My family toured many of the private schools in the area before landing on Nysmith for our child…read more The whole family, including our child, couldn't be happier with our choice. I am a Nysmith alum and know firsthand the value of the education they provide. It's been amazing to see how they've preserved and built upon the core experience and vision that founder Carol Nysmith built. To be clear, I have no incentive to post this review other than to help other families in the area consider Nysmith as a choice for their children. Before we chose Nysmith, e considered and toured a number of schools, including Basis Independent, Flint Hill, Ideaventions, Pinecrest, and Edlin. Most of these are among the top ranked schools in Northern Virginia. We felt that Nysmith had the best blend of factors for our child. - Academics: Nysmith has incredible academics, highly personalized to meet each individual child's needs. Nysmith's roots are in nurturing gifted/talented children, and with that approach comes the understanding that not every child is equally advanced in every subject. Some other schools will assign lots of homework to kids, which isn't really our vision for academic success. We like Nysmith's approach, which is to cultivate and nurture a love of learning rather than to put kids on a treadmill of endless homework. We also like that Nysmith integrates subject matter expertise into their curriculum from kindergarten onward: math experts teach math, science teachers teach science, rather than one teacher teaching all or most subjects - Size: Nysmith is bigger and more established than some of the younger "startup" schools. The classes are big enough that your child will have multiple sections of students to be friends with, they won't be siloed with only 5 or 10 classmates. Teacher ratios are still great - Teachers and Staff: Nysmith's teachers are qualified and smart, which you'll get at most private schools. But there's a key difference: they seem happier and more engaged than at any other school in the area. Retention is incredible: some of the Nysmith teachers have been there for over 25 years - since I was a student in the 90s! - Facilities and resources: Nysmith has a great facility that still has the DNA of a school rather than a country club. The facility is big, the playground is great, everything feels new, bright, and spacious - Community - We're still early in our experience with Nysmith but the PTO seems very engaged with many events scheduled. By reputation, Nysmith has one of the strongest communities of any school in the area

They tout coding and robotics, but their approach is likely to produce robots that code, not…read morecritical thinkers who can innovate. Beneath Ken Nysmith's slick salesmanship and the forced smiles that greet you, lies a far more sinister reality that belies the promise of "joy-filled, personalized learning". If you're seeking a school that truly nurtures your child's heart and mind, look elsewhere! Wellbeing and emotional support are woefully neglected at Nysmith. This place sees no problem in breaking spirits, crushing individuality and forcing students into a rigid mold that stifles their unique potential and confines them to narrow expectations. Question the status quo, and you'll be met with contempt. Conformity is the sole currency valued here! Think The Bible, Torah, or Quran -- immutable and infallible. . . I have met a few great teachers but admin pressure seems to leave them little bandwidth to connect, coach, or inspire students (despite the low student-to-teacher ratios). Humans are wired to thrive in safe, supportive spaces where even mistakes become stepping stones to learning. Nysmith is NOT that space. You've been warned!

Builds no character and spends their money on facilities rather than on their departments and…read moreteaching in general.

Best school ever! The teachers are extremely nice, I get along well with my friends, and the…read moreacademic level is great-A LOT of kids end up going to TJ, and a most of the school has level IV AA classes. My science teacher is the best one I have ever had and was awarded an award for being the best teacher in Fairfax county! No joke!

First, racism comes from non-Saudis, and the school's bad reputation was the result of the actions…read moreof foreigners in it... Second, the school is primarily intended for Muslims, so it is obvious to teach them how to pray correctly and to teach them not to celebrate the holidays of other religions, and this is what public schools do. I have not seen a public school celebrate or support Muslim holidays.

Unfortunately I had to pay the tuition fee of $970/month for a bad experience with this school. I…read morenoticed there is a discriminations against non-saudi students also the teaching system is not profesional and teach students exterem things. I notice that they teach them that Christmas is bad thing, Easter is bad thing ......which I did not like it at all. I have to say that teachers are very nice and doing thier best but administration and principal are NOT professional at all. Do NOT get fooled about this school. if you want to teach your kids Arabic and Islam there is much better places than here. If you hear about this school just RUN AWAY.............................

