Our experience at Charlottesville Waldorf School has been an absolutely wonderful introduction to…read morelearning for our child. The teachers create such a peaceful, loving environment where children feel safe, seen, and truly cared for. We've been especially impressed by how thoughtfully the teachers nurture imagination and creativity through play and storytelling. The seasonal celebrations and daily rhythm bring a sense of magic and consistency that our child looks forward to. The extensive time spent outdoors each day is a huge bonus. We heartily recommend the early childhood program to Central Virginia families.

The Waldorf School has been an incredible experience for our family. What stands out most is the…read moregenuine care for each child--not just in terms of schedule and directed learning, but as a whole person. There is a strong emphasis on human connection, creativity, and meaningful interaction, which feels increasingly rare in today's fast-paced, technology-driven world. I deeply appreciate how the school encourages children to step away from "machine life" and instead develop a true sense of self. Rather than focusing solely on productivity or outcomes, the approach nurtures curiosity, imagination, and emotional growth. While inspired by Waldorf principles, the school does not promote any specific ideology of Steiner, but instead captures the essence of holistic childhood development in a thoughtful and inclusive way. Equally wonderful is the sense of community and support among teachers, students, and families. It's a warm, thoughtful environment where children are truly seen and valued. We couldn't be happier.

Our family initially had a positive experience at Bright Beginnings, which makes writing this…read morereview incredibly painful. Our 5 year old reported that a teacher punched her. Another child independently reported the same thing with a matching account. We immediately brought our concerns to the school, and we were assured that the teacher would not be allowed back while the police investigation was ongoing. Then one day before the investigation had officially concluded, we arrived to pick up our children early and found that teacher back in the building. We were horrified. My husband asked the owner, "If this were your child and you walked in and saw this teacher here, how would you feel?" Her response was, "If I believed my child, I would be furious." That statement has stayed with us ever since. No school can guarantee that every employee will always make good choices. We understand that. The allegation itself, while devastating, is not the primary reason we can no longer recommend this school. It is how the situation was handled. Parents need honesty, transparency, and leadership that puts children's safety first. Instead, we experienced broken assurances and a response that left us feeling our daughter's account was not being taken seriously. The hardest part is that our daughters loved this school. We wanted to continue believing it was a safe, caring place and truthfully could have still sent them back if the school handled the situation appropriately. Instead, we had to pull them out and were left feeling betrayed, unheard, and heartbroken. Unfortunately, our experience revealed a side of Bright Beginnings that we cannot recommend.

This is such an amazing environment to be in here at Crozet Bright Beginnings! the staff is always…read moreso helpful and and appreciative to any and all accommodations for my son! He loves going there!

Dawn is impossible to work with. We don't know what the deal is, but she has been totally…read moreunprofessional. We didn't want to work with her anymore since she was closed during business days and then 5 days later when she finally contacted us decided to scold us and gaslight both of us. Which is wrong. She is now refusing to transfer my wife's file to another location, blocked us both, and told us never to contact her again. I am personally going to call my attorney about breach of contract at this point. We can get an injunction on the behavior too. This behavior is awful. Truly hope she gets herself together. But until you hear or see some different reviews it's my recommendation from my personal dealings with Dawn that you look somewhere else if you want to get your license in a timely manner without the mental gymnastics.

Dawn has been amazing to work with. She is very responsive and goes above and beyond for her…read morestudents and families. I've never had an issue getting in touch with her or her staff who have always been more than professional. I am happy to have found her and am looking forward to continuing to work with her, in the future, regarding my daughter. Augusta Defensive Driving School does not disappoint.

This center will intentionally give your child the one food they are allergic too, knowingly, and…read moreknew of the allergy since enrollment and then Sara Parkins will tell you "well at least they did not die this time" If you want to keep your child safe do not send them here.

Our second child to go through Foundations is about to head to kindergarten, but before we leave…read morethis wonderful school wanted to share with others looking for daycare what a great experience we've had over the past 6-plus years. Beyond the obvious (they do a great job taking care of the kids all day) our kids had such caring teachers and came away from Foundations "loving school." Their learning, development and social skills were definitely enhanced by the experience. They also formed some really great friendships with classmates. We're very sad to be moving on but extremely grateful for an excellent experience.

