The middle school failed my child this school year. There's a notorious group of students that…read moresystematically bully new kids or someone outside their circle and the worst part, these students are favored among teachers. Multiple complains to the principal resulted in NOTHING! Only a check mark talk with the offenders and the vicious cycle goes on. It's a disgrace that teachers only promote their favorites to win competitions like Science fair. The middle school drastically lacked any fun or engaging events, fundraisers or activities that encouraged team work and inclusion of parents. There was only one field trip throughout the year and no promised end of year concert that even public schools have. The end of year award ceremony was unfairly selective. Throughout the year we got Zero photos from any teacher showing a school day, so it feels like this year just fell out equation with no memories to look back to. There's no graduation ceremony for 5th graders either, which they truly deserve. Since the new owner took over, the school environment (especially in upped grades) is rapidly deteriorating. And it's not surprising, the owner lives outside the country and rarely shows up. My gut feeling was right when I checked the school website before we enrolled and it was generic. And that's how this year felt, generic! A generic website with no teacher names, stock photos of students, there's nothing there that shows actual student life or curriculum or shows any photos of the teachers. This place is about squeezing every dollar they can from paying parents, while failing on delivering the fair support and equal opportunities every student deserves.

This year has been a joke for my daughter. She said she's had the worst year since she started…read moreschool. She complained about daily bullying, degrading or disrespectful comments from some kids in upper grades, because apparently, teachers combined 5th, 6th and 7th grades in the same classroom. School administration is not properly addressing the bullying issue either and I heard the new owner is missing in action, never present and it shows. We as parents were never invited to any classroom event, where we could engage with students, teachers and other parents. There's also no student counselor on site, which upper grades really need. This school needs to step up with its upper grades policies, so every student feels appreciated and having the support the need.

Well, I attended this school when it first opened in 1990, and I'd say the teachers did right by…read moreme. Pay my taxes, went to a pretty cool university, now work as an engineer. I remember I always kicked butt on Field Day every year. Recess, oh how I miss the good times.

theres a lot of bullying and no hoodies and kids get in tr for no reason and the music teacher…read moregives people refirls for no reason

not sure what the reviewer above is talking about but this place is amazing all the parents i talk…read moreto love it and my daughter goes there and we love it

Very disappointed in this place. They make a good first impression, but the teachers don't seem to…read morehave any awareness or training in recognizing and addressing early bullying behaviors in children. After 3 weeks of my son being harassed daily on the playground, leading to multiple meltdowns and severe anxiety, I called the teacher only to be met with hostility and gaslighting. After doing a little more research and calling around, I have found my experience is not in any way unique as I have heard of at least two other families that had to pull their children out for similar reasons, saying, "I don't know what it is with St Matthew's, but they just let the kids go at each other at recess. They'll be hitting each other with sticks and everything."

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.

Love this school! Have had 3 children in this school over the past six years. Excellent…read moreadministrative staff, teachers, and PTO. The lunch staff and custodial staff are friendly and remember the kids names. The principal is in his second year at Penn. He has made a lot of changes to the look and feel of the school. The kids and parents are always welcome to talk to him at events. Great teachers at all grade levels from pre-K to 5th. I can't say enough about the staff at this school. There is a lot of parental involvement. There are a lot of events throughout the year for the students from field trips, movie night, ice cream social, science fair, reading fair, spelling bee, gym nights, spirit night at local restaurants, and more. There is a great deal of emphasis on the whole child...education, community, health and fun! I still have 3 years left and plan to keep my last two at Penn. I am a PTO member and a huge school volunteer. Penn is a great place to learn and grow.

The Cowell's would like to shout out Precious Lambs and Cornerstone teachers/staff for taking such…read moregood care in educating our children. True received her kindergarten test results back and she is scoring above the norming group in Reading and Math by not just a little bit but by landslides! She is where she should be at the end of the year beginning 1st grade in all reading and math categories. This is a true testament to the work that you all do AND continue to do even in before and after care! We so appreciate you!  Having said that, Mrs. Nona we still need to improve in listening, following directions, and socializing. Hey, she is a work in progress lol but even in those categories there is progress so we thank you tremendously for treating our baby as your own and setting this foundation in an academic setting. You all absolutely ROCK!  Regards, Dr. Diran & Rev. Dr. Monique Cowell

This was a great school, with great teachers. Unfortunately, COVID interrupted the flow. But at…read moresome point I have to say, fortunately interrupted the flow. There were several instances where it seemed the director at the time deliberately added to what I owed to the invoice because when I asked her about it, there would be no response. I have no problem paying, but you have to explain why $300.00 was added to the invoice. It wouldn't bother me, but that's like someone trying to get you out of character when you're just trying to support your child. There's very little leeway, and that's inappropriate. The Philadelphia Insurance contract I signed a few months after my child started was a bit strange. I looked up the company, and they literally had pedophilia insurance. I signed with caution. I'm not sure if I'm the only one who ever signed this or ever looked the company up because that is a major, blaring alarm. His teacher was excellent, but she hinted at a few things that were strange. Like, "They take money out of my check for the baby next door." She also talked about vomiting next to the director's desk. A few other things. She obviously put her all into teaching, so I thought it was end-of-day stress, and the director tried to get quite a few people out of character when they're not there for that. I don't know! I don't know y'all. My child did well, but it was quite bizarre and frustrating. I got way out of character, called "unprofessional" when I called the school. I tried to keep it about the bill, TRYING to forget everything else. I even went to the school, asked about the bill. She said she would send a link, and never sent it. I had a relative call and ask about the bill, she discussed it with him, said she would send a link after their 30 minute conversation, and did not send it. I found it a little disrespectful. I managed to get it rectified after ownership was transferred. At this point I'm not sure if the agreed upon amount had a horrible catch, or if it was from a sincere place.

Applied for job here. Was denied job because of my sexuality. Very judge mental. I had all the…read morerequirements for the job but was turned down because of me being gay!!! Phone was hung up on me very aggressive after stating my sexuality also. Definitely won't send anyone this way. Agape "CHRISTIAN" Academy owner is very judge mental in telling me they don't accept that(me being gay)at there facility. Side note: I am also a Christian and was raised in a Christian church and to this day I attend church faithfully. I don't recommend Agape Academics values and outlook on worldly things.

BEWARE DON'T BRING YOUR CHILD HERE!!! First of all this is…read morenot a Christian Academy it was more like the Hell Academy! My son started on 11/28/22 and I removed him on 2/17/23. He was only there a lil over two months. During that time I witness 4 teachers quit during the two months my son was there. The owner of the place Ms. Cynthia lives in NC. She's cheap and would hire anybody. The facility itself is old and not sanitary at all!!! They have roaches and mice running rampant. (See picture)The picture attached is from mice poop left on a child sleeping mat. There has been multiple complaints about this place and I don't understand why is it still open. The Director Ms. Gene had the nastiness attitude. Shes old and had a number of health issues and shouldn't be working there. She would scream and yell at the kids all day long. My son would come there every day in a good mood and when I came to pick him up he would be crying. Ms Gene would have him isolated in the back room by himself until I would come pick him up and he would be crying the entire time. The last day my son was there she decided to video tape my son crying without my permission! I am currently in the process of filing a complaint. Worse preschool ever!!!

My son went to Bel Air from kindergarten to end of 3rd grade before we moved to another county. We…read morewere really sad he had to leave. I cant say enough good things about the administration and staff at Bel Air. They are always open to listen to the parents. They do award ceremonies to reward the students for good work. They make school fun yet they enforce the rules. They have quality teachers and the secretary Ms Evelyn is so friendly. My son excelled at Bel Air. Great school!