If you want to enjoy a diverse learning experience, then this is your school! This school has a…read morewide variety of pregnant Hispanics, horny white girls, and feisty blacks. Many of our students graduate with a high GPA of 2.2 and get enrolled into big colleges, such as NOVA and Radford. Another thing to add about this wonderful school is the exotic foods given to the hard working students. To finish this great review I'd like to add how hard working the teachers are and how they produce plentiful amounts of intelligent students. Thank you for you time.

Literally the best high school I've ever attended. The desks are mad e of the finest maple veneer,…read morethe café serves the freshest local produce, and the teachers are clearly selected only after a scrutinizing hiring process to make sure they truly love their students. This is one of the finest learning institutions around. If you live in the Herndon district I highly recommend you go here.

My son, Elgar, spent only six months at Oak Hill, but during that short time we saw tremendous…read moregrowth and improvement in him. Mrs. Key and Mrs. Birehan were an incredible blessing to our family, providing him with patience, encouragement, and support every step of the way. We are also deeply grateful to Mr. Robert and Abigail for being so welcoming, kind, and supportive from the very beginning. They created an environment where our family felt valued and cared for. If it weren't for the unexpected changes in our family's circumstances, we would have gladly allowed Elgar to continue his educational journey at Oak Hill. We will always be thankful for the love, guidance, and positive impact the Oak Hill team had on our son and our family.

The best decision me and my husband made was to enrol both our kids in Oak Hill Christian School…read more Classrooms are much smaller than public schools, the teachers are loving and caring. The principal meets the parents daily and is ready and available to answer any questions we have anytime. My kids love this school!

South Lakes. What a…read moreplace. I really loved my time here except for that I hated it because high school is the worst place on earth. Anyway, it gets such a bad rep but who gives a shit. It's a great school with great teachers. There are so many different types of people and it's so diverse. I wouldn't have gone anywhere else!

South Lakes High School is a public high school for grades 9-12 located in Reston in Fairfax…read moreCounty, VA. They have a great piece of land which allows for ample parking on both sides of the school. The inside of the school was renovated pretty recently, so classrooms, common areas, gymnasiums, etc. are in great shape and have top of the line technology. It also happens to share some land with Langston Middle School which is convenient for the county. The teachers and staff are wonderful. I've had a chance to work with them frequently through my volunteer role with the Relay For Life of Reston. A really unique thing about this school is that they have a huge JROTC program. It allows for the students to get involved with activities outside of the classroom, get mentored, learn leadership/organization skills, become more motivated and have more discipline, and really prepare them for the real world/college. I can't talk highly enough about the JROTC program and the influence it has in these kids lives, especially when they may not be receiving a lot of support at home. I have gotten to know Sargaent Handy and Major Schuler over the years; they are such wonderful role models and I'm so grateful for their service. Shout out to Linda and Susan in the activities office, they're a huge help to us too!

My 5 star review is based on substituting at Chantilly High School. Staff was friendly and made it…read moreeasy on my first day substituting. I worked in the Academy side of the school which is at the rear of the school.

There are truly two things that keep me going in life. Chantilly High School, and the Ninja Turtles…read more(i dont know about you but raphael really glues my lettuce). When walking down the halls of Chantilly, you can clearly feel a magical energy circulating throughout the minds and halls of the school. Its this magical energy that i'm addicted to. There is no better feeling than that of walking through the threshold of this exquisite building, going from class to class I practically feel like i'm floating! Now, I may be a little biased, but Mr. Bennett (who teaches multiple computer tech classes in the Chantilly academy) is a master when it comes to teaching. You know how when you were little and your mom had to hide vegetables in your food or else you wouldn't eat them, well Mr. Bennett does this with his in class material. I highly recommend that you come to Chantilly! You're going to love the way you learn!!

