here. These people do not care about children. read more

The indoor facilities at this school are beautiful, and they have access to a very nice playground. But don't make the mistake I did by letting appearances trick you into sending your child to this school. There is something very wrong there. The staff turn over is constant. There have been four directors in a year, and the teacher turnover is similarly off the charts. The teachers are overworked, inexperienced, and undertrained, and bark orders at the kids or let a touchscreen or laptop babysit. They are not teaching much of anything, and they do not address bad behavior. Parental concerns are not addressed when raised to management (though they initially pretend to do something), probably because of the constant turnover and too much work. I am desperately trying to find a spot somewhere else to get out of this situation. read more

While impressive with arguably great cost-benefit. I was disappointed. We attempted to enroll our child at the location closest to our home, but was told that there were not slots available. We opted for the center a bit further from our home and consequently more inconvenient. Our son was scheduled for an evaluation process. As our family is bilingual and our child's primary language is not English, we expected a bit of difficulty in interaction and adjustment. The initial engagement and interactions with the staff was pleasant and we were convinced that our child would be nurtured an educated simultaneously (even with the potential language barriers during the adjustment stage). The centers are impeccably clean, pedagogy is top-notch, staff was adult friendly. What is missing is the sense that the teachers are sincerely passionate about caring for and teaching our pre-school aged tikes. Our child was treated in a very robotic manner, I would even say cold as if he was entering bootcamp. The extreme structure and lack of flexibility may be too much for most 2-5 year-olds who are learning to assert their own independence and urge to explore and learn through play and experimentation. Surely, more structure may be suited for older children, but a pre-school approach must be a bit more flexible, nurturing, and personable especially considering the fact that our family dynamic promotes exploration of limits and more flexibility in a nurturing atmosphere. If I am entrusting my child to a school, at the tender age of 2, I expect to feel, and be certain that she/he would be be nurtured while being educated. Needless to say, we walked away quickly from Vinci. read more

Stay away. There is a high turnover rate for teachers and high dissatisfaction rate among them as well. You can easily sense it when you meet any teacher there. The owner, Dr. Dan, presents the school as a reputable, structured environment, however that is far from the fact. They do not follow through with the curriculum they set forth. Dr. Dan is very unorganized and lacks empathy. They have competitive rates for daycare, but it's not worth saving the extra dollar when your child is in an unsafe environment. read more

The principal did not respond to my emails and kept ignoring my phone calls. When I asked her why she kept ignoring me at the open school, she didn't even apologize as if nothing happened. There seemed to be an implicit selection process. She didn't like me. You need to be liked her if you want to enroll. I ended up not even put my child in the waiting list because she ignored me. The principal is ridiculous. Absolutely not recommending. read more

Please allow me to provide context before I cut and paste email exchange between the Director of Vinci and her Associate "Wendy." My 2 year old started on 9/1/21, first day of daycare, I dropped him off at 8:15am,. it was a rough drop off as my son had never been exposed to a daycare setting/environment prior to 9/1/21. He has been home since birth with a nanny. Shortly after drop off I received a call from "Wendy" she stated that my son was having a difficult time going down for naptime. My response; "Okay...... as I stated before he had never been exposed to a daycare environment and therefore needs a bit of coaching and reassurance about what is suppose to happen. Wendy's response "Okay." Call ended. Around 1:00pm I received my 2nd call of the day, this time from the Director Dr. Dan/Yang (unsure as she is referred to as both). Dr. Dan/Yang stated and I quote "Your child isn't conforming to what we need and that is for him to go to sleep when we need him to., this school is based on STRUCTURE and he is not falling in line with our STRUCTURE. You should find a daycare that will cater to your son's needs because we are not taking a teacher offline to deal with your son." My response: "So every time he doesn't sleep/go down at the right time you are going to call me at work to pick him up?" Dr. Yang/Dan response: "I don't like your attitude." The following are screen shots of what the remainder of the day entailed, mind you my Son spent 4hrs in her care and this is how she treated me: M. Spencer  To:Dr Dan D. Yang Wed, Sep 1 at 7:05 PM Dr. Dan, I can't express how dissatisfied I am with your decision to curtail Jaxson's first day due to his inability to nap while the other children who've attended Vinci are used to structure of the classroom. You displayed a lack of sensitivity to his needs, expressed your negative concern regarding his emotions to being in an environment for the first time EVER in his life.  I am offended by your comment regarding my attitude towards your LACK of support to care for him and assist with the transition from home to a structured daycare environment. I NEVER envisioned his first day in daycare would go so horribly wrong.  This email serves as a reason to terminate care at your facility after attending one day for a few hours of care. I will pick up his belongings tomorrow 9/2/21. Thank you for your time. Response: Dr Dan D Yang vincischoolprincipal@gmail.com To:M. Spencer Cc:Wendy Brisley Wed, Sep 1 at 8:16 PM I'm glad you came to this decision as your expectation does not seem to align with us, or with large majority of parents. When Dr Wendy called you you did not show your empathy toward your own child who struggles on his first day and the fact that you are not prepared to tend to him tells me that our school is not the best fit. Thank you for terminating! Show original message M. Spencer  To:Dr Dan D Yang Cc:Wendy Brisley Wed, Sep 1 at 9:04 PM Thank you, I would not have expected anything LESS than professionalism from you.  I will promptly tell the other families I referred to your establishment to terminate enrollment as well.  I am appalled at your response. You were probably already aware of the reported hand-foot-mouth disease prior to the start of the first day and still decided to put my kid and others at risk.  YOUR VIEWS do not align with COMPASSIONATE, SINCERE AND CARING DAYCARE PROVIDERS and for those reasons "I'm out." I just want to retrieve my child's belongings and forget about this nightmare. Bottom Line... STAY AWAY!! RUN... FAST!!!! read more

