My daughter completed the three-year primary program at Violeta. It was an outstanding experience…read morefor our family. Her first interaction with Violeta was a picnic for incoming families, followed by an individual home visit by her teachers before the first school year began. From day 1, the teachers and students are not strangers, thanks to the introductory events. Here's how Violeta continued to support my child's development: The mixed-age model was very effective at giving her practice leading and taking leadership from other children. In the first year, she mimicked the advanced children and took interest in more advanced tasks. By her third year, she was proud of receiving the more difficult presentations from the teachers (like division) and assisting younger classmates in learning skills she was already proficient with (like tracing, grading colors, and phonetics). I am thrilled to see my daughter, at age 6, already has teaching experience herself. Setting the table, using a napkin to wipe her mouth between messy bites, doing dishes, washing napkins, pouring her own glass of water from a pitcher, sewing with a needle and thread, tying her shoes, preparing a snack for herself and a friend, planting and harvesting from the garden, asking for help and helping others. Every day the teachers did this with the children, so my daughter's life skills are second nature now. The teachers are very thoughtful in how they design and prepare the environment to allow every student to practice at their own level before advancing to more challenging tasks and skills. Perhaps most importantly, Violeta has cultivated my daughter's motivation to learn, her skill to learn through observation and hands-on practice (standard in Montessori), and her ability to focus. At home, she self-initiates projects and remains on task without losing focus. She is attentive to her environment, thoughtful about what is around her, and happy to spend a day without screens. Violeta does not use screens. The school offers many ways for children to experience all their senses: smelling distinct scents in bottles, listening to world music with headphones, tending to living plants and animals, exploring the outdoors twice a day, and working with natural materials like arranging flowers for display. With bilingual instruction reinforced by proactive daily practice (e.g., Spanish mealtime conversations, workbooks, audiobooks, bedtime stories and more) beyond school hours, my daughter's language development has thrived. She has learned to do math, read, write, and build relationships with all ages in Spanish and English. For her, fluency has been a natural outcome of bilingual practice at home and at school.

My daughter is nearing the end of her 2nd year at Violeta. The current teachers are great at…read morelearning what each individual child needs. My daughter was very reserved and quiet when she began and has blossomed socially, now able to speak up and stand up for herself. The learning environment is beautiful and well maintained by the teachers. They encourage parent involvement and the kids are all a tight knit group. Highly recommend this school for anyone who wants to see their young child flourish!

My kids have attended this school since 2019 (one started in K, one in pre-K / ECC) and we've loved…read moreit. Child-centered, creative, and interdisciplinary curriculum with loving and skilled teachers, an excellent afterschool program, and a lovely sense of place within Beacon Hill. Grownup community is warm and laidback, with a genuine shared emphasis on raising kind humans who love to learn. Proof that you can learn in an innovative, progressive way and still get great test scores!

The Advent School is an amazing elementary school that my daughter attended from Kindergarten until…read moreshe graduated with her sixth grade class at Faneuil Hall. Throughout those seven years, she loved school - she was excited about learning and was empowered to be the confident student that she continues to be today. The teachers and administration are intentional about getting to know each child individually to ensure that each child's educational needs are met. Advent prepared my daughter to be the motivated, dedicated and responsible student that she is today as she continues to thrive at Noble and Greenough School. Many thanks to Advent!

I have mixed feelings about St. Columbkille Partnership School. On the surface, the school presents…read moreas warm, community-oriented, and supportive, and many of the teachers and families are wonderful. I personally gave a great deal of time and energy to the school community this year, volunteering more than 140 hours in various capacities. However, I was deeply disappointed by my experience with school leadership when an issue arose regarding a school trip. What concerned me most was not simply the financial issue itself, but the lack of transparency and flexibility in how it was handled. A significant cancellation policy affecting families financially was never disclosed in the enrollment materials we signed, and school leadership did not appear familiar with the applicable policy when questions first arose. Despite repeated requests, we were only provided with the policy after the trip had already concluded. At no point were families provided with clear information regarding illness-related cancellations, reimbursement timelines, or whether trip insurance was recommended or available. In hindsight, that information was critically important. In my experience, leadership was pleasant and collaborative when things were going smoothly, but far less flexible or solution-oriented when a genuine concern arose. Despite our family's significant involvement and goodwill toward the school, there was no willingness to consider even a partial compromise. Parents should make sure they carefully ask questions about financial policies, trip terms, cancellation rules, and how disputes are handled before committing to programs or payments.

We are still so VERY happy with St Columbkille School. Our kids are thriving academically and…read moresocially and they are happy at school. We are so thankful for the amazing staff and the school leadership is exceptional.

Our family has been having a wonderful experience at LLEC. The staff is professional, responsive,…read moreunderstanding and attentive. The babies are well cared for and receive positive stimulation between music, fun toys, books and just interactions! Plus, we are at ease knowing we can check on our baby throughout the day both on the app and on the live stream. Also, the communication to and from management has been great. They are proactive in offering timely and helpful updates and responsive to any questions or concerns we have. This day care truly "cares". Recommend!

