I am the parent of eight children and have been using the services of Prep Matters for many, many…read moreyears. For all this time, I have been exceptionally pleased with the instruction and the results. I have, most recently utilized the services of Sunhee, an SAT tutor who has singlehandedly enabled my daughter to raise her SAT score by over 200 points. The experience of SAT test prep, which can be grueling, unpleasant and painful, has been actually enjoyable for my daughter. I think this has much to do with the relationship and rapport she has developed with Sunhee. From the first session to the last, he has been responsive, supportive, encouraging, and motivational. Sunhee is not the only tutor who has yielded exceptional results for my children. Both of my sons also used Prep Matters tutors, and I was equally and exceptionally pleased with the academic support and guidance they received. In all cases, my kids reached their target scores as a result of the instructional tips and strategies the tutors provided and were accepted into competitive colleges. I have also known Ned Johnson, the owner, for over two decades. He is an incredible person, dedicated to achieving success for all Prep Matter students. He has called me at home to discuss my kids' progress and has personally met with my kids when they have struggled academically or needed an extra boost of encouragement. He cares about each and every student who walks through his doors, remembering their names and stories long after they have graduated from high school and gone to college. Ned is an extraordinary man and the example he sets is on full display in the staff he employs. His tutors work hard to achieve results, embracing the same values inculcated by Ned. In many ways, Prep Matters feels like a family. This is a personal tutoring experience that adapts strategies specific to a child's needs. This daughter is my youngest and will close this chapter of my life. I will always be grateful to Ned and to Prep Matters for being there for me and my kids--for believing in them and working with them to create the best possible outcomes.

I can't say enough in support of PrepMatters. It is an incredibly nice, well-run, welcoming company…read morewith an enormously talented and dedicated staff. For quite a while, we've worked with math tutor Sharon Kim in the Bethesda office and absolutely LOVE her. She is really great about learning each kid's way of learning and then teaching effectively to that. Also, my son just really enjoys spending time with her and doing all the math they do. I'm super fond of her as well. We also worked very briefly with Moose in the Tenleytown office. He is a physics whiz and the brevity of our working relationship was only because my son had no teacher at school so needed guidance until one was hired. Moose was the perfect interim! I have recommended both him and Sharon many times. We have also worked with PM in the college counseling realm. Full disclosure- I have my own college counseling business, but my son and I didn't want to work together during his application process. So, we interviewed several companies and immediately chose to partner with PM's Maureen Delaney. She is wonderful, and my son loves working with her. Lastly, I'll note that Ned Johnson, founder and leader of PM, is a terrific human who is deeply committed to and knowledgeable about education, development, and adolescent. It's been a pleasure to get to know him, and I highly recommend the books he and Bill Stixrud have authored. The prices aren't low, but honestly, I feel great about paying such a caring, supportive group of people. Their help has been worth every penny!

Beware of taking this or any course that attempts to group a disparate group of SAT learners in the…read moresame room without taking into consideration their varying levels of competence. My daughter found the course to move too fast on some areas that she had difficulty and too slow in others where she found she was wasting her time. The math teacher was not a native English speaker, and she found him to be very difficult to follow. He also lacked charisma for engaging kids on what are quite dry topics to begin with. Absolutely zero one on one time at this school. Also, there was no feedback or diagnostics from the teachers regarding tests. That is to say the course did not react to problem areas on practice tests, specifically targeting my daughter in the areas that she needed. It was basically a general study program for all, regardless of your score or weaker areas. Most definitely not worth the money. If you are already going to pay that amount, better to get a focused tutor to help on your pitfalls.

This center helped me out a lot with SAT prep and I feel much more confident about taking the…read moreactual test. I have improved a lot and I learned skills that can be applied to things outside of the SAT. Thank you!

I've been sending my daughter to this location for a few years now. She enjoys coming into the…read morefacility to learn math and reading. The staff are very nice and wonderful to work with. I highly recommend to send kids to Kumon to keep up with the academic during the summer and throughout the school year.

My daughter has been going to Kumon at the Rockville West location now for almost a year and there…read morehas been a marked improvement in her math skills. Vikas, the center director, has been great at helping her focus on the fundamentals as well as on her current class assignments. Even though the assignments are standard for all students, the center tailors the approach to best suit the individual. What really impressed me was my daughter stating that she now feels very confident during math exams. This was not the case before Kumon even though she still did OK on her exams. Now, she "owns" the exams and her strong work on base functions related to her grade level are the reason for her success.

We have sent all 3 of our children here and have participated in grades 3-7 as well as summer…read morecourses. Mrs Olga is an excellent principal and the teacher and admin staff are fantastic as well. The curriculum and teaching style are effective at helping kids get to the next level of numerical thinking and problem solving. Cannot recommend it enough.

My kid is not happy there and she comes home at 9:00 PM tired after the 2 hours she spent…read morelistening to math in a boiling hot classroom. I do not recommend sending your child here because they also don't teach the math that is reviewed in regular schools so it will get really confusing for you and your child to focus on two different things. Strongly do not recommend!

