It's been over 2yrs since this school was reviewed and I had to write an updated review about this amazing little school. St. Joseph's is the quintessential old-time play-based preschool. You won't find slick, shiny high tech learning tools. Instead, you'll find children's artwork on the walls, teachers that know the names of every kid in the school and a school handbook that tells you to send your kids dressed to PLAY! Make no mistake though, there is a lot of learning and development taking place every single day. The director has now been there for about 3yrs and has really turned the school around from earlier years. St. Joseph's has adopted the High Scope curriculum, which is a teacher-guided, child-led approach to learning across all the major components including gross and fine motor, social, creative, language and artistic development. They are also currently pursuing NAEYC accreditation which will only highlight further the commitment of the adminstration and staff on the growth of the children. Lesson plans are posted in the classrooms, in addition to daily individual reports, weekly school-wide emails and monthly school-wide newsletters. The classes may be large, but the teacher-student ratio is low with anywhere from 3-5 teachers per class. Each classroom has 1 or 2 head teachers with degrees in child development or early childhood education in addition to assistant teachers with significant experience working with small children. It is a Catholic preschool, with a simple grace before lunch and 20min chapel once a week, but the focus is really on the broader goodness and kindness values which cross all religious and secular traditions. In addition, there are wonderful extracurricular options available including soccer, Spanish, computer and creative movement for additional fees if you want to provide an additional activity for your child. Clearly I could go on and on about all the things we love about this school. Our daughter is thriving, and having toured and interviewed multiple schools in the area (Montessori, immersion, play-based, church-based, etc...) we absolutely made the right decision in sending her to St. Joseph's. read more

We have been very pleased with our daughter's experience at St. Joseph's over the last two years. She loves her teachers, has made great friends, and enjoys going to school. We have also found the teachers to be very communicative and the school to be well run. It's a nice community, and we feel lucky to have the school close by. read more

My daughter is in Pre-K at Saint Joseph's and she has loved every minute of it--we are counting down the days until my son is old enough to go there too! The teachers, staff, Director, etc. are all wonderful. I looked at several preschool/daycares when my daughter was first entering and I loved this one the most because it was the coziest and felt like a home. They have great playgrounds for the kids and my daughter loves the food they serve. I highly recommend St. Joseph's! read more

I don't usually write reviews, but I would like to give my opinion on Saint Joseph preschool. I was hired while I was completing my undergrad degree . I worked there for five years and the director and owner were so accommodating to staff. I was lucky enough to work in every room. If you decide to come to Saint Joseph, you will not regret your decision. I would also like to address the other reviews about the school having bullying and including the director name. When writing reviews, it's not appropriate to write the names of the people involved because it could lead to defamation of a person's character. Not only that, it saids a lot more about the person writing the review than about the school. Also, the manner in which the school addresses bullying is trying to find the best way to help the child and trying many methods. I hope that when I have children that I will be able to bring my kids there. read more

I just returned from a tour of St. Joseph's Preschool and after reading Christina C.'s review, I felt compelled to write a review of my, albeit brief, experience while I was there. I did my research before approaching St. Joseph's Preschool with the Virginia Department of Social Services. St. Joseph's is a LICENSED preschool. They one minor violation in the last 6 months (just 1!!!), but nothing that my current day care provider hasn't already dealt with. Christina C.'s review indicates that St. Joseph's is religiously exempt from having to obtain a state license, but that is no longer the case. St. Joseph's has a license to operate in the state of Virginia until June 11, 2012. From Christina C.'s review, she mentions a director, referring to the director as "him" and "he". The director that I met was a woman, she was kind, warm and very welcoming. She was full of information, she answered all of my questions even before I could ask them! She gave me the tour of the school and it blew me away, compared to other preschools I've toured recently. Considering Christina's review, I believe they've made VAST improvements. I really like their new curriculum and learning approach that she has institued, called the Reggio Emilia approach. It is designed to be less teacher instructional and more hands on with the children, encouraging the children to explore their interests through art, expression/dramatic play and taking them to the next level without strict guidelines. I really liked the layout of the school as well as the outdoor play area, which was HUGE compared to others I had seen. I also like the location of the school and outdoor play area as it is far off from the main streets and backs up to the W&O trail. Most other schools I've visited have been on major roads with lots of traffic. Unlike other schools I have visited where the classrooms are just rooms in the basement of a church converted into "play areas", this school looks like it is a mini elementary school, with separate classrooms, hallways, etc. It felt very quant and reminded me of my elementary school days. Yes, this is a "catholic" school, however, the director informed me that they teach the children about all religions and religious holidays. They are also affiliated with extra curricular activities such as Yoga, Dance and Soccer, which makes it really easy to sign your child up. I noticed the menu and I was glad to see no chips or other junk food, but nutritional meals. They provide the menu to parents ahead of time to the parents react if necessary. There is also a yearly schedule that they publish and provide to the parents to let them know of holidays/closures, events and group outings. Overall, I was impressed with the school and have decided to enroll our son there. Once he begins going to the school, I will follow up with another review based on his reaction and how well he is doing. read more

To answer a question posted to me...Yes, I experienced all this myself and so have some other parents at this school with whom I have spoken with. This is a review and it is honest and objective. I am a Catholic and that is the only reason I did not pursue further action against this place. Check with state of Va to find out how religious institutions are exempt from many rigorous requirements which other childcare facilities have to comply with. read more

