I've been wanting to learn Mandarin Chinese, and saw this Academy's website online. I contacted…read morethem for information and they were very proactive and helpful in answering my questions and keeping me informed on their class start dates (both for their Tysons and D.C. locations). I decided to take the introductory crash-course (once a week, for 4 weeks), to see if I would like it. Safe to say, I thoroughly enjoyed attending classes and working on homework! We had Ysabella as our instructor, and she is a great teacher. She answers questions and makes sure to give cultural context and background. The classes are 4 hours long, but they go by quickly! They're well paced, so you're not being bombarded with too much information. While there is homework, it definitely helps while you study and can be used to review what you learned. I really enjoyed classes here, and I plan on enrolling in the higher levels to learn more. I'd highly recommend taking courses here if you're interested in learning Chinese!

Perfect for learning Mandarin. I am 3/4 way through the Crash Course and have not once felt…read moreoverwhelmed or bored in the 4 hour classes. If you take this course you will learn a lot - proper pinyin pronunciation, tones, how to introduce yourself, numbers, dates, basic grammar, characters, directions and more - just can't recall all that I've learned in 3 classes right now. -The lessons give you enough information about the rules so you can absorb before learning about the exceptions. -The homework assignments really help to reinforce the lessons as do the links to websites (free) that help with pronunciation and learning the characters. -Text book is easy to follow along and very helpful for beginners. -The Instructor, Jas, is focused but makes the class fun while you learn. She is also very responsive to email and will tutor online if you have to miss a class. The online price was reasonable and worked very well. I was able to catch up with the next class without any difficulty. -Price was very reasonable for the 16 hours of instruction -Class location is easy to get to and the room and chairs are comfortable. There is also a kitchenette for making tea/coffee, eating your snack during the short breaks. -Street parking in the front of the building (entrance to class is in the back) is free but not plentiful, garage parking available and expensive. There is also parking across Rt. 7 (Marshalls/Home Goods shopping center) by Greensboro Metro station. Use the Metro pedestrian bridge to get across Rt. 7 and the building is right there.

We've been officially attending Best Brains for 6 weeks and noticed a difference in the first two…read moreweeks, hence, why our son Chance is still a member! I love how vocal Silky is with our son and us! She gives Chance a progress report almost every visit so we can work with him on things at home that needs improvement! Chance loves going and he is a very smart kid that loves to learn! If you are looking for a place with great teachers, director and a great system, look NO FURTHER!!!!!!! You will NOT be disappointed in any way & your son and/or daughter will excel!!!!

Great location! Wonderful administrator and teachers who know what they're doing. The curriculum is…read morecommon core aligned (to the schools). Start kids as young as 3. The center is clean and inviting

Our family would give this school ten stars if we could! It is a great place to start out your…read morechild's early education. Compared to other Montessori schools in the area, the price is really affordable. The tuition is fair and there is no gouging with large mark-ups for children that stay the full day because their parents work full time. The teachers are very, very good. Our oldest daughter really excelled under Ms. Afsaneh and Ms. Dilhara. They gave her a solid foundation to early letter sounds and reading. Our younger child was in the toddler room with Ms. Janna. Both loved going to school. The teachers made learning fun, engaging and encouraged their natural curiosity. The school also provides meals, it's part of the tuition cost. All the meals provided are peanut and nut free - which was great for us as our oldest daughter has that allergy. The teachers were also trained and competent with epi-pens and emergency response, if needed. Our youngest daughter is allergic to eggs. The catering company provided me with monthly menus and ingredient lists so I could send alternate meals with her on the days she could not eat the school food. It was very organized and worked well. The school is located in an office complex, which has a lot of green area. They have their own playground and often take nature walks along the tree-lined parks and paths. The school provides Spanish lessons once a week. And, there are optional music and soccer classes. The teachers are very understanding and great about communicating with you on your individual child's development and needs. The school really caters to working parents. Any family-event activities are at the beginning or end of the day. And, their pick and drop off times are flexible. We recently had to move to California for work, and it has really put into perspective for us how great this school was. We've tried two different Montessori schools in San Diego, and in addition to being a fair bit more expensive, the teachers just don't compare. I would highly, highly recommend this pre-school to anyone looking to give their child a fun, positive and safe place to start their early education. Your child will have a solid foundation in basic reading and math while still supporting their natural curiosity an growth. There is a bit of a wait list, so be sure to contact the school in advance. If you are trying for the infant room, call when you know you are pregnant. For the 3+ class, the wait isn't as long, but call to find out. It's worth the wait.