Vinci School has been amazing for the intellectual development of both of my children. The curriculum is based on research and brain development and all of the activities and themes reinforce the curriculum. The teachers are caring towards the children and are professional, educated teachers who have years of experience. The administration is helpful, available and willing to work with you to ensure your kids have the best experience. The food they serve is really healthy, high quality food that is catered in hot and fresh each day so you don't have to worry about your kids eating CRAP at school. I cannot recommend this place enough! I feel like our kids are light years beyond our friend's kids who attend other schools. The other day my 4 year old came home telling me about Deoxyribonucleic acid and the DNA double helix. read more

Do not send your child here if you're concerned about Covid or if you seek a school that provides clear communication! We planned to send our 2nd grader but withdrew after attending a very disorganized orientation. It is not safe to sit two unmasked children at a small table FACING EACH OTHER for 30 minutes while eating lunch. I do not recommend this school! read more

Scheduled a tour and went there and I was told that I have to reschedule because they don't have time. They should have told me before I went there. I wasted an hour driving and even had pay the parking. Poor communication and professionalism. read more

It is not a school to be honest. That's money making business for Dan. she doesn't know how to talk to parents, staff, or kids. I heard her using curse words with a parent. I mean she principally uses abusive language with the parents of her students. Her staff is always being fired no matter what time of the year it is. She fired a teacher who got COVID and was always checking on when she will be back to school and realized that teacher is fully vaccinated and she will have to pay her for the days she was home. She fired her and replaced her with an untrained and nonqualified staff in Kindergarten and first grade. The food she provides the kids is disgusting and very less. If they get the pizza they are not allowed to get another slice. For milk, the teachers have to go to other classes leaving their kids behind. Trust me there's a lot that I'll keep writing. That's the reason she never has as many kids as she's qualified to have in her beautiful buildings. Everyone is being cheated and treated badly here. Don't get your kids admitted here they are not loved. Don't work as you'll never get what you'll be promised to get. Just run and stay away from horrible VINCI read more

My daughter started at Vinci when she was 18 months old. She attended another nearby daycare prior to starting. The transition to Vinci was very smooth and easy on my daughter. They took the extra time to help her adjust. The teachers in the Jr Toddler classroom are amazing and my daughter loves going to school. I can't praise the teachers enough. I highly recommend this school. read more

We had our son here for about a year from the age of 2 to a little over 3. He was part of the first wave of kids to enroll since they were just opening up the facility. We recently decided to take him out of the school and look for an alternative option. I have somewhat mixed feelings about the place since it's not all negative and some of the reason for us taking him out of the school is not the school's fault. On a positive note, their pricing is good, the facility is well taken care of and some of the staff is very friendly. That said, I can't recommend Vinci based on our experience. I feel they apply too much structure to kids my son's age and they have little flexibility when the child wants to assert some independence. This may be fine for the older kids but didn't work well for our son. The staff, especially the owner, often seemed disorganized and the communication with us was very inconsistent. For example, they moved our son to a new classroom and new teacher without giving us any heads up about the change. As I said earlier, some of the reason for taking our son out of Vinci was not their fault. He was having some legitimate behavioral issues. However, their handling of it was not very good and some of his behavior was likely a result of the environment. We had one call, in particular, to discuss my son with his teacher and the Owner of Vinci which was extremely unprofessional and upsetting. read more