I transferred here for one semester and I still feel confused about how this place runs…read more First day the bell rang and nobody moved because half the teachers said the clocks were wrong. The principal later announced over the intercom that "time is a suggestion during spirit week." It was October. The cafeteria line takes about 25 minutes even when five people stand in front of you. They run out of forks almost every day so students eat pasta with spoons or broken plastic knives. One time they gave everyone cereal because the pizza oven "needed a mental health day." The fire alarm goes off at least once a week. Not drills. Someone microwaves popcorn too long and the entire building evacuates. Teachers bring grade books outside and keep teaching on the sidewalk while buses try to park around us. Our math class moved rooms four times in two weeks because of a ceiling leak. Instead of fixing it they put a traffic cone under the drip and called it "hazard awareness training." We took a quiz while water hit the floor next to my desk. Hall passes are giant laminated boards the size of a laptop. You have to carry it to the bathroom. Everyone stares at you walking down the hall like you stole school property. Gym class got cancelled because the gym was rented for a staff pickleball tournament during school hours. We wrote essays about teamwork while teachers cheered through the wall. The announcements last ten minutes every morning. Most of it is lost and found items. There are more lost hoodies than students in the building.

As a member of the first graduating class of Westfield HS, it gives me great pleasure to write…read moretheir first Yelp review and let people know that "Yay! I'm a fan!" Sure there were things to complain about but as an adult I have my dream job and still keep in contact with the same group of friends I had back in the day. The small annoyances? Hakuna matata. In the past few years, several national news reports have painted the school to breeding ground for obnoxious, entitled children who had nothing better to do than sell heroin and bully students. These reports don't surprise me but if you look beyond the surface you will see a culturally and financially diverse mix of students with real passion and smarts. A few special shout outs to: Senor Thomas aka Principal Thomas - He was my Spanish teacher in HS and now he's the mother effing principal! He's an ultra friendly dude who has the capacity to relate to a variety of students at every level. Westfield is very lucky to have him. Mr. Margrave - My AP English teacher whose one man production of Kaftka's Metamorphosis is still engraved to my head to this day. Ms. Bucco - She taught me how to write papers with a clear intro, middle and ending. All of the security guards who would park my car for me every morning because I was such a horrible driver Ms. Davies whose enthusiasm for random American president facts has helped me understand inside jokes on Family Guy and the Simpsons for quite some time now Any former member of the Canine Camera Crew...Wake Up Westfield What up! (I actually coined the name way back in the day)

Saint Timothy's is a phenomenal school! We've been a part of this community for 11 years, and as…read moreour twins get ready to graduate 8th grade, we couldn't be more grateful. The teachers and staff are incredibly dedicated, and the faith-based curriculum has allowed our 8th, 6th, and 3rd graders to truly blossom. The academics and community atmosphere just keep getting better. Highly recommend to any family looking for a nurturing, Christ-centered education!

I went to St. Timothy's from 1990 - 1994. While I really enjoyed the religious aspect of the school…read more(their religion classes were top notch) the educational portion of the school was questionable. I begged to be let into public school like my neighborhood friends the last three years of elementary school and even as a kid I was blown away by how much better the local public school was. You would think a private school would have more resources than a public school but this is not the case in Fairfax County where our education system is ballin. Many many many moons later, I had a friend who enrolled her kid in a private religious school and ended up moving him to public school a year later for the exact same reason I stated. The one thing that was awesome / appalling about St. Tim's was their utter disrespect for healthy school lunches in the 90's. They literally would cater our school lunches from McDonalds, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. Oh memories.

Plenty of visitor parking, unless there's a big school event going on…read more The school and grounds are always clean and well maintained. Security is always consistently tight. You need to be buzzed in to enter. The office staff is friendly. Playground is fun to use after school is out. Great hills for sledding on snow days.

A great elementary school located in the Fairfax/Chantilly area. The principle, teachers and staff…read moreare all amazing, hard workers and truly care for each of their students. If you spend a little time within the walls of this school you will easily see how great of a team the teachers and staff are - all striving for excellence!