I usually do not provide online reviews for anything, but since it is something that involves our…read morechildren, I've decided to write this post. HPS is a lovely school and our son was happy there. Unfortunately, the school ended up leaving us with a very bad impression. We initially enrolled him two days per week, half time. When we enrolled, they told us that if he was happy, we could move from two to three days and eventually to full time three or five days. One month in, when we saw how happy he was, we moved him from two days half time to three days half time. It went great. One month later, we wanted to move him full time three days a week. Then the problems began. The school manager gave us conflicting and sometimes false excuses for refusing our request. Finally, after we insisted about half a dozen times she summoned us to her office. In essence, she said that if we wanted to have our son spend more time in the school we would need to hire an occupational therapist to spend all day with him at school. Our son has a speech delay (started speaking at three) and he does not follow instructions or adjust to routines as easily as fully verbal three year olds. HPS ended up using the challenges associated with his spech delay to demand that we basically hire another teacher exclusively for our son. We found this request innapropriate. I have doubts as to whether it is even legal. All told, they simply did not want our son there and were unwilling to work with us to navigate his speech delay and related challenges. This is all very sad to us. We have now enrolled him at another school, five days a week, full time. Many people are very happy at HPS and they may never encounter any similar issues. I just want to leave this review out there for parents to carefully consider HPS before enrolling, especially if you are thinking of increasing throughout the year the number of days your child is there or if your child has a speech delay or any other developmental delay.

We could not be happier with the care given to my child at The Hill Preschool as it far exceeded…read moreany expectations I had. The teachers and administrators are all loving, attentive, and passionate about the care and education of young children. This passion is apparent with the significant high level of engagement every single day. The Hill Preschool is a positive and enriching environment for children, and my child is healthy and happy every single day, gaining confidence and knowledge that has set a foundation for the rest of his life. The teachers are selfless, kind, and dedicated. The facility is clean and full of enriching activities. The teachers are also great at communicating with parents daily both in person and online with a portal that outlines the activities for the week and pictures so you can keep up with what your little ones are doing. Not only do I feel comfort in knowing my child is cared for and safe, I also know my child is receiving a holistic approach to early childhood education. The children have routine and stay active, and the teachers build a curriculum for the children where they learn about their community, art, science, architecture, biology, music, and more. The teachers take the children on several field trips that coincide with their curriculum visiting the Botanic Gardens, the Natural History Museum, National Gallery of Art, and local businesses to enhance what they are learning every day. I could not recommend the Hill Preschool enough, and I only wish I had found it sooner.

Our daughter has been part of the CHCC family since she was 6 months old. We are preparing to…read moretransition to PK3 and we have been reflecting on our time at CHCC. As a parent, deciding on a daycare is such an overwhelming and scary thing because your child spends so much time there. My husband and I think sending her to CHCC was one of the best decisions we have made. The teachers are so loving and incredibly caring and have built such an amazing and genuine bond with our daughter and us. There are lots of daycares and some of them will have fancy corporation centers with state of the art toys, that is not this daycare. But our daughter every single day has a curriculum in which she is learning numbers, letters, words, etc. in a fun and structured environment. The teachers are true educators and pride themselves on teaching all the children something new every single day! I would take that over fancy toys/centers any day! Do yourself a favor and check them out! You will not regret it, we sure haven't!

