I know what your Langs haven't done, but what have your Langs done?…read more It's a very modern and shiny looking new High School where a couple of my friends and one of my family members go, or did go in one case, now at UVA. There are lots of very good schools in the DC area but judging by the friendliness of the region they don't seem to be teaching manners or loving Thy Neighbor. Or decent driving skills! Anyway having been in and out of here many times, I can say it's a school that would have made any of the schools I went to look kind of sh**ty.

To help Future generations of students who are forced to attend public school:…read more Other than the cellphone policy this school is pretty good, but the lunch food isn't great but THE MOTZERELLA STICKS ARE SO GOOD!!! Every school in Fairfax county has to abide by the cell phone policy and I find it problematic because listening to music helps me focus and Spotify is blocked on the computers and Pandora has too many ads. Most kids are nice and the teachers try, not all of them are perfect but they do their jobs. I am looking back at horror stories from when they were renovating this place so I'm glad we're not going through that anymore! One of my teachers let me make the seating chart because she didn't want to. I don't like the metal detectors, according to the school news paper 77% of kids think that they don't improve safety. But not really something I can control they have them at all secondary schools in Fairfax. (Or at least are trying to). One of my friends backpacks keeps going off because it has metal attached to it so they get stopped every morning. There is a crowd for everyone here and it is genuinely one of the best schools I've attended. The staff is wonderful and my councilor is wonderful. They have a lot of programs and even though the classes are stressful because Fairfax... they can be really fun. If you find an unblocked game website you're good to go! A lot of people who were students come back as teachers because they enjoyed it, might see me as a teacher here in a few years, not quite sure what I want to be though. If it were up to me, I would remove the SOLS but I can't do that. All and all this is a pretty nice school--just don't mind the random red goop on the ceiling in the language bathroom that's been there for a year, we don't know what that is, might be an alien not gonna lie. (There's a lot of smoking but it's easy to avoid). --Josie 10th grd

You have to sign and request permission on the computer to go to the bathroom. They pulled me out…read moreof class to ask me to take down my petition regarding the bathroom policy. Also it's overcrowded and the halls regularly come to a standstill multiple times a day. I thought I might miss the place when I graduated, but I loathe this school nearly two years later. I only hope my generation can fix the mess you all made of the school system. Grow as a community and try to think what it's like being a young adult treated this way before your students resent you more than they already do.

What a wonderful school to be a part of! Franconia is located in Alexandria, Va. It is a public…read moreschool that is a part of Fairfax County. This school has one of the best communities I have seen! From the administration, teachers, instructional assistants and parents. Parents, teachers and staff are all very involved! This school is a great place to be a part of!

Such a great school! This schools has K-3 and has great staff and administration!!! Kings Park…read moreElementary School is a public elementary school in Fairfax County.

