Both our children are beginning their fifth year at Rockbridge Academy. Our educational journey…read morebegan as a homeschool family, and we later needed to find a school to place them. At the core of our search was a school that was Christ-centered and where parents were considered the primary educators of their child(ren). At Rockbridge, we have found that and more. Education there is perceived as the exploring, unpacking and understanding of God's creation, and this philosophy undergirds every subject area. They follow a classical curriculum, which essentially translates to an education that aligns with a child's natural development. The fruit of this form of education has been wonderful to witness as a parent. What really has been the "clincher" for my husband and I is the way they handle discipline. At the heart is forgiveness and restoration of the student. I am so incredibly grateful for the education they are receiving there and that they experience the Lord's grace there and at home.

From the owner: Rockbridge Academy offers a classical Christian approach to education designed to create…read moreself-motivated learners who pursue truth, beauty, and goodness in all endeavors. Our curriculum seeks to instill a love for learning and to equip students to meet challenges with enthusiasm and determination. Our dedicated teachers love their subjects and their students, encouraging them to take every thought captive to Christ.

My children began their Hero's Journey this year at Liberty Leadership Academy after coming out of…read morethe public school system. The difference in my children has been nothing short of a miracle. They are excited to learn, they are excited to talk about school and it's as if a lightbulb has gone off in their heads. This school has been life changing for us. They love the small class sizes and they can independently think. Over the summer they were able to go into locally owned Paradise Donut Shop and learn about how to run a business. They got to learn how to make the donuts, decorate the donuts and serve the donuts. This would never happen in the public school. The love that can use their laptops every day and they are excited about the STEM learning that they will be able to do. Thank you Liberty Leadership Academy for getting my kids excited about learning again.

From the owner: My name is Rob Orlando, one of two co-founders of Liberty Leadership Academy, a K-8 private school…read morein Bel Air, Maryland. In 2004 I walked away from a career in education. I loved teaching, and my experiences in elementary and middle school are some of the most rewarding of my life, but the whole time I was there I couldn't escape the feeling of hypocrisy. I didn't believe in the curriculum we were being forced to teach, and yet I would go through the motions and do it anyway. How would rote memorization, absorbing lectures from an adult, and learning to obey really prepare children for the future? So I walked away from education to pursue a career in computer science. I left the traditional model behind; or so I thought. Flash forward to 2017, and life had given Kim and me three amazing boys. As parents living in the day and age of unlimited possibilities, we did not want my children learning how to become factory workers. We'd look at what our boys were learning, and while it appeared like success on the surface, the reality was we couldn't draw parallels between the curriculum and what would bring them joy and opportunity later in life. Like all parents, we want our children to experience the best life has to offer, and the dots just weren't connecting. The scary part was where we did connect the dots. While we were fortunate to work with some incredible people over the past decade, they weren't the majority...

This school has a great curriculum. The students will be 1-2 grades ahead upon completion at this…read moreschool. The school affords the students a well rounded education. Students are taught so well in Spanish, that they will be fluent or at least nearly fluent upon completion of this course. It is also great that the class sizes are small (usually fewer than 20 students per class) which enhances learning. The teachers genuinely care about the students' education. One of the greatest strengths of this school are their peers. It is clear that the other students have parents that care about their child's education which encourages the students to come to school ready to learn. The school is also very firm about bully prevention. Overall, we were very happy with this school. BI

My child is enrolled in this school. I am not sure why there are so many negative comments as MDIS…read moreis is great. School. Sure they are fairly new and from time to time may have a hiccup but so does other schools. I found the teachers are very educated and diverse. The class sizes are good and they offer after school help for students who need to get caught up. My child is not even in high-school yet and is taking courses I took in college. It is very fast pace learning environment so kids will need to be strong in education thus the entrance exam. I understand everyone has a different experience but in the area of education, qualifications, and communication they are top class. Because they are new, they do not have athletic sports yet, but this school is about a STEM education not athletics. If you are looking for athletes or athletic scholarships keep looking but if you want a college prep and quality education for your child then check them out.

In my opinion the aspect of the Waldorf School of Baltimore that makes it stand out is…read morepredictability. That, in particular, made my daughter excited about entering 3rd grade this fall. The other key component is planned interaction between students of all 8 grades. Going into 3rd grade, with the same teacher my daughter had in 1st and 2nd grade, she was anticipating the classes and activities that are attributed annually to the 3rd grade. Yes, she will have woodwork. Yes, her class will play traditionally 3rd-grade roles in the fall festival. Yes, her class will go on the weeklong farm trip to New York. In the curriculum, Waldorf wrote-in these three and dozens of other activities that are predictable. That predictability creates student anticipation, participation and success.

Both of my kids went to WSB and loved it. Now one is at Maryvale and the other is at Boys Latin…read more Self confidence, awareness, empathy and love of nature are part of their personalities due to attending WSB. It is a gift we gave them and now it is giving to them.

