This school is my first experience of the U.S educational system which is very different from the…read morenation I come from . This school is very nice for my daughter who is in three days lamb. Ms. Rockwell & Ms. Mary both are dedicated teachers and they take care of each and every perspective of my kids growth.

I like the school and the principal is chill and most of the teachers are nice and funny, the…read moremiddle school is fun and there isn't too much homework. There are many kids there and I had fun in all my 5 years.

Commonwealth Academy promotes itself as a school that has expertise in ADHD and executive…read morefunctioning. Our experience there this last year with our son (12) was the opposite, and the staff was extremely unwilling to work with us on his needs. It gets worse. In the end, a false report of child abuse and neglect was filed against us, we believe and have strong evidence to back it up by senior school staff in retaliation for disputes we had with them. In my opinion, the place is not safe for your kids or you. We enrolled mid-year, when our local school was having issues meeting his needs. He has a learning profile that includes ADHD, language processing difficulties, and executive function difficulties. When we interviewed the school, which is billed as particularly suited for a child of his profile, we were very excited about the approach and attention to executive function, and the admissions head similarly felt it would be a great fit for our son. For a school that supposedly focuses on executive function skills, they offered him almost nothing in the way of support there, and made it very difficult for him (and us) to figure out what his assignments even were. There was no consistent place where or how assignments were listed; some were online, some were via emails, and some were given in class. This is a nightmare for someone with executive function difficulties, and only set him up for failure. The school was also slow to implement an assisted listening device, provided by us, that has greatly helped our son in his previous school. We had discussed using the device with CA prior to enrollment and they had agreed in principle. It took them over three months to actually begin using it. One of us is a licensed counselor and former teacher with years of professional expertise and success in helping children with learning profiles similar to our son's. With this expertise, we tried very hard to work with the school on how best to serve our son, and offered specific interventions to help him access the curriculum and get through the day. The school presented considerable resistance and foot-dragging and at one point, the head of the middle school told us that we were no longer welcome to email them. They were not only not interested in the resources we offered, they at times seemed offended by it. Another dispute centered around repeated and inappropriate suggestions from certain staff that we should get medical diagnoses and/or therapy for our son. For our son's privacy, I am not going to discuss the nature of these requests, but we have in fact involved his health care providers in addressing his in-school challenges, and we provided evidence of this in the form of doctor's notes to the staff on multiple occasions. After about the third time these requests were made, we complained to the head of school, who responded very supportively and agreed the staff had been inappropriate. It was two days after this that the false report to DC CFSA was made. The report included the allegation that we "refused" to take our son to the doctor, and other disturbing allegations that were simply made up out of whole cloth. After 35 days the report was ruled Unfounded by DC CFSA, which means a report they consider untrue. Based on the timing and the content of the allegations in the report as communicated to us by the social workers, we believe it's almost a certainly that it was made by one of three people there, two of whom are still there and are fairly senior in the school's administration. We removed him from the school the day the report was filed and home schooled him for the remainder of the year. The school was uncooperative in providing assignments and materials during this time, and was uncooperative in our investigation of who filed the false report. They have also not provided materials needed for applications to other schools, obstructing our efforts to find a new placement for him. Parents considering Commonwealth Academy should be aware that (1) it is not what it claims to be in terms of support for ADHD and executive function, and (2) it apparently employs people who are willing to weaponize Child and Family Services against parents by filing false and malicious reports accusing them of child abuse and neglect.

Unique, warm, super-effective school. So glad we found Linder. Our child spend three happy years in…read morethe lower school and is now also thriving in the upper school. Thank you, Linder!

My son has been going here for more than 3 years. They say the average student progresses 1.5…read moreschool years every year but he was academically behind when he started so he's grown 2 grade levels per year in nearly all subjects. We can't say enough good things.

My youngest daughter went here from 6-8 grades. It was a wonderful experience that she owes so much…read moreto. The administration is wonderful and it really put her on the path to success. Her classmates and she are off to college this year and this reunion brings them all together one last time before matriculation. They're all wearing T-shirts and other paraphernalia from their new schools. Timber Pizza is catering the event and it's a really nice family environment Weather is beautiful.

This review is just for the sports facilities. My son had a baseball game at their wonderful field…read more I have attended both football and baseball games here and the stadium facilities are top notch. The track is six lanes and built for speed. The concessions and restrooms are fancy by most high school standards. I cannot attest to the school itself, but the students and staff treated the visiting team with respect. Four stars for the sports facilities.