Both of my kids started at Bright Beginnings when they turned 2, and we've had a wonderful…read moreexperience. The teachers are caring, patient, and truly invested in the kids. The facility is clean and well organized, and the playground is a big hit with both of my children. Most importantly, my kids are genuinely happy here. They have fun every day and have learned so many new things. It's been great to see them grow socially and academically in such a positive environment. We're very grateful to have found this preschool and would highly recommend it to other families.

Both my kids go here. The older one graduated last year and loves to visit when we pick up his…read morebrother. Two years ago we moved from another pre-school that we had bad a experience. Here we immediately noticed the difference. Communication is great. I felt my older got a lot from it and was well prepared to transition to Kindergarten.

Our child began at Oakland in the summer program---we were looking for a camp-like environment…read morewhich could combine fun summer activities like swimming and riding with academic reinforcement for our child who struggles with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and working memory issues. After a very successful summer session, we decided to enroll for the winter boarding program and have been thrilled with the progress we have seen. Oakland is small, nurturing, and really "gets" kids with ADHD and learning differences. The calming rural setting and extremely small and personalized classes have resulted in our child loving school and making great progress both academically and with executive functioning skills. Oakland focuses on making sure that children obtain strong foundations in reading, writing and math---albeit at each child's unique pace. Perhaps more importantly, Oakland teaches children how to self-advocate and learn to manage their particular learning challenges---setting them up for future success in high school is one of the school's goals. Oakland's summer program is open to students from other schools who need academic reinforcement during the summer, and the regular program also operates on a rolling admissions basis for families seeking an alternative to their current educational situation. Tuition-wise, even Oakland's boarding program is comparable to the tuition of SN day schools in the DC area.

I am a former Student at Oakland School. Neither my parents nor I were impressed…read more My Review and thoughts on this school: Dump! Social Services should shut this place down for numerous, obvious reasons upon a closer look at this place or residing or working at this place. I am surprised they haven't yet just well done that. This place couldn't have possibly passed inspections when I was there and was deplorable. I have heard through credible sources there has been no improvement over the years! I attended this school for two consecutive years and it was an absolute joke for a boarding school especially considering the annual price. Student living/residential conditions are extremely poor. Additionally no air conditioning in the hot sweltering southern summers with some students residing in a trailer plus not well vetted dorm counselors or faculty. I have attended considerably better schools following this terrible experience at this lousy place and graduated high school valedictorian with no credit to my experience at this school. I then graduated with a double bachelor of science degree in Communicative Disorders, BS, and Psychology, BS, and I am now a master's degree student at a prestigious university ranked right under Vanderbilt in speech-language pathology. The educational "school" aspect of this place is not any better or any improvement in my opinion from what you can find for your child with a learning disability in a public school special education program, or private tutor. Definitely seek out a better quality boarding school and do your research and take a closer look. I can tell you right now there is no question in my mind and in the minds of numerous people I met and know from here, who have had the misfortune of passing through this place as either students, or employees, this place is an overrated, low quality school. Investigate carefully before sending your children here, is my recommendation. For God's sake, you can find "Wordly- Wise" books on amazon.com and you have been able to for the past 20 years! Please Note: In private chat rooms online there are similar sentiments to mine outlined above and similar rating's to mine voiced. I just thought it was long overdue for someone to be a little more forthright with voicing-writing about or verbalizing what actually goes on at this place. Things simply do not add up..."Where does all of the money go?" was a common question and sentiment of numerous staff members when I attended Oakland School and the staff morale was very low with a considerably high staff turnover particularly in the dormitories, where stability is needed the most. The staff members commonly voiced concerns about how the dormitory staff and teacher's pay at Oakland was low, the living conditions were poor to deplorable for the students who boarded and resided on campus, the cafeteria food was terrible, again, no air conditioning in the dormitories and majority of the classrooms, where does the $30k+annually for each student who boards there go actually? I believe one very positive, good and highly constructive idea would be for the parents of the students who attend Oakland currently and may share my concerns, together and request/demand an annual accounting as to where this money goes. Those are my thoughts on this anyway.

Had a wonderful time and found the teacher to be very knowledgeable about everything ,teacher made…read moreit fun and enjoyable a definitely must do if you are in area or want to take a great art class !!!!

This is an excellent school serving age 2 through 5th grade. They offer Spanish and French…read moreimmersion tracks (no prior language experience needed), but so much more. The kids spend so much time outside regardless of weather - at multiple recesses, in gardening class, visiting the chickens - and have a blissful screen-free, creative, imaginative learning experience. The teaching staff is excellent and the school community is warm and welcoming.