The Sudbury method is quite different from mainstream educational philosophies, but don't let that…read morestop you from looking into Fairhaven School. My two sons have thrived in ways that are less measurable and far more important than anything we noted when they were in "regular" school. The truth is that compulsory education tends to focus on relatively arbitrary facts which might be memorized for a test, but are in no way a good measure of intelligence, well-being, or future success. When youth are trusted to find their own passions, they dive into learnings they cannot simply forget. They aren't forced to stay any longer than they wish to in any one subject, which reduces the risk that they will lose their natural love of learning or burn out. All in good time, students dive again, as desired, and in this organic way, they build a much more solid knowledge-base over time. Rather than simply learning facts, they continue to find out who they are, and to build their own paths towards their own goals. The "kids" here seem to maximize their own individual social-emotional skills, learned naturally through the democratic nature of the school and the peer feedback therein. Facts can be learned anytime (and are), but character is best build in our early years of development. Fairhaven provides just that--a fair haven--within which youth can develop this character. A place where youth take all the time they need to heal from any past school-related trauma, learn to re-find a love of learning (or keep it if they never lost it!), and learn natural consequences without shaming. This method requires parents to trust the process and take the long view--definitely not always easy, at all--but absolutely worth it. I work to build connections to other Fairhaven parents, and that supportive network continues to be incredibly helpful in this regard. I cannot recommend Fairhaven more highly.

PLEASE DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE! IT IS 'LORD OF THE FLIES!'…read more My child was bullied unmercifully and will NEVER be the same. The kids are so cruel. They tortured my child. Some of the staff are kind, but in the democratic structure, there is NO HELP at all if your child is being bullied. The staff just kept saying "write them up," i.e. send the bullies to the judicial review, which is how the kids are supposed to be governing themselves. Which most bullied kids are afraid to do, with reason. Just like Nicolas C below says, there are student cliques and factions that dominate the judicial process. The bullies find their friends not guilty, or give out easy punishments, and the bullying continues worse than before. Not to mention, instead of playing outside or using the (admittedly beautiful) facilities and campus, the kids just stay inside and play video games, or send nasty memes about each other on social media. I will forever and ever be so sorry I sent my child to Fairhaven. Don't drink the kool-aid! I did, and I will regret it FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! It is my deepest hope that some of the kinder staff will see this review and ask themselves if this is what they wanted to be doing with their lives, because my child is damaged, and I hold Fairhaven completely responsible.

Calvary Christian Academy has great teachers that really care about their students. Our two…read morechildren love attending and look forward to going. We are so happy we made the choice to send our children there. Thank you so much Calvary! You do an excellent job!

Incredible Christian school, focused on biblical truth. Teachers care for your kids like they are…read moretheir own. Great community. Kids will graduate with excellent education, having served the community, and with a lifelong bond with other Christians.

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!

Our son started at SMES in 2nd grade and just graduated from 8th grade. He is a better person for…read morehaving gone to SMES. There have been bumps, challenges and big changes along the way, and obviously we went thru COVID, but in the end the full St Martin's Community is rich with love, care, and passion focused on building kids with character that can go out into the world and make it better. There is every kind of sports and activity you can imagine (they are always working to come up with new options) & it's very inclusive...for kids of all skill levels that want to have fun. The school is rigorous but not cut throat. The kids are pushed but aren't stressed 24/7. At Smes your kids is in a community that lets them be a kid and stumble and grow. I grew up in public school (which I loved!) but having seen one of our kids go thru a K-8th independent school education (and one not) there is a noticeable difference in their confidence and readiness to jump into high school!

Warning, if cliques form within the middle school campus the admin, staff and parents will place…read moretheir heads in the sand. For a school that professes a caring, God centered community, the values do not match the actions, leaving much to be desired from this learning environment. There are teachers who demonstrate professionalism but the average middle school social drama is at a toxic level and you can tell that admin doesn't know how to keep up. Girls in middle school are even teasing a teacher who had their name changed due to a divorce.

I go here and I love it. It is a beautiful campus and is in the woods it's a amazing school I would…read morerecommend

The Bryn Mawr school has been my place of employment since 2003. I have seen many changes occur,…read morefrom administrative positions to the updates for our beautiful campus, and I am proud to say that working at this school has been, overall, a pretty pleasant experience. As an employee of the Little School (6mo-5 years), I get to nurture and mold the youngest of the students on campus. My Toddler class loves to ride in the buggies around campus, say hello to students & staff, as well as enjoy the many views and sounds that they encounter along the way. This is a place of great tradition and quality. Many who are employed here, like myself, tend to stick around because the experience is hard to replace, and impossible to duplicate!

Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School is a well-established and accredited private school in the Bowie…read morearea. The teachers are focused and caring. The leadership is open-minded. The head of school as well as the division heads are working with parents and students to educate the whole child. The school enriches the curriculum through sports, drama, band and community service projects which involve the community at large. Holy Trinity students are accepted by many well-known high schools and receive scholarships for their achievements. If you are looking for a school that prepares your child for the future (Pre-K through 8th grade), visit Holy Trinity. I am sure you will like it as much as I do.

From the owner: Holy Trinity: An Episcopal School (Formerly: Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School) is a private and…read moreindependent preschool, kindergarten, and middle school located in Glenn Dale, MD. The Daisy Lane School is for (PreK) and High School Prep (grades 5-8). We proudly draw students from the nearby areas of Upper Marlboro, College Park, Green Belt, Cheverly and beyond. Contact our team for more information or to schedule a visit today!