I've gone to this school for a year and a half and this is what I've taken from it so far…read more The consolers could not care less about your needs. They only care if they want to. The guys are the most annoying people I've ever encountered. Half the teachers don't even teach. They will take away the only thing you like about the school and try to cover it up by letting you wear white shoes. None of the bathroom doors lock. If you are an introvert you're out of luck. The people your mother asked if they enjoyed their experience either lied or went to a different Bishop O'Connell high school. The school is not as good as it seems.

This a very good school, everyone here is friendly and welcoming. Kids love their teachers and…read morestaff. Playgrounds and fields a in good condition for kids to have a great time.

My three children have attended St. Ambrose since kindergarten. The oldest is now in middle…read moreschool. My husband and I love the atmosphere of the school and our children have thrived--each child is encouraged to develop their own special gifts in a supportive environment that emphasizes kindness and respect to everyone. St. Ambrose nurtures the growth of the whole child, so in addition to academics, my children have also enjoyed learning chess, playing an instrument in band, having a role in the school Christmas play, and developing their track and basketball skills on the school's CYO teams. The teachers and staff are wonderful. They are always responsive and welcoming to parents and really function as a team. St. Ambrose is a very special place.

Excellent outdoor track and field…read more Free to use and open to the public when school activities are not in process. I used to receive email updates for when the track was opened or closed, but I probably no longer use that email address, so I'm out of the loop. I used to come here with a running group to do track speed work and speed drills. Another time I used to come regularly was for a weekly boot camp group that met where during designated week nights. Nice 8-lane track. Standard 4x around is mile. There are bleechers so some people run up and down those as well. Public restrooms are available and in working order when I was here and easy to find at the entrance. I am not certain where parking is. I lucked up and usually find parking on the surrounding neighborhood streets. I am sure there is a school parking lot around the corner or something. Plenty of people out for brisk walks and jogging around the track and others were playing American football and soccer in the middle of the field. Highly recommend!

Very nice sized high school in Arlington County Schools. Really great and informative staff here,…read morethat are willing to help and support each other!

Our son started at CIS in August 2024 after our VERY beloved in-home daycare closed. He was 3 at…read morethe time and we knew the adjustment would be tricky. We visited several full-time preschools in the area, with location/convenience of drop-off/pick-up being a top priority for us. CIS was the only one we visited without a personal reference, and we were referred to it through friends who checked it out but didn't ultimately attend CIS because they moved out of the country. On our initial visit, we were immediately impressed with the diversity and warmth the school provided. Many of the teachers (great ones!) have been there for decades. The materials also referenced a "conscious discipline" approach to managing behavior, which my husband and I wholly support. We also loved the way the rooms were arranged, with photos to show where everything belongs. And although there isn't much green space, CIS has on-site two small playgrounds. The preschool also coordinates with a local organization to provide spring and fall soccer lessons once a week, at an additional cost. For music, CIS arranges for a talented, local musician to come on-site once a week to get the kids singing and dancing. Once we made our choice, our son had a bit of a rough transition, which is to be expected at 3 years old. One of the veteran teachers, with a perfect balance of compassion and no-nonsense, spent at least three weeks personally helping our son say goodbye in the morning with as few tears as possible. After that initial transition period, our son has really loved CIS, and has thrived there. He loves his teachers, has made some great friends, and generally enjoys going each day. The school communicates coursework and activities, and shares the lunch/snack menus monthly. Although it's not a big fancy center, CIS is warm and the staff clearly care about the kids. They take medicine administration seriously and the space is clean and welcoming. There has been some turnover in directors during our time there, but the current director seems great so far! Our son will head to kindergarten this fall and we will genuinely miss our connection to CIS (for now). We highly recommend CIS as an affordable, full-time preschool option in Alexandria.

We love CIS! My first kid started during the pandemic, and we toured all the nearby schools. This…read moreone was a no-brainer: teachers who'd been there for years, dedicated playground, dedicated parking lot, fun and welcoming space. Now, our second kid just started there this year and it's just as good as I remember. There is one teacher who wasn't even her main teacher at the time who just had the magic touch getting her to calm down after drop-off. The teachers are all so loving and caring towards the kids. I'm really grateful we found a place like this for our kiddos.