I loved the time my family spent with Capitol Hill Childcare and I really miss having a kid in…read moredaycare there. CHCC is a truly special place. This is the most loving, child-centered place I can imagine for babies and toddlers. The quality of the teachers and the instruction is amazing. There is a close sense of community among all the kids, staff, and families - my child knew the toddlers, babies, and parents by name and loved introducing us to them when we ran into school friends out in the neighborhood. I attribute that sense of community to the hard work of CHCC teachers. All the teachers knew my kid well and my kid talked a lot about loving them all. The staff knows and cares for each child as an individual - they're very thoughtful about how to meet each child's needs, whether it's OT, food preferences, or individual potty training journeys. We joined CHCC just before the school moved into its new space on 8th and North Carolina SE, and in spite of the logistical challenge of moving out of the facility where CHCC had been for 10 years, the director and teachers put the kids first at every turn and they thrived. I really liked the new space and wish we could have stayed longer to see it continue to transform as CHCC continues to settle in. Though this may not seem like the fanciest daycare there is, the quality of the instruction for toddlers is on par or better than what more corporate or expensive daycares are providing. CHCC balances that with a lot of fun, free, outdoor time. It's a really nice, age-appropriate structure for young children. For toddlers, each day at school is a great balance of free play and learning, with lots of time at the parks in the neighborhood, lots of singing and dancing, art, and early literacy and numeracy activities. By the end of toddler II, the kids know the letters in their names (and many of their friends' names), can identify upper and lower case letters, can count to at least 20, and much more. I have been completely blown away at how much my kid has learned while having such a good time. I could never say enough about the incredible teachers we've been lucky to have at CHCC. Ms. Pat and Ms. Capri were my kid's primary teachers. They are loving, skilled educators who implement an ambitious curriculum. Over the summer, they took the 2-3 year olds on field trips riding the bus several times per week! On many occasions, I personally saw Ms. Pat handle challenging toddler behaviors expertly, with the utmost patience, love, and calm. It was magical. I would trust them with kids of every disposition. At pick up every day, it warmed my heart to see them so happy and energized even after a day caring for all their toddlers. Bottom line: this is a loving, enriching, and happy environment for kids. It's unpretentious, rigorous, and fun. The parent community is also wonderful. I still miss it every d

TOTH is an amazing Montessori style facility. The teachers are caring, warm, knowledgeable and…read morefriendly. Most of the teachers have been there for years and they do a great job at retaining teachers year over year. My daughter absolutely loves the teachers and runs into the classroom when we drop her off. She talks about the teachers and friends at home often. My daughter's vocabulary, speaking ability, social interactions have improved so much since she joined TOTH. They also help with potty training from day 1 and at 2.5 my daughter is potty-trained and almost entirely independent with the bathroom. They also did an awesome job at navigating COVID and had minimal classroom closures and no major outbreaks in her classroom. TOTH also has an attached playground and they prioritize spending time outdoors, which my daughter loves. They go on long walks and do not use any carriers which is awesome because we can now go on short hikes or museums without a stroller. We couldn't ask for a better learning facility, TOTH is her home away from home.

We've sent two of our kids to TOTH and look forward to sending the third in a couple years. The…read moreteachers are extraordinary -- they truly embrace each child for who they are. Each of our (very different) kids has thrived at the school and felt totally loved and seen. The chill Montessori vibes have been good for our parenting and for our whole family. TOTH has given our kids a great foundation of self-confidence, independence, and love of learning to carry with them as they transition into DC schools.

In our home, we often say that Yudith was a gift that fell from the sky. We used to travel quite…read morefar every day to a pretty good daycare to ensure our daughter was in safe hands. Then one day, by chance, I met Yudith at a park. We talked, and she invited me to visit her daycare, which happened to be close to where we live. When we walked in, we couldn't believe how beautiful, clean, and organized everything was. And on top of that, she seemed so honest and kind. Today, a year later, we can confidently say that Yudith isn't just as wonderful as she appeared--she's truly an incredible woman. My daughter adores her like an aunt, and Yudith has taught her so much! This month, our daughter started Pre-K and is well ahead for her age, thanks to her time with Yudith. Yudith follows the Montessori method, encouraging freedom of expression, fun, and friendship, while also maintaining a solid routine and impeccable transparency. It's a small daycare with only a few children, so the attention is highly personalized. You always know how your child is doing, what they're learning, how they're living--whether it's how they sleep, eat, or play. If you love your children dearly and can enroll them in this daycare, do it! It's a gift that will last them a lifetime. Yudith has been a blessing not only for my daughter but for our entire family. She has so much experience, is transparent, kind, and responsible. I can't emphasize enough how important these qualities are. She's organized and dedicated--we couldn't have been luckier. Our daughter was in the best hands we could have ever imagined. Oh, and the daycare is bilingual! The price is very reasonable, and we don't have a single complaint.

