I run an after school martial arts program and one of the schools we pick up from is the Naval…read moreAcademy Primary School (NAPS for short). Parents ask me all the time which school gets the most out of their students. My answer is always the same; NAPS. This is the best run, most efficient, and nicest school you'll ever come across, period. I don't know much about how tuition works or any of that but I'm sure it's expensive to send your child here and for good reason, you get what you pay for. The quality of the education your son or daughter receives stands head and shoulders above the rest. I'm not saying other schools in the area are garbage or anything like that. I'm not putting other schools down let me be clear. Just that in my years of experience working with kids in after school, the teachers and administrators at NAPS do a better job than most. If you care about your child's future then definitely check this school out. I give them two thumbs up!

NAPS is a warm and welcoming school. The teachers are phenomenal, the curriculum is rigorous, and…read morethe children are kind and friendly. The staff is responsive and helpful. I particularly like that social/emotional learning is a major focus at NAPS. Intentionally building and teaching character is very important to me. Great school!

My daughter has been a student at SA since she was 2 . I can't imagine a better place for her to…read morelearn and grow. She is thriving in this warm , caring and challenging environment. I love the parent involvement , sense of community and open door policy of all the teachers, administration included. Worth every penny ! Best school around.

From the owner: St. Anne's School of Annapolis is an independent Episcopal school for Twos through Eighth Grade…read more Focusing on a rigorous, inquiry-based academic and social curriculum St. Anne's School is shaping the innovative leaders of tomorrow.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful park area in Bowie, located directly in…read morefront of the school. While walking my dog, I noticed how well-maintained and family-friendly the grounds were. I could hear the school intercom during what sounded like a summer program activity, possibly a rock-paper-scissors tournament, which created a fun and positive atmosphere. The park itself offers plenty of options for children and families, including playground equipment, swings, slides, basketball and tennis courts, and educational nature signs featuring local wildlife information. The grounds were clean and well-kept overall. The only area that appeared to need some attention was portions of the foam safety surface beneath the playground equipment. My dog and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit and look forward to returning. Bowie continues to impress as a community that is welcoming to both families and pets. Adult swings and plenty of places to set for lunch our gold drink.

I can't say enough great things about Chapel Forge. My child has been attending the program for a…read moreyear now and it's been a positive experience . When I drop my child off, I'm greeted by every staff member and they know my child by name including the principal. The staff engages me in his educational goals regularly and keeps me up to date on all changes to help meet these goals . Lastly, I love that even if my child shows up with a scratch at school, they call me. It might sound like a lot for some parents, but this reassures me that he's an environment that prioritizes safety and attentiveness to each individual child.

I will always feel a deep sense of gratitude that my daughter was lucky enough to attend the…read moreGreenmount school. No school is perfect, but we felt Greenmount came awfully close to meeting that parental ideal. It provided our child with a five star education at a modest for private, school cost and was academically and socially transformative. The staff were bright, creative, nurturing and insightful. Even the two tough love teachers were lovely folks who I respect and have genuine affection for. Some of its faculty were down right brilliant and amazed us left and right. We are both educators so know good teaching when we see it and most times it was amazing as were the administrators: Steve, Elaine and Liz. I can't speak to the present staff, as a few of our favorites have moved on, but when we were there, you would be hard pressed to find a more talented math and language arts faculty. Every one my daughter caught, were knock your socks off good! Sometimes I'd sigh with pleasure watching them teach. One that we nearly worshiped, Ms Tanza is is still on staff and she was an outstanding educator, but went to a much needed administrative position. The administration and office staff were always welcoming, and generous with their time and so kind. If they said they would look into something, or amend it, they promptly did so. I don't know of another head of school who would drop everything and personally walk down and check on a child who was feeling a bit anxious like Ms Elaine and Ms Liz, or a history teacher who would bat around a project after school with your child for 30 minutes, like Fletcher. I felt that every staff member genuinely enjoyed children and took the responsibility assigned to them. They are committed, kind watchful, hard working and the majority deep souled. We loved the small cozy feel, communally imaginative and artistic hum, and a staff that strategized together, and things like Shakespeare plays open to all, vibrantly interesting themes, spiraling curriculum and creative after school club offerings. Their mutual concern for students extended beyond academics, and strongly factored in each student's confidence, learning style, social and emotional well being. Issues of bulling and unkindness were addressed, as well as academic remediation and encouragement provided. Teachers invited students to drop in after school with questions. If a mistakes was made they owned and and apologized. I adored that about them.They were great about email. Many were witty, humble and delightful. I once watched two well up with tears at how far my child had come. My child was dyslexic and dysgraphic and hated writing and would be in tears for hours and left a strong writer and great speller thanks to the combined talents of Ms. Tanza, Ms. Allison and Ms. Pam. They literally remediated her in a 1.5 months and took her fear and dread of writing away. They were miraculous. She was quiet and made great friends and grew in confidence. I saw children who hated math grow to relish it and describe it as their favorite subject. In fact, I have never seen a group of children so fired up and in love with math. Mr Luca was as outstanding at the language arts staff. Unfortunately, those instructors have left, retired or taken admin positions, but they were worth every penny of that tuition. Science other than my daughter's first two years with Pam and Ms Elizabeth who were awesome, could have been stronger, but we haven't been at a school were I wouldn't level that same complaint. It is hard to find capable science faculty and do so on the limited budget most schools have, even at the 35K a year schools. There are sometimes good club activities to round that out and they were actively working on improving the situation prior. Like all private schools, there is a lot of staff turnover. That is both a good and bad thing. Sometimes you hit it right and catch some rather breathtaking educators who are only in town for a few years, or unfortunately near retirement and you are heart broken to see them go. Yet anyone not up to snuff is rarely retained for more than a year, which is more than you can say about public school. It's sad when the stellar ones leave, but comforting when anyone struggling is moved along, and the experience is uniformly allotted. If public school is not a great fit for you child, race to GreenMount, it really is a gem of a school with the most caring and delightful staff.

Greenmount is a small community focused on giving its students a large education. The classes are…read moresmall, 12 in Kindergarten and 12- 15 in the elementary and middle schools. The curriculum is developed around 3 themes annually and theme is the same for the entire school K-8. It is also a parent co-op with each parent required to volunteer to defray costs. This means the tuition is more in the $10 - $12 K range, a real value in a city where independent school tuition can be +$25 K.

Our son attended LSCA for four years and was able to graduate early after receiving all the…read moreindividual help he needed that he was not able to get in a public school. The Christian education and influence has helped him to continually grow in his faith even after his high school years. My daughter has just started attending LSCA for high school and we are all very excited to know that she will receive the same great Christian education and support that her brother did. Tuition is reasonable, teachers are very qualified and the learning environment is a positive one.

From the owner: LSCA is a ministry of the Bible Church of Lake Shore that exists to partner with parents in…read moreproviding a great, Biblically-based education that points families to Jesus and glorifies God. Since 1976, Lake Shore Christian Academy has been helping students just like yours get a solid education with programs from pre-school through the 12th grade. Our core curriculums (Accelerated Christian Education and A Beka) provide spiritual, moral, and academic growth and allow students to receive individual attention for their individual needs.