My almost-four-year-old son currently attends Griffin Academy. We are working parents and needed…read morefull-day care, and we did a pretty exhaustive search in the area for an affordable preschool. I cannot BELIEVE how lucky we are to have found this place. Let me tell you why you should send your kids here. Even before I talk about my son's experience, I need to mention how well this program is run. Kristine Lee, the preschool director, is one of the warmest, kindest, most competent and professional humans with whom I've had the pleasure of interacting. She was so responsive and helpful throughout our enrollment process that we felt like we were already family members from the first contact. This was not our experience with other preschool programs. Many private preschools, like the one our older daughter attended, have strict arbitrary rules, parent work hour requirements, and intimidating admission processes that (for us) made us feel a tiny bit unwelcome. None of this from Westminster. This private school, with its classical focus, has managed to wrap us in its arms and surround us with a community of funny, warm, and down-to-earth people. It feels EASY, not stressful, to attend school here. As private school first-timers, we had to adjust to uniforms, but it's been no sweat. Teachers. We knew that our son liked his teacher, and that she (and all of the Griffin teachers) had been kind to him, and patient as he adjusted to a full day of school. We were so incredibly impressed when we met her in person at back-to-school night. Beyond having exactly the personality you would want for a preschool teacher (gentle, nurturing, and understanding), Miss Horner brings incredible expertise and professional knowledge to her job as classroom teacher. I myself am a board-certified teacher, so I have some clue about what they do, and my son's teacher is at the top of her game. Literally every aspect of her students' experience seems to have been designed with their development in mind. Everything in the classroom is accessible to the children, with the goal of fostering their independence, improving their fine and gross motor skills, and promoting harmony. The children are taught to greet each other respectfully, refer to their classmates as "friends", and express appreciation frequently. We toured other schools in our search, and at some well-known schools, we were dismayed to notice that the teachers did not seem to have a loving relationship with their students. My son's teachers LOVE him, and it shows. This was the single most important thing that we as parents were looking for. Every child deserves to experience preschool in a class like my son's, and we cannot overstate how fortunate we feel to have landed here. Here are some other fun things that we love: - They go on field trips (on the Westminster bus!) on almost a monthly basis. That is so many out-of-class experiences! - Each classroom has an imaginative play area that changes monthly (post office! garden! cave! grocery store!). - You can pack your child's lunch, OR order hot lunch from their service! Or both! - Excite Soccer offers a short after-school class on Thursdays, and our son goes to this and LOVES it. - French. Library. Music. Science. Our preschooler's schedule is as varied and rich as our 1st-grader's. My son is a wiggly little boy. Was I worried that he wouldn't have enough opportunity to move and play in the course of his rigorous classical education? I was. I've got one word for you: GYMNASIUM. If you can show me another preschool where kids get to run around a huge gym first thing every single morning, I'll be astonished. My guy comes home happy and tired every day. I'm typing all of this because when we were looking for preschools, there weren't a lot of parent reviews to read, and parents need to know that this wonderful option is available. Look no further!

Our son went to Griffin Academy for preschool and he attended some of the Griffin camps (winter,…read morespring, summer.) Griffin Academy is part of the Westminster School, however, it is on a different campus and it is run by a different headmaster. So first, I must say that this review is for Griffin Academy not Westminster as we do not have any experience with Westminster directly. The best part of Griffin Academy is the teaching staff (actually, all of the staff) and the facilities. If you take a tour of the facilities I have no doubt you will be very impressed. Having an indoor gym-type of space in the winter was hugely beneficial. Also, the teaching staff was excellent, and I mean really excellent. My son had a primary teacher who he adored and then he did rotate through other teachers who teach specialty subjects, and they all got to know him and I was really impressed with all of them. The expectations, educationally, were set very high which works well for my son and our family because I felt that he was pushed just the right amount. The class sizes are small so the teachers are really able to work with the kids at the level that they are at. They also worked a lot on his manners and his social interactions. My son came out of Griffin at age 4, able to sight read entire books on his own, silently, to himself. So educationally, I cannot fault Griffin at all; I was very impressed. Our son was definitely not bored, which is a big thing for us. The hours that they provide childcare/school for are also very good for working parents, as they provide a variety of options to allow the parents to be able to choose and manage the hours of school and childcare that they need. The price was also surprisingly much more affordable than a lot of other preschools. The only reason I am not giving the school 5 stars is because, just out of bad luck, is our son really didn't have that many other boys in his class, so unfortunately a lot of the stereotypical boy activities, he was not able to partake in to the fullest extent of what he would have preferred, so I ended up having to enroll him in some outside extracurricular activities (karate, etc.) just to kind of make up that deficit. The class he was in was almost all girls. However, as I say, I realize that experience was probably just unique to us and unfortunate due to the way the classes broke down. The reason that is a big deal to me is my son needs a lot of physical activity to get his energy out and that really requires him basically running around like a maniac playing soccer, etc. He is already at the age where he doesn't want to play what he thinks of as girly games so that was a bit of an issue during the school times, was not having enough physical activity for his liking. (***During the camps sessions it was a better mixture of boys and girls so this problem actually completely went away for us during all of the Griffin camp sessions.) The only other pretty minor complaint I had about the school was at times I felt they were a bit too strict on some things that I myself am pretty relaxed on - especially the "clean your plate" mentality, I am not really that into. On the flip side, his manners were much improved and he is able to do a lot more on his own and for himself than he was when he went into Griffin, so I have mixed feelings about that. All in all, I would really recommend Griffin, it is a very good preschool, and when our daughter is old enough we will probably be sending our daughter there.