Oak Hill is a very strict Montessori school. The teachers expect absolute silence and for the…read morechildren to perform all of the Montessori activities by the book. Children who do not adapt to these strict expectations are labeled learning disabled and parents are encouraged to get the child evaluated. I was told my 3 year old son had a cognitive learning disability because he did not listen. When I challenged the teacher on her ability to diagnose my child she got very defensive. When I told her my pediatrician said he was normal and he passed a hearing test Tasneem said that pediatricians do not evaluate children the way LD therapist do. When I told her we were not getting him evaluated and they should try giving him stars for good listening or try something esl she told us that we needed to leave the school in two weeks. Another parent told me her son did not do his work was not allowed to go to the playground. Other children have been expelled because they did not ask for assignments. But by far my biggest complaint is that the teachers speak horrible English. Ms. Afsahneh plagerizes her monthly newsletters from other sources. The part of the newsletter she does write is full of grammatical errors. I also note that the newletters are monthly and in arrears. When I asked her to give me updates on my son's naps, lunch, etc. she said that with a class of 18 she could not be expected to do this. They do not even give you a list of the other students names. The assistants are nice but unable to carry on a conversation in English. Ms. Asfsaneh is very unstable when faced with anything hard. When I asked her to help with potty training she got all flustered and upset with me that he was not fully trained and told me he had to be trained at home. Tasneem also told me that my 3 year old made Ms. Afsahneh cry because he would not stay on his nap during nap time. At our only conference and the one where we were asked to leave Ms. Afsaneh could not look us in the eyes. She sat with her arms crossed sething, angry that our 3 year old was "doing nothing". She would not entertain any ideas to help assimilate him to the Montessori classroom. The most frustrating part was when my husband and I separately visited the classroom our son did do the work...although he hung 2 eggs on one branch of a tree when apparently you are only supposed to hang one egg per branch.

There is not a better Arabic language tutoring school in the DC area than Al Bayt Al Arabi. I…read morespent over nine months at Al Bayt al Arabi (five hours a day, Monday through Friday), and used their methods to move from the 1+ to the 3 level on the standard U.S. Government language assessment exam. Another student I overlapped with during this time had a nearly identical experience. I have previously studied Arabic full-time at the Foreign Service Institute and two other private language school in DC, and nowhere other than Al Bayt Al Arabi did I find instructors who worked harder than students (if you have any experience in full-time language training, you know how crazy that statement is). The two primary instructors know how provide real-world Arabic study that is still directly applicable to the quirks of government language assessment tests...no easy feat. The primary instructor at Al Bayt Al Arabi has spent decades as an Arabic instructor for both the U.S. Government and private institutions, and he takes those years of experience to (incredibly) create customized audio and visual study material for the student based on his or her level and specific needs and goals. This material then becomes available for independent study outside of class or for use while commuting to class. I've never even heard of another Arabic instructor in the DC area taking the time to do that. The instructors are flexible with study hours and are willing to utilize any mix of in-person or Skype sessions (so you can continue to have class while travelling). I was initially wary of the commute to class, but the drive for me was worth the quality of instruction (plus the aforementioned audio material created for study during the commute). Learning a language like Arabic is a daunting undertaking that you will likely only do once in your life. If you're willing to make the investment, you might as well do it right with instructors like those at Al Bayt Al Arabi. I began at Al Bayt Al Arabi with some Arabic language experience and experience in the Arab world, so I can't speak for a student starting from zero, but I know that diplomatic, corporate, and media headquarters across the Arab world are stocked with success stories from the two primary instructors at Al Bayt Al Arabi...everywhere I go in the professional Arab world I keep running into people that have studied Arabic under these instructors.