We had our children enrolled in reading and writing lessons at SpiderSmart Learning Center -…read moreGaithersburg. Everything seeded fine until one session in May 2025. During that class, there was a concerning incident where the instructor took a student's work while they were still actively working on it, despite the student's clear objection. This made the student feel disrespected, and the experience left both children feeling uncomfortable. We brought the issue to the attention of the center director, who investigated but ultimately attributed the incident to an unrelated conflict, which we felt misrepresented the situation. We requested a refund for the remaining sessions but were told the payment was non-refundable. We agreed to pause lessons until a preferred teacher returned in June, but despite multiple follow-up emails, we never received a response or update from the director. The lack of resolution, accountability, and ongoing communication issues have led us to discontinue our relationship with this learning center. We are still requesting a refund for the unused portion of prepaid lessons and hope this review prompts better responsiveness and care in the future.

We've had a wonderful experience with SpiterSmart Learning Center! My son started attending when he…read morewas in 2nd grade, and it made a big difference in his reading and writing skills--especially writing. The program helped him build a strong foundation and gave him the confidence to express himself clearly and creatively. He enjoyed his time there, which made learning even more effective. Now, my daughter has joined the center as well, and she loves it too so far!

Mathnasium is the best. The director is very enthusiastic about math and very encouraging to kids…read more They know how to make math fun with prizes and game nights. They also play math games after sessions. Our son was ahead in math in kindergarden, and we worried that he would never get a chance to advance his math past his grade level in school. With the help of Mathnasium, he's now 4 grades ahead. He loves having the opportunity to speed ahead through Mathnasium and then reinforce his skills in his public school.

Mathnasium has been a fantastic resource for my son who is ahead in math. They have them working…read morewith enrichment materials and can challenge him even though he's several grades ahead. They have been very adaptive during Covid and have set up a virtual environment to do math from anywhere in the world. They were integral in my sons math education before the pandemic and especially now.

Excellent preschool that focuses on the kids. They keep the parents involved and work hard to get…read morekids ready for their next steps in life. The prices are very affordable especially compared to other programs in the area.

Epworth PreK and Kindergarten is not just a school but it's family. All 4 of my kids went through…read moretheir program, including their Trans K program. We've been a part of Epworth for 9 years. All the teachers are amazing not just in instruction but they are truly kind and loving to the kids. The community of families that attend there become like family. The principal, Mr. Andy, is super personable and my kids love him. My older 3 still like to come visit their teachers at Epworth and are still top 3 on their favorite teacher list. Shout out to Mrs. Carroll, and Mrs. Shelley. This is our last year at Epworth as my last one is finishing up Trans K with Mrs. David. We will miss Epworth. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a place that cares not only about academic achievement but the child as a whole.

My son has been attending Little Genius from May 2018, when we moved to Maryland from California…read more It was important to us to find the following: 1) Mandarin Immersion Program 2) Montessori philosophy, ideally with certification. 3) Warm and friendly teachers. Little Genius ticks all those boxes for us. When we moved our son was 2 years old, and had been in Mandarin Immersion Montessori since he was 3 months old. As a note, my husband and I are both American Mutts who speak English primarily and only Mandarin at a very basic (aka Toddler) level. Margaret and Joe (the owners/directors) are very warm and welcoming to new parents and worked with me to allow me to tour during my very short time I had before starting my new job. Little Genius is a combo of a school and home daycare. There are two rooms in a converted Basement that serve as the school. One is for the toddler set (18 months - 3 years, roughly) and one for the older set (3-6). The toddler room is full of well crafted Montessori materials for toddlers and open for circle time and play. The main room has appropriate sized tables for the young children to do their individual work. There is an on site outside playground that is fenced so the children can play without concerns. So far we've only experienced the toddler program. I would say the toddler program is more "play-based" than "school based" and there are some activities that we experienced at a previous more formal Montessori School (with the according high expense) that are not present at Little Genius. Notably any group cooking experiences for the littles, though I do understand it would be a challenge to pull off in the setup so it is understandable. That being said, my son has certainly learned many songs and poems in Mandarin and worked on his fine motor and gross motor skills through the "work" they do. I also have a fine collection of crafts, which I proudly hang on the refrigerator. The Mandarin is about 70/30 exposure. The teachers are all native speakers, which is great, and they speak to the children mostly in Mandarin. The children, however, speak English freely amongst themselves and often back to the teachers. I've seen and read of different versions of the immersion and while I don't think this is a bad implementation, it is not a 'strict' immersion, if that is what is being sought. There was a couple of months where my son refused to use his Mandarin at home, but he is more comfortable doing so now (and in part I believe because we as his parents worked hard to show we wanted to also learn and speak with him). Our son is always ready with a hug for his 老师 and is all smiles at drop-off and pickup. I like the practical life skills he is learning. Lunches started being provided within about 6 months and that has made my life easier and I know he's eating a variety of healthy options. I will update this review in 1-3 years after we have experienced the older kids program.

The teachers are trying to be good, but nothing special. Most of them are only Mandarin native…read morespeakers, but not an early childhood education certified or even trained for babysitting. The administration is very bad. It is mostly like an army. You really need to be super patient and calm to deal with them. In another word you need to be the bigger person. They refuse to let you watch the class from outside for a glance, unless you schedule an appointment and they are prepare for you. This is concerning for me, in another word what do you have to hide? There only strength is the language. However if you put some efforts and search, you will be able to find a higher quality in home locations near this school. If you are willing to drive, you would be able to find better schools as well. Also, an in-home good tutor will be equivalent. I had my daughter with them for some time, the preschool teacher is kind of rude to the kids.