Yudy's place is exceptional. I'm so glad that I was able to send my son here. the place is very…read moreclean and Ms. Yudy always has thoughtful activities for the kids (painting, learning colors, letters, numbers, practicing writing, outdoor play, storytime, NO screentime). The best part is Ms. Yudy herself. she truly loves the kids like they're her own. when my child had to miss due to being sick, she always checked in on him. I can't recommend her enough.

My daughter started earlier in the year the Capitol Hill location and from Day 1, it was a…read morewonderful experience. The environment is both living and educational. The focus on self reliance for the children is great, making them well prepared for entering school. The added bonus of an additional language being learned in the classroom is amazing! The staff knows each child and cares for them individually and treats them as little individuals with feelings. That has made me feel so comfortable and confident as I leave my child each day for work. I know she's well taken care of. We have truly enjoyed our time and look forward to rounding our year before school starts in the Fall.

We have been at Kiddie (now University for Kids) since our oldest kid was very young. We started at…read morethe H street location and moved to the F street location when our oldest moved to the preschool class. Our youngest started in the baby room at the F street location. Overall, we've been happy with our experience at both locations. The teachers clearly love the kids, and my daughters have always been happy to go and happy when we pick them up. And importantly, we feel that our kids are safe. Kiddie isn't as fancy as some other daycares, but my girls have still flourished; in particular, my very shy oldest kid really thrived and developed socially and emotionally while also learning other things like her ABCs. They were fantastic during COVID. Even when shut down at the beginning, they set twice daily zooms to give weary parents even a brief break, and they remained open for kids of essential workers. They reopened for everyone far earlier the most daycares, and have been careful but also less strict than many (kids must be 24 hours fever free, can't have more than one symptom, but they won't send you home with a runny nose, so we've actually had child care). And while they follow OPM, they have also reopened when possible if OPM makes a judgement call about inclement weather but then snow doesn't materialize. The communication from the location director could be better and isn't always the most professional, but it is improving. and April who oversees all of the Kiddie locations has been very responsive when we need help resolving billing issues and issues related to reimbursement for dependent care.

The director and assistant director at Maine St, are the absolute worst. They are very…read moreunprofessional. They treat the staff horribly except for their favorites.

With so many options for childcare in the area, I'm not sure why anyone pays the maximum price at…read moreGoddard, especially since you get so little in return. We had our baby there for about 6 months, they never followed the COVID procedures they committed to which resulted in three closures for a total of almost 6 weeks during that time. The communication was terrible - we never knew what was going on in class, who the teachers were, or why teacher after teacher and assistant director after assistant director were there one day and gone the next. The activities in the fancy lesson plans they send you weren't followed (for example, they almost never went outside), the teachers were unhappy, and I've never witnessed a manager yell at their staff like I did at drop off at Goddard. It got to the point that we couldn't trust what anyone was saying about our kiddos care and we left at that point. As first time parents we didn't know that 6 months of our kid being miserable at drop off wasn't normal, we feel really lucky that we left Goddard and are settled at a place where drop off and pick up are an ease, communication is regular, and the teachers love our kiddo.

Really impressed with the quality of teachers here. You can tell they don't hire just anyone. I…read moreused to teach Montessori when I was in college and I can testify that not all preschools are as high quality as you would hope, but I have been extremely pleased with our experience at Family Academy of Bethesda in both the younger and older classrooms. They take care of things for you and are completely child-centered, and they somehow manage to be laid back and provide a stronger academic program than most schools. The kids are all lively and sweet and engaged-- I was a little worried about preschool crushing my son's spirit but Family Academy really seems to follow the Montessori idea for real and created a real curiosity and love of learning in my 2 year old. It is so fun to watch him color and wash dishes and it's clear he enjoys it. The school buildings are a little dilapidated, but I think that's because the staff is focused on quality teaching for the kids rather than expanding and looking fancy to attract more parents. Anyway they are totally clean and each classroom is it's own house, which is really cute. Definitely would recommend it if you can get a spot.

