I had a bad experience with this school. My childs teacher was great but the lady who manages the…read moreschool is horrible. I believe her last name is Usher. She has no respect or education for parents. Last time, she kept questioning a parent and I saw him yelled at him. My child has been bullied and nothing has been done. It is still the same thing. I am glad my child is not coming to this school anymore after it ends in June 2024. I will transfer or move my child to another elementary school. I hope FCPS can do something because its unfair for parents and kids.

My son has attended Kindergarten at this school and I have had no problems. His teacher, Ms…read more Angowski is everything I could have wanted for my child's first year in public school. I am consistently updated about my son's progress in school and reassured about any concerns or issues. The student body is eclectic and classroom size is fair (he has 16 classmates but two teachers). I attended this school myself from grades 2 through 5 and had a great experience. Highly Recommended.

We have three children attending WME. The teaching staff is great, with a few exceptions. Two of…read moreour teachers were wonderful, winning over the hearts of our children. The third was pretty mediocre. Nice enough guy, just lousy at his job. The kids do not have textbooks. Instead, they paste photocopies into notebooks. They never have homework, which allows the students without parental support at home to compete on an even playing field. Of course, most educated parents make up home study exercises to supplement the substandard education they receive at WME. If you're a crack head, however, you can neglect your child's education and they should continue to progress at a snail's pace with the rest of the class. The school building is too small. Most classes are housed in trailers. Though the school is nestled among the neighborhoods of $700k+ homes, most of the children are bussed in from high-density low-income housing along the route 1 corridor. Very few parents speak English. The middle class families living in the homes surrounding the school do not send their kids to public school. They have been effectively forced out by an educational system which prioritizes teaching immigrant children to speak English over providing an adequate education to the American establishment. If kids are Asian or Caucasian, they're not just the minority--they're the anomaly. Many optimistic parents love the Spanish immersion program which gives the school a progressive excuse to lecture the majority of the students in their native language. Personally, I didn't buy a home in Tijuana; I bought a home in Alexandria, and expect more. Our kids learned virtually nothing last year, even with the teachers who cared.

So far so good from what I've seen. Kindergarden...read more

Our family has been very happy with Blue Bird. Our oldest is always happy to arrive at school and…read moreat pick up. The teachers are truly passionate, and the kids' care has been beyond our expectations. Our daughter continues to expand her Spanish and gets to practice every day through the curriculum and teachers! Every day we receive a report card and little notes from the teachers, along with daily worksheets. We've been amazed at how her writing skills have come along and excited for her to start learning math. We highly recommend checking out Blue Bird for your kids! The teachers and admin team are wonderful, and the care and nurturing the children receive is top level.

I am amazed that this school is still in business. Last year the entire pre-school class quit…read morewithin a month of each other after repeatedly flighting with management about their continued violations of health, safety and child abuse violations. They refused to fix the only working toilet in one building for several months! They refused to call the gas company during a gas leak! They violated regulations on discipline putting kids in isolation and time out for 5 times longer than the legal limit! They planned a pre-K graduation ceremony for the kids, spent a month getting the kids excited, then banned the parents from attending, and told the kids that their parents were all too busy to be there. The owner then said - in writing - that she was doing this to punish the parents for daring to call the County for health and safety violations. This place is not safe. Avoid at all costs.

It's an incredible school and definitely the best one I've ever gone too I'm lucky to be here.read more

Our son is a rising senior at HGS and we couldn't be happier with the education he has received…read morethere. The teachers are truly exceptional and the Head of School does a fantastic job of leading the school in accomplishing its mission. Erick has always been a joy to work with and I've never met an educator so dedicated to supporting our son's success. (Our son just took a week-long "Maymester" course on game theory with him and LOVED it). If you're looking for a school where your child's talents will be nurtured, values will be shaped, independence will be fostered, and community-engaged citizenship will be encouraged, look no further - HGS is the best school around. At HGS, your child will get honest feedback on their work and will gain the confidence needed to be successful both in and out of the classroom beyond high school. (If you have an artistic child, don't be put off by the lack of art classes. Through internships, "Maymester" classes, and electives, our son has been able to develop a solid portfolio to use in applying for film schools next year). If you're considering HGS but aren't sure if it's the right fit for your child, tour the school and see what you think. Erick and Lizzy (Admissions) can connect you with parents who can talk to you about their experiences. Tell them you'd like to talk to the mom of the rising senior who's planning to go to film school - they'll know who you're talking about and will give you my contact info. Happy to talk with you about how fantastic HGS is! :) Kim

We have had a wonderful experience sending both our daughter and son to Annandale Cooperative…read morePreschool (ACPS). Our daughter was in the Spiders' class, and our son has been in both the Fireflies' class. The teachers and staff here are truly exceptional. They are incredibly dedicated, knowledgeable, and nurturing. As a cooperative preschool, it provides a unique opportunity to be truly involved in our children's early education and build a tight-knit community with other families. The play-based, child-centered curriculum has been perfect for their development, and it is easy to see why they are highly recognized in the area. We highly recommend ACPS to any family looking for a warm, engaging preschool environment!

Our family has a wonderful experience at ACPS. It truly feels like a community, where families,…read moreteachers, and children all support one another. My son absolutely loves going to school each day and has grown so much. One of our favorite aspects is the amount of outdoor time the children get, allowing them to explore, play, and learn in nature. We are so grateful for this school!

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.

We did Accotink for kindergarten to take advantage of the half day program before sending our son…read moreto public school. We absolutely loved it! The administration, teachers, and academics are excellent. We felt that our son was challenged academically but also very engaged with all the fun activities and events. Highly recommend!

We enrolled our daughter here for 1 year before moving. We lived right next to the school and found…read moreit to be an excellent preschool. I would highly recommend!

The voting station at Cherry Run Elementary is well organized with friendly staff. The gym is used…read moreas the voting main stage. Voter ID check-in is easily seen upon walking in. The voting tables are separated with plenty of space to fill out the voting paper. Best of all, I received the immaculate "I VOTED" sticker when submitting my vote into the machine! The only minor negative are the political parties last ditch effort to provide "sample vote" brochures displaying their candidates marked. I could see how a voter, who's new to voting or not familiar with English, would become easily confused and accidentally vote the incorrect candidate. There is a decent amount of parking. For overflow purposes street parking is available.

Bad Im a kid that goes to this school and i think its a terible idea to do construction during…read moreschool hours there are sometimes days that there are such bad smelling days that we cant go outside to switch classes but we have to because we get taught in trailers otherwise its a okay school