My daughter attended Fern Gully for 4 years. We love it so much!! She learned so many important…read moresocial skills. The teachers are kind, patient and fun. And best of all it connected us with a community of like minded people and friends for a lifetime. I highly recommend this school!!

Unfortunately, this "school" is not what it advertises to be. If you are considering sending your…read morechild here, I recommend that you reconsider that decision for the safety and well-being of your child. "We provide Waldorf inspired, holistic, outdoor education." " a mission to nurture the whole child in all areas of development, including physical, social, emotional and spiritual, as well as intellectual." "We focus on social- emotional awareness, creativity & resiliency." None of this is actually accurate. The teachers lack the knowledge or skill (or both) to incorporate the ideologies or either Maria Montessori or Rudolf Steiner. They do not focus on social-emotional awareness. The teachers utilize punishment that is not rooted in Montessori or Waldorf. My son, who has neurodivergence, was punished so HARSHLY here that his neuropsychologist asked, unprompted by me, to send a letter to the school teachers to educate them on how to appropriately handle discipline and how to offer support instead, for young children. My son endured extreme trauma here. There are many other farm, forest and outdoor schools in Olympia. I recommend any of them over Fern Gully. I would stay far away from this place. They do not offer a safe environment for your child - they don't supervise the children and they do not keep them safe emotionally.

I never thought I'd find myself writing a warning like this, but after what my daughter went…read morethrough, I feel compelled to speak up. They are not welcoming. We enrolled her in Olympia Waldorf trusting the promises of a nurturing environment, holistic education, community, and balance. What we actually experienced was chaos, lack of accountability, broken promises, and a lot of emotional strain. This school is nothing like what is advertised. Please do your research there are even documentaries that shed light on the reality. Sending my daughter here is one of my biggest regrets as a parent. If you want your child to be ostracized, send them here. Out of respect for my child I choose not to put specific details here. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.

I am so happy with our experience at the Olympia Waldorf School! The teachers and staff are warm,…read morewelcoming, and knowledgable. My daughter loves going to school and my family loves being apart of the incredible community there.

Olympia Community School is a local, small school that provides an outstanding educational…read moreexperience for children K-5. Our amazing teachers create unique and fun lessons and programs that get kids thinking and learning in hands-on and exploratory ways. Small class sizes provide more time for one-on-one and group work. And the school's community hosts a variety of events for families to interact, laugh, and support our children's growth and development. OCS is a wonderful school all around!

We enrolled our daughter at OCS the fall of 2023 and we are so happy we did. This unique school is…read morededicated to enthusiastically educating its students in a small setting with a personal touch. We've been blown away with our daughters accelerated skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and especially in her social and emotional skills and developmemt. OCS meets the child where they are and ensures each students gets attention and support the right way for them at the right time. We've re-enrolled her already and look forward to watching her continue to achieve beyond the norm.

We waited a couple months for a spot to open up for our 2 infants in foster care. The day one of…read morethem was supposed to start I was told they needed additional confirmation. I was standing in the daycare with my baby and her bag packed. I was told the boss notified them the night before that we needed additional confirmation to start. This was never communicated to us till I was in the building trying to drop my baby off... I asked them to give me an update that day. I called twice and left voicemail. I finally get a call back from them saying she is good to start... Communication is VERY poor which is ultimately why we decided for our babies to not go here.. HOWEVER, Jess was professional the entire time. I caution anyone sending their foster kiddos here.

if I could give a 1 star I would right now, I can't stress enough how important it is to watch how…read moreyou treat people. My family and I were getting ready for the tour, the lady named Jess only greeted my husband and my 5 year old son, while I'm standing there. she never made eye contact, never bothered asked if I'm the mom, meanwhile I was the one that recommended my husband to call and schedule a tour. My point is, I want to get to know the staff well so I know who I'm entrusting my kids to. However, it was already a red flag that I was being ignored. Thank you, but I'm taking my kids somewhere else.

My child has been here for a few years. Every morning, I still feel that ache in my heart of guilt…read moredropping my child off at daycare. Even after several years here, my child still cries every morning at drop off...There really are NO better child care options in Tumwater though so I still give this 5 stars. The staff are so wonderful, so this is the best and only option, but I do think parents need to know that it is chaos in the classroom during the day. I think 22 kids to 2 teachers at the age of 3. It's a lot of kids running around, some sock-less, and it's just a lot. I don't know how the teachers do it. Bless their souls. I keep my child here because the teachers are absolutely wonderful and kind!!!

Had an amazing experience with all who were involved in caring for my daughter. They were…read moreabsolutely wonderful with her, she was always having a great time when we went to pick up. always sending update pictures or detailed notes, absolutely loved it. So sad to be moving. I will definitely miss our tigers teachers