The best, friendliest, most challenging, and all around fantastic teachers are at Bayt AlArabi…read more They will dedicate as much time as you need to help you improve your Arabic skills. If you want to see yourself improve multiple levels on a language test this is the place to go. If you you want to practice speaking and enjoy your time learning around wonderful people this is the place to go. Al Bayt Al Arabi also has an Arabic school in Tunis, so there are many options for study through them as well. They are flexible with your schedule and really care about their students and providing a quality education.

I am literally tickled with my studies of Chinese and my laoshi at CLA. The course is just the…read moreright pace, I look forward to my classes two days a week. Not to get melodramatic but this has been a life changer. Learning Chinese is now my passion, my hobby. I told a friend in China today: Wo ganjue ziji xiang ge haizi dedaole xin wanju. I feel like a kid with a new toy. (and i am really old lol). Chinese rocks. Jiayou!

Mandarin is supposed to be one of the hardest languages for English speakers to learn - and don't…read moreget me wrong - it is not an easy language - but my instructor Jackson makes learning both approachable and fun. I have only been taking Mandarin for 2 months - but I'm having the best time ever. I started off taking the Elementary A (the crash course) with Jackson with private lessons (3 classes per week - 1 hr per class). I have since moved onto Elementary B and am now taking 3 classes a week x 2 hours per class. Let's talk about what makes CLA and Jackson amazing. 1. The focus on proper pronunciation (Jackson blows away other 5 star italki instructors - he spends the proper amount of time making sure I'm doing the proper pronunciation and using the proper tones) 2. Each class has a combination of pronunciation + new vocabulary + reading + speaking. (We are holding off on writing at my request - for now). 3. After class - Jackson sends me a worksheet with vocabulary and sentences to focus on 4. The post class material / homework / take-aways are great. We get YouTube fiches to learn more, we have online flashcards, we have other online learning tools, 5. The real curriculum is great - there is a path to follow that can take you from beginner to advanced. 6. Jackson shares stories about China - just today we were talking about the different Chinese festivals / holidays - and he would share stories about each one from his life. 7. Also - I spoke with Ysabella - she was instrumental in helping me figure out how to customize my training for my long term goals. That and she motivated me to accelerate my training (hence the 2 hour long private classes). Btw - if you get the chance - take longer classes. I would say one - two hour class is more valuable than two - one hours classes. Hard to explain - but it's night and day. 8. China field trips - while I have not participated - it's nice to know that CLA helps advertise Chinese programs and field trips to china. I'll look into this in the future. Working with CLA is absolutely one of the best investments I have made in myself in a long time.

Incredible Chinese school that provides full language immersion, and also cultural learning! Loved…read morethat in addition to learning Mandarin the students also learn Chinese history, art, and culture. Amazingly committed teachers and parents. Highly recommend the program. They only do weekend school, wish it had an after school program too, probably tough to do as a non-profit.

I had my child here for one whole year but unfortunately we had to move why I couldn't have my…read moredaughter there twice. I loved the unique learning method that worked best for her. She has been ahead of fellow classmates. The playground in the spacious backyard is perfect for little kids to run up their energy. Ms. Thea has been a very understanding and attentive to our child. Her space is very warm & inviting to children. Her decorations around the room changes with the learning theme they are on at the time. It's different from most aces that are boring and business office environment. Since I have moved out of the area i have recommended many friends to go to Appletree. Thank you for all your hard work Ms. Thea!!!

We started our 3 year old there a few weeks ago and are super impressed with Ms. Thea and her…read morestaff, and the entire operation there. Our son was previously at (arguably) the best pre-k school in Indianapolis and we were concerned we'd be able to find a similar quality school here in NoVA, or at least one that had a reasonable wait list. We feel like we found a real gem at Appletree Montessori, which currently has a few more openings for kids aged 3-5 years old. You can find out more about the school here: https://www.appletreemontessoriva.com/

Excellent, high value immersion program. You won't find a better dollar value program for your…read moremoney. Prices are going up this year and they still beat everything in northern VA. We only discovered for the second semester after a random internet search and my son was happy to recognize a teacher from his previous language programs. They only down side is 3 hours on Saturday mornings which may interfere with sports. My kids are young so it is not a big deal yet.