I give my highest and most heartfelt recommendation to the Family Academy of Bethesda. My son has…read morebeen here since he was just three months old and stayed until almost three years old, when unfortunately we had to move away due to work relocation. If it weren't for that, we would have loved for him to stay here as long as possible. It's hard to put into words how incredible this place has been for our family. From the days when he could barely lift his head, to learning to walk, talk, sing, and share stories about his day, we've watched him grow into a happy, curious, and confident little boy--all thanks to the loving care and nurturing environment of Family Academy. He not only learned language and knowledge, but also good manners and a true love of learning.The teachers are absolutely amazing--kind, patient, and so easy to communicate with. My son is a slow and picky eater, yet they always gave him extra time and gentle encouragement. They care for each child as if they were their own. The administration team is just as wonderful; they know every child by name and engage with them warmly every single day.What makes Family Academy so special is not only the quality of education but the genuine love and attention they give to every child. The environment encourages exploration, creativity, and curiosity about everything in the world. I could see every day how happy my son was here.I am deeply grateful for everything the Family Academy has given to our son and to our family. This school is truly a treasure in the community, and I would recommend it wholeheartedly to any parent.

On paper, The Britleys School seems like a great environment for children to learn, grow and…read morethrive. In reality, my family's brief experience with the school was disheartening, reinforcing our greatest fears about raising a Black son in America. Shortly after our son began at The Britleys School, he started exhibiting challenges with hitting his peers and teachers. As his parents, we recognize this behavior is not ideal, and we worked with him at home to address, redirect, and correct it. While we were diligently working to help him navigate this behavior, we also recognized that it is developmentally appropriate and, in many cases, typical for a 21-month-old. Both can be correct. Despite having several conversations over the course of a few weeks at pick-up with my husband about additional strategies to address this behavior, the administration believed it was important to have a virtual meeting to discuss additional resolutions. As soon as the conversation began, Ms. Britney mentioned how my son, at a mere 21 months, a young boy who is considered small for his age, was "dangerous" to his peers and teachers. She then went on to berate us with an interrogation about "what's going on at home?" and we were subsequently criticized for how we were addressing the behavior at home. The insinuations were clear, and they were insulting and highly disrespectful. Instead of seeking a collaborative solution, we were being lectured on basic "Parenting 101" practices for raising children (with the implied assumption that he was witnessing physical abuse at home). If this is how leadership was talking to me and my husband in our faces, I can only imagine how they were treating my "dangerous" child while we weren't present. In a society where Black children are constantly vilified for simply existing and developing appropriately, this approach did nothing but reinforce the ideology that Black children require more significant discipline measures compared to their peers. THIS is how the school-to-prison pipeline begins. Research shows that Black children are 4 times more likely to be suspended from preschool because of "behavioral issues." That statistic increases by 2.5 if that Black child is a boy. Knowing this and witnessing firsthand how Black boys are punished more harshly than their peers and criminalized for typical development behavior in our society, this description, this extreme language to describe a 21-month-old, did not seem like a place that would create an environment where he was nurtured and appreciated. We ultimately decided to remove him after his 2.5-month stint at The Britleys School because we will not let this institution, or any institution for that matter, steal our son's joy. The Britleys School did not recognize my son's essence and brilliance, and because they didn't, they will not have the privilege of watching him grow into an amazing young man bound to positively impact those around him. Zero stars--would not recommend.

Britleys is absolutely a "hidden gem" for parents wanting to give exceptional educational…read moreexperiences for their infants, toddlers, and young children -- helping them develop intellectually and socially. It is clear that Gloria (the owner) and her staff of wonderful teachers give lots of love and individualized attention to each student in their care. If I could give six stars, I would!

