Both of our children, our son and daughter, attended The Goddard School of Durham, and we have…read moreconsistently been impressed with the quality of care and education they received. The teaching staff is knowledgeable, caring, and skilled at fostering each child's development. Our kids grew tremendously in confidence, social skills, and academic readiness during their time here. The teachers took the time to understand each child's individual needs and learning style, which made a significant difference in their progress. The curriculum is well-structured and age-appropriate. Daily communication kept us informed about our kids' activities and development. We also loved the constant stream of photos we received through their app; it helped us put faces to the names of our children's friends and sparked conversations at dinnertime. The facilities are clean, safe, and well-maintained with great outdoor play areas. As working parents, we appreciated the reliability and peace of mind that come with quality childcare. The staff treated our children with genuine care and helped create a positive foundation for their future learning. Our son is transitioning out after several years, and we are confident--just as we were with our daughter--that the skills and preparation he has gained at Goddard will serve him well. We would definitely recommend this school to other families seeking quality early childhood education.

I have visited the Durham Goddard several times and this particular teacher in the Preschool is not…read morevery friendly with the teachers that is her classroom and she is very rude and disrespectful, she believes in yelling at her students and the teachers and wonder why she doesn't have a teacher in her classroom

I love this School. My kids have gone here and it is truly amazing. The teachers are so kind and…read morehave the kids best interest in mind.

Summer Camp Review: I think the young adult counsellors are not implementing the program as on…read morepaper. Such a disappointment as it really missed the mark. Of course, not all counsellors but the few we experienced have put on movies, and are kinda immature in interacting during parent interaction. Don't get me wrong nobody is mean but the place isn't worth the price at all. YMCA is running laps around Duke School summer camp in terms of fun energy and don't tell me it's educational and cut out half the stated activities b/c suzie q didn't remember. Overall Duke School is a master a marketing an illusion of what it thinks it is. Maybe 20 years ago dude...

This is a fantastic preschool for the Trinity Park neighborhood and beyond. Thumbs up for the…read moredirector and teachers. It is open to everyone and is a sweet opportunity for young kids to play and learn in a safe and nurturing environment.

Wonderful experience at Beth El for our son to get ready for kindergarten. He can't wait to go…read moreeveryday. Caring staff and an overall super atmosphere for learning and play. Highly recommend!

We are halfway through our second year at RUMC Preschool and it has been a great experience! The…read morestaff are very kind and responsive, and truly care about all the preschool families. It's a small community, which I enjoy and which allows great accessibility. They also allow and encourage parents to be as involved as they would like to be. My daughters are well cared for, loved, and have thrived in the school. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Both of my sons attend this preschool and I can't say enough good things about it. All the teachers…read moreare so incredibly caring and engaging and the director (Amy) is amazing! My kids absolutely love going to school which is a big deal to me as a previous teacher. I knew preschool would be their first introduction to the school setting (even though the majority of their day is play based) and I could not be happier with our choice!

Both my nieces strolled through this establishment. They turned out ok, so, i guess DA has…read moresomething to do with that. Ya feel me?

Durham Academy is one of the top private schools in North Carolina. The focus is on building…read moreleaders, not in just educating. The preschool is a warm and enriching environment. The lower school starts the educational journey, which continues progressing through High School. Classes are roughly 16-20 students, with daily enrichment classes across all disciplines. 100% of graduating seniors go to college, with most going to first choice schools.

VERY DISAPPOINTED! Our opinion of the Family Preschool is as follows:…read more We were extremely disappointed with the manner in which our family, including our son, was treated. In our opinion the treatment was discriminatory from a racial, ethnic, and gender standpoint. We do not believe that this school fosters the level of "inclusion" that they proclaim. We were compelled to withdraw our son from the school in order to protect him and ensure his well-being.

We had two children enrolled at FPS during the 2021-22 school year. Our oldest was a 5day friend…read moreand our youngest was a Treefrog (2s). Our experience with our youngest was wonderful. Teacher Kim was lovely and kind and our daughter loved going to school and being part of the FPS community. Our experience with our oldest was the complete opposite. He was a 5day friend in Teacher Hannah's gathering and his experience was awful. He's neurodivergent and in therapy to support sensory sensitivities. We proactively offered support to his teacher before school even started. Our therapists observed his class on four separate occasions and raised their own concerns about what they saw. The classroom management was nonexistent and our son was ignored often, leading to dysregulation. At one point, he went outside unsupervised and at another point, he was wandering the hall when I overheard a child ask where he'd gone. His teacher responded, "I don't know and I don't care." Ultimately, we decided to withdraw him from FPS because they are ill-equipped to care for a neurodivergent child and his teacher called him bad to his face. We also withdrew our daughter because it wasn't the right place for our family. Our son has been processing his experience at FPS in play therapy and internalized quite a bit of shame during his three months as an FPS student. We're still very angry at his treatment. We switched our son to a local public school in a mainstream classroom. He's been there for more than two months now. He's had zero incidents of dysregulation. His teachers tell us that he's calm and consistently able to self-regulate. Every issue FPS blamed on him completely disappeared in his new environment, which leads us to conclude he was never the problem and that his teacher was the issue. Because of their treatment of our son, we cannot recommend FPS to any family, especially if you have a child who is neurodivergent.