I read the reviews here but still went ahead with enrolling, and had same bad experiences that Christina C had. Moreover the school's management has no ethics and did not refund the money they said they will. I have 3 emails from the school, the first one said the will refund the money, the second one said they will refund half (from director Cinzia Putzeys) finally I got a very arrogant email from the owner Sam Irmak that he decided to issue no refund at all. They treat you as if they are doing a favor by enrolling your kid. Honestly I am happy that I am not sending my son to this school. Chrisina C is right. Do not send your kids to this school. I got my son enrolled in Corpus Christi which is a much better school. read more

My child attends St.Josephs Preschool and I just want to respond to John K's Review. I am sorry to hear that you did not get a refund on fees you wanted back, however you should not write that you had the same experience as Christina C because that was written in 2009 and she is speaking of a previous MALE Director. That is not fair to write because Cinzia Putzeys is the new Director. The program is now under new management and is a loving well run program. With all do respect, Accounting issues is one thing and the Program is another. I love the program. My child is thriving, also the staff is warm and loving. When people write reviews they should think twice and give fair evaluations. Non-Refundable fees are exactly what they are Non-Refundable. Christina C, I'm sure your kids are past the preschool age, but you should come back to see the school. I think as a Parent you would be very happy. read more

LORD OF THE FLIES St. Joseph's was run by nuns several years ago but was bought by an independent businessman recently. My wife and I came to the school based on a recommendation from a friend. We had a terrible experience and ended up pulling our three year old daughter out after less than six months. In that time we ran into incidents of hitting, slapping, and general bullying. We still have a collection of incident reports where our daughter was hurt in some way. On days that I was there dropping off, I observed teachers who were so overworked and overwhelmed by the sheer number of students that the class devolved into chaos. We requested a conference with the owner and the director, Cinzia. It yielded nothing. We were treated with pure condescension by an immature management who was over matched by the job of running a preschool. At the end of the meeting, they told my wife and I that we should consider looking elsewhere. That was the one point on which we agreed wholeheartedly. This experience cost us enormous distress because our daughter became sullen and withdrawn. It cost us money as well since we had to withdraw her and make arrangements for my wife to work from home. If we had it to do over again, we would have: (1) applied to many schools much, much earlier. We, as well as a few new parents I spoke with, painted ourselves into a corner by not having any other options available; (2) chosen a school that had NOT recently transitioned ownership. The school's reputation under the Catholic nuns was stellar, but that school is long gone. (3) gone with our gut instinct instead of ignoring our own concerns about what we saw. The noise and absolute chaos is not normal. Unless your child is particularly tough and independent, they're in for a Lord of The Flies experience. As it turns out, our friend who's recommendation of St Joseph's carried so much weight, withdrew his child around the same time we withdrew our daughter. He said the school had gone downhill from when he enrolled his older daughter. read more

Our two boys recently finished preschool and very much enjoyed their time at St Joe's. They both loved all their teachers and friends over their combined four years there. We found it to be an excellent preschool. It is extraordinarily convenient and well run, and both of our kids learned a lot. The staff was kind and nurturing, and they go out of their way to provide both education and fun special events (magic shows, field trips, holiday performances, etc.). The tuition is very reasonable, especially considering that they are open long hours all year round, and they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. I'm very happy that we chose St Joe's and would definitely recommend it to any of our friends with small kids. Thanks to the director, the teachers and all of the staff for working so hard and providing such a great experience for our family! read more

My son just finished his preschool year at St Joseph. After having been at daycare for 4 years with the same provider I was very nervous. St Joseph exceeded all my expectations from day 1. Mrs Das was my sons teacher and although she left mid year she was excellent. Ms Marian was the assistant teacher and she was great too. Later Mrs Damaris joined and we loved her too. From the chapel teacher Ms Paula, the cafeteria chef, Mrs Cinzia, everyone was great. They definitely prepared my son well for kindergarten and gave him lots of love, learning experiences and fun times. Thank you St Joseph! I will be back for my baby girl to join when it is time!!Fellow students and parents were excellent too. Great school, great neighborhood, great network!! read more

I reviewed this school back in November but some how it doesn't show up anymore. But I did want to say St Joseph's Preschool is supposedly Catholic but not run but the Diocese or any other religious organization. It is a business and not a non for profit organization. They kept it with the Catholic premise because that is how it began. So it doesn't fall into the exemption category. Please check your fact before you post again. Here was my previous review After reading the review on this website I thought I should post my own more accurate review. We have been at St. Joseph's for 15 months and although it is not perfect it really is great safe healthy place for my children. In those 15 months, there has been three Directors and I believe the first reviewer is referring to the first Director when she posts since that is the only male Director we've had. The newest Director has made a lot of positive changes and the school now only serves nutritious lunches and snacks. My children are in the younger classes and do get dirty often but have never been left in dirty clothes/diaper or anything. They love this school and the teachers. I cannot comment on the late pick up fees as my children are never there after 5pm but I can say the teachers have always been extremely helpful and caring and if they have to stay late for your child they should be compensated. read more

I can't say enough good things about St. Joseph's. When I enrolled my daughter, my biggest hope was for her to learn some more social skills since she had not previously been to day care. To say my expectations were exceeded would be a huge understatement. Her writing, vocabulary, etiquette and overall experiences have blossomed by being at St. Joe's. I wish she could stay there for elementary school. I love the teachers and the fact that so far there seems to be very little turnover (my daughter has been there about 15 months and we did not experience any turnover). There is a great balance between play and structured learning. I like that there is a spiritual component without it being all encompassing....my daughter makes sure we say grace before every meal now, and I love that. The other families are great and we have done so many fun things together. I agree with the previous poster that the director is great for the school. I am looking forward to another great year starting up and I will be sending my son there next fall as well. read more