I enrolled my daughter at this location with high expectations for a safe, nurturing, attentive,…read moreand structured learning environment. Unfortunately, my experience over time raised several concerns that ultimately led to me seeing the truth about this location. One of my primary concerns was basic hygiene and attentiveness. On multiple occasions, I picked my daughter up with visible food residue still on her face. I also observed dried nasal discharge on her face and even on the back of her hand, as if she had attempted to clean herself. I began noticing similar issues with other children as well, including children walking around with excessively runny noses for extended periods without staff intervention. I'm sure this is why the kids are always sick. In addition, there appeared to be a lack of situational awareness when it came to children's comfort and supervision. There were times where clothing did not seem appropriate for the weather, which further reflected a lack of attentiveness to individual needs. They would take the children outside without coats while it's cold. More concerning were multiple safety incidents involving my daughter that were handled in an extremely dismissive manner. One incident I personally witnessed on camera involved another child pushing my daughter three times back-to-back until she fell to the ground, while a teacher stood directly beside them without intervening. Later that same day, I noticed a bruise on my daughter's leg. When I reported this to the director, Erin, I was told the video showed my daughter "falling into the teacher's lap," which did not align with what I personally observed on camera. I was also informed that no incident report would be completed because the injury was not from the neck up. Another incident involved my daughter being struck in the head with a toy by another child, leaving her with a swollen bruise and lump that was black, blue, and purple. At pickup, staff appeared very nonchalant about the situation, simply stating that they "put ice on it" and that these things were "normal." While discussing this incident with staff, another child nearby was actively biting another child while staff stood around without immediately intervening. When I pointed this out, the response I received was dismissive instead of reassuring. I also observed what appeared to be inconsistent treatment and favoritism within the center. When I inquired about my daughter transitioning to the next classroom as she approached the appropriate age, I was told it would not be possible because of lack of space and something regarding the way they pick who goes to the next class. However, I personally observed the director's granddaughter transition out of the same classroom within approximately 2-3 weeks. She doesn't talk, isn't potty trained and is only two months older than my daughter. Her mom confirmed these things to me personally. This raised concerns for me regarding whether policies and opportunities were being applied equally to all families. In addition to these concerns, I often was dismissed when attempting to advocate for my child. Erin's communication style frequently came across as condescending, defensive, racist and lacking empathy whenever concerns were raised. Rather than feeling supported as a parent, I often left interactions feeling unheard and uncomfortable. I also recorded my second raised concern that I had with Erin. So if anyone wants proof on the way she handles things, I will send you the video! There were also instances where staff appeared more focused on phones and side conversations than actively engaging with the children. The environment is more like passive babysitting than a structured educational setting focused on child development and attentive care. My daughter went from talking and being expressive to crying and whining all the time. When I asked to speak to the owner Erin continuously lied and made excuses. For $525 per week (approximately $2,100 per month), parents should be able to expect attentive supervision, professionalism, cleanliness, accountability, and equitable treatment. Unfortunately, that was not my experience. Also the front desk worker Suzie as well is extremely disrespectful. I just left the school so upset that this is the way they handle people who pay their hard earned money. Erin is a liar as well. She claimed I was rude and used profanity when my child was hit on by another child. Which is a lie! Watch the cameras for one full day while your child is there and I PROMISE YOU WILL NOT WANT YOUR CHILD ATTENDING THIS EXPENSIVE BABY SITTER! UPDATE: Notice every response is signed "Karim B. (Owner) mine is "Center Administration and Compliance Team". Erin is in fact a big part of the problem. Parents can draw their own conclusions regarding how concerns are handled when serious safety and supervision issues are raised.

Leaving Kiddie Academy of Alexandria is so bittersweet for our family. Both of our children have…read morebeen here since they were just 12 weeks old, and watching them grow up in such a loving environment has been a beautiful experience. It's the kind of place where everyone knows your kids, greets them with a smile, and treats them like family. We are so sad to say goodbye. The wonderful teachers will always have a special place in my heart, and I cannot recommend this daycare enough to any parent looking for a safe, loving place for their little ones. They really are the best.

My wife and I love the FAA/DOT Child Development Center. We have two boys enrolled in the center…read more The day care center operates as a non-profit and you can tell all the teachers love their students. When we asked our oldest son who he wanted to invite to his birthday party he named all his teachers before naming any of his friends from school or the local play ground. The day care hours are from 7:15-5:45 and they serve infants through pre-K. The day care center is located across st from L'Enfant Plaza metro.

We have been at this daycare for a little over a year. The teachers are warm and engaging. The…read morespace is clean and well organized with toys, books, sensory tables and music. They have two large covered playgrounds and even take class trips to the Smithsonian museums. The director is always around and actively participates with each of the kids. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found this daycare.