We love this school, and whatever happened with the 1 star administration, we have felt nothing but…read morekindness, respect, and professionalism from the current administration. This school us beautiful in every way, with such heart and soul. I want to invent a time machine so I can go back to being a kid and enroll myself here. Enough said.

This is an excellent Montessori school. We're sending our son to pre-school there. Although it is…read morepretty expensive ($8k+), he has really developed there and the educational staff there is top notch. Montessori schools can be a crap shoot since Miss Montessori in her infinite wisdom never trademarked her school name or philosophy. So any joker can call themselves a Montessori school. There are a few in Chapel Hill like this. However this school is a legit Montessori school. It's accredited by one of the big Montessori organizations and they take their training seriously there. I think all of the teachers are Montessori certified, most of the helpers too. What really impressed me on the tour was that all the teachers have been there for many years. They're all really dedicated to the children and letting them explore their world. The facilities are ridiculously nice. They have wonderful playgrounds and the middle school is new. They have a new music and art building which is amazingly nice. You get what you pay for in this case. They have very active parents who organize multiple fundraisers for the school. I've got no reservations about sending my son here.

I am not a person who usually writes reviews, but I was so fortunate to be brought to Seedlings…read morethrough a neighbor and I would have missed it if she hadn't tipped me off. So if you (like me) had continued scrolling after not finding much internet presence, this is for you. When my son was approaching 3, I was overwhelmed at the idea of finding and vetting a preschool - so much so that I disengaged from even looking. I was drawn to something play-based, nature-oriented, nurturing...fun - but I was intimidated by the seeming rigidity that can come with some of the frameworks that I found. (no shade, it was just my perception - I feared I couldn't live up to something like a Waldorf standard in my parenting and I didn't know there was something between an academic-type preschool setting and a daycare.) I took the leap and called Jana. Three years later I'm writing in disbelief that our time with her is over. In Seedlings we found a program that seemed breezy and fun from the outside, but that was woven through with intention and routine behind the scenes. Seedlings helped ground my children in the rhythms of daily life. Our kids got muddy and wet, they cried and found comfort in Jana's arms, they gained confidence and skills, they learned to see other children as friends and not "others", they learned to celebrate each other and celebrate themselves. All of this while Jana and her amazing assistant Caroline carefully, silently, coordinated the many moving parts that have to happen enable a group of children to coexist and thrive as a group. Bonfires, potlucks, holiday shares, birthday celebrations, seasonal festivals and a multitude of other modest, homespun events (that I think are a HUGE amount of work for Jana and Caroline) served as gifts for the children - something to work towards, something to look forward to, something to remember and reflect on as each week goes by. As parents we got to join for many of these events and share in some of the magic of Seedlings - watching our kids thrive in their own community. It's hard to imagine what my life as a parent would be like today if we hadn't made the call to Jana. I never anticipated I would learn so much about parenting from seeing what my son and daughter were capable of in the right environment or from talking through a challenge or insecurity with their preschool teacher! In my case, she wasn't just teaching my kids... :) There's a reason there are so many siblings at Seedlings - it's hard to imagine another spot once you get a feel for what's possible. We are forever grateful to Jana and Caroline for being truly loving hands as they challenged our kids to grow. Hope this helps one person who is overwhelmed at the thought of finding a preschool. Good luck to all the parents out there just trying to find the right fit!

Seedlings is a half-day home-based preschool that promotes imaginative play, natural learning, and…read moredaily rhythm and routines for young children. Jana is an amazing teacher who has taught preschool-first graders for many years. She supports each child's individual interests and abilities while creating a loving and cooperative atmosphere. The children spend lots of time outside gardening, tending to chickens and bunnies, and exploring freely. Families join in to celebrate seasonally, and there are a variety of Waldorf- and Montessori-inspired activities that prepare children for what lies ahead. My daughter is sadly outgrowing Seedlings for preschool, but we will not hesitate to attend summer "camp" or anything else we're allowed to join in on!!