Today 3/12/2020 at around 6:30 pm after all parent picked up their kid. The center sent out an…read moreemail to parents stating the center will be closed the next day morning until the end of the month for now due to the Corona Virus. Unlike other daycare which gives at least 24 hours notice. They decide to avoid any conversation with parents in person and just shot out an email after all parents leave with their children. Closing of the center to prevent community spread is understandable. However, the Center still demand parents to pay for the full tuition which is over 100 dollar a day while it remains closed is not very reasonable. In a time like this, school employees still need to get paid and the money comes from either the owner of the facilities or all the parents, but I wonder if they are getting their full-salary while parents paying full tuition or they are only getting paid on a discounted rate because that would be a shame.

Great teachers great experience. Facility is very large and accommodating. The kids are not in one…read moreroom every so often they switch. My son loves it.

I'm so grateful for Carmelite Sisters Preschool. My son loves it. He's learned so much this year. I…read moreknow he will be ready for kindergarten. Besides the basics coloring etc they teach values and kindness. The sisters and teachers are wonderful! They truly care about the children. I love knowing he's in a safe and loving environment while I'm at work. I wish the Carmelite was an elementary school because I would keep my son here. I Highly recommend the Carmelite!

I have two children at little treasures and I couldn't be happier with the care they provide. Each…read morechild has been enrolled since they were between 4-6 months old. Miss Ally in the infant room is amazing, loving, caring, and attentive. We have loved all of the additional teachers my daughter has been with including as she moves up in classrooms including Miss Bridgit, Miss Mandi, Miss Dianne, Miss Casey, and Miss Trina. The administrators (Robin, Mary, and Megan) are also friendly, accommodating, responsive, and welcoming. I have referred many friends to LTS and cannot recommend them enough!

I have been a part of the Little Treasures family since 2004...both as a parent and as a…read moreteacher/administrator. As a parent, there is no where else I would have wanted my kids to develop their educations. When they went on to elementary school (in another town), I was asked (by their teachers) where they went to preschool/pre-K. I was told that they were more prepared than most of the other children in their class. Amazing! As a teacher/administrator, there is no where else I would want to work. I am the music teacher (for all 3 locations) and the after school and vacation program director. The home-like atmosphere provided at LTS is true and organic. While still professional, the teachers and administrators at LTS are intelligent, loving, kind, generous, honest, trustworthy, dependable, fun and just plain old nice! The 3 locations are all different and amazing in their own right. The programs offered at each location are well-planned, consistent, engaging and constructive. If you are looking for a positive learning experience for your child, please check out Little Treasures in Reading, Lynnfield or North Reading.

I absolutely love BMS! Both of my kids have attended the school from 18 months through…read moreKindergarten, and the teachers are always patient and kind. Even during pickup after a long day, they still maintain a positive and warm attitude :) The school itself may be small, but the classrooms are spacious and bright with a Montessori setup (I liked it immediately at my first visit). Though it's a small community, it feels like a close-knit family where everyone knows each other. Room parents communicate often and organize activities outside of school, which helps the kids bond, and my children have made their best friends there. I highly recommend it!

Both of my children, now elementary-age, attended Bedford Montessori School and had a wonderful…read moreexperience. The school is well run and the staff are experienced and kind. If you want a small school with Montessori style teaching, then this is an excellent option.

I'm torn about this location. What they do well: they take on incredible feats of organization to…read moreget coverage for long hours, so that parents can work. We were also fortunate to have two very loving and dedicated teachers in the toddler class that stayed on together, despite the pattern of high turnover in other classrooms. What they need to do better: -Invest in teacher trainings on the social emotional development of children. This includes improving the book selection, some of which are backwards and downright scary for young kids. I've personally spoken with the regional manager about the curriculum, and she admitted to me that everything, from toys, to books, to what gets posted on class bulletin boards, is centrally controlled. If you are looking for a school that espouses child-led development, this is not it. -Hire people who want to be educators, not who are doing this for a day job. I was surprised to see a former teacher waiting tables in East Boston. She claimed the teacher pay was too low and many of her colleagues were making the choice to leave. Note: this is a publicly-traded company and they are for-profit. They cut back on salaries for teachers, though they charge the same amounts that not-for-profits do. -Be more open to parent feedback (it's heard but not always incorporated by management). BH has no core educational philosophy (I thought BH was Montessori based but that's not the case in practice). The teachers in the Pk class are clearly stretched thin and not able to plan effectively for activities. I hear a lot of reprimanding children for not sitting still and listening instead of engaging them. We ended up moving to an independent PK with a smaller class size.

We have had nothing but an amazing experience at Bright Horizons. The staff is amazing and they are…read morealways as flexible as possible! The center is extremely welcoming and warm and each staff member is incredibly loving towards the children. Can't say a negative thing about here!