Busy Bee is one of Northern Virginia's best early education centers, masked as a cozy, inviting…read morecommunity school. The director is phenomenal, with an engaging curriculum for each age level and a teaching staff that has been with the school for many years. Each teacher is also exceedingly kind. Beyond kindergarten readiness metrics, where Busy Bee excels, it is a fun place to go to school! Over decades, Ms. Rocio has built a strong, inclusive sense of community. With both top marks in parent and child endorsements, we couldn't recommend Busy Bee more highly.

Excellent school with very caring, attentive and loving staff. This place is truly special. The…read moreonly drawback and reason they get 4 stars and not 5 is because an entire Hispanic staff, speaks no Spanish to the kids. I begged them for years and they never did it. Still good people but deprived my child of learning another language.

Saint Ann is a very nice school and they have church mass on Sundays. We attended their Christmas…read moretree contest and it was beautiful to see the different theme of tree decorations. The school kids were very creative in decorating the trees.

Having spent a career as a public school teacher, I was leery of Catholic schools (would they be…read morerigorous enough, are the teachers trained well, will they have a good science program, are they tech-savvy...) until my son was so unhappy in his highly-ranked, but larger, public elementary school that I was fearful for his well-being. This school heard my concerns as a parent, welcomed him with open arms, lent us uniforms when we needed them, and gave him access to the amazing science curriculum. The teachers are amazing, warm, intelligent, and thorough. The students there are just so kind. They use state of the art tech, post assignments online, communicate well and LOVE the kids. The smaller setting is amazing. He loves going to mass during school. He is at peace. The other parents went out of their way to invite us over, make sure we were in the loop about school events, emailed us...Like a welcome wagon. One child was out when my kid started school on a family vacation and brought him home a "welcome to school" souvenir. My child is learning a lot, but more importantly, he loves school again. This principal is a great leader. Don't hesitate. Wish I had enrolled my child sooner.

As a parent of a Westminster School graduate, I can say with confidence that this institution…read moresignificantly, positively, and permanently influences children's lives. My child, for nine years (K-8), grew up in a caring community dedicated to bringing out the best in every student. Westminster's teachers are passionate about their subjects and truly go the extra mile to help students achieve academic success. Even more importantly, the emphasis of the school, as guided by a devoted administration, is the holistic growth of each child. It starts with the etiquette and respect for one's elders that is expected of all students; it continues with opportunities for enrichment such as taking classes on public speaking. It "ends" with the 8th grade play, the last of nine annual shows in which those who have attended Westminster since kindergarten will have performed a major role and which allows students to blossom into the poised, self-confident, self-aware, and ultimately well-rounded people they have consistently been raised to be. The lessons and impact of Westminster really never end. I cannot tell you how much my son mentions his time at Westminster and thanks its community for building him into who he is today. As an up and coming professional play-by-play broadcaster, he points to the extensive public speaking experience he received at a young age as a key factor in his success. He also often speaks of accomplishing tasks "neatly, completely, and with pride," a Westminster expectation for every student, faculty and administrative staff member of the school. While it may be daunting to think of the cost of a private school K-8 education, Westminster School is extremely competitive and the education your child receives will pay immense dividends throughout the rest of his or her life!

Horrible. Rigid, unreasonably structural, not even remotely understanding of different needs. One…read morelittle girl (middle school age) wasn't allowed to leave her classroom to use the restroom. She actually needed to change her menstrual pad, but couldn't! Another child was denied a water fountain break after playing sports. And I could go on... The school is all about control and the headmaster's ego. And about school plays. . Please, keep your children far far away! There are other excellent private schools in our area and we are also fortunate enough to have very good public schools too.