Beautiful campus with amazing faculty and staff. Our son loves the outdoors and the program.read more

Academics were rough. Students collectively pushed back on doing work, and few teachers were…read morewilling or able to fail 70% of the class, so standards slipped across the board -- a student can graduate with a great-looking transcript and still be underprepared for math, science, etc. down the line. I remember an instance where a teacher assigned homework, and past the due date, 3/26 students had got it in. She can't tank everyone's grade, so her only choice is to either weigh homework lower or extend/devalue the deadline, neither of which actually serve the students as they move into higher education and careers. I watched one classmate who'd been absent three months and failing everything still walk at graduation, which stung given how hard most of us worked. These things really do devalue an FMS diploma. Security is another concern: a cadet installed a hacking device on a teacher's computer mid-year and changed his friends' grades. He was expelled, but as far as I know the systems were never hardened afterward. Socially, there's real camaraderie, but it can get cliquey, and cadet rank creates uneven enforcement -- some students effectively don't have to follow the rules. I was bullied a fair amount, mostly for taking my cadet leadership duties seriously. Post-graduation, the school isn't on Parchment or similar systems, so transcripts are a hassle. Mine arrived SIGNED and incorrectly listed all my courses as standard-level instead of Honors/AP, tanking my GPA on paper -- which is how Valedictorian ended up going to the highest ranking cadet instead of me, despite my actual record being better. That one felt like a real injustice. None of this is to discount the good people there. Christianna Herrera (Middle School Administrator) is a godsend -- goes above and beyond daily. Robert Loveland is excellent too. SGT Glass cares deeply and shows up despite chronic pain. Phillip Lacey made a real personal impact on me. JROTC staff, disagreements aside, genuinely want the best for cadets. Food service is better than most colleges', and admissions (Mike Payne) is solid. Bottom line: as an alternative to public high school, it's compelling -- but if you're comparing schools nationally, I'd hold off until there's real infrastructure investment, including expanding the TAC office budget to hire more staff experienced in childcare and boarding school environments. Ultimately, I had a good experience, but as a product review, it needs work.

I went here in 2016-2017 (I uploaded my transcript as proof below). The schools overall academics…read moreare solid, but the bullying, physical attacks, rampant drug use, disciplinary process and loss of self-identity is something your child may suffer from. I was hazed (beat up by a group) of 10 kids from my floor (each floor is owned by a group in the barracks) while the lights were off in the chapel because I often was provokative and didn't do as I was told by the leaders of my group. The school as a result of the investigation punished nobody, but did offer me to a new floor (the floor were most of band/music kids were) and room as a result of the incident. I was also almost hazed (beat up by a group) the first month of arriving at the school, but thankfully some bystanders saw what was going on and stopped it from happening. This however was a constant problem at the school and a lot of kids were being hazed. The rampant drug use is apparent here. Kids in the bathrooms openly smoke cigarettes (Marlboro reds). They often offer these cigarettes to new kids to try, and sometimes even peer pressure. I also was taken advantage of numerous times, and bullied by many of older kids (higher classman) as a result and still am suffering from emotional damage this school has caused. One time I was grabbed and almost thrown into toilet by another kid because I wasn't listening to his orders. Even after getting beat up, the emotional bullying didn't stop. Colonel Gunn is the most solid leader, and is very good influence on the kids. I feel Fishburne Military School is a good choice for your kids if they conform easily. If they have a unique personality, and do not like to conform and have a strong sense of their own identity and opinions, I would highly avoid Fishburne Military School.

Our experience at Charlottesville Waldorf School has been an absolutely wonderful introduction to…read morelearning for our child. The teachers create such a peaceful, loving environment where children feel safe, seen, and truly cared for. We've been especially impressed by how thoughtfully the teachers nurture imagination and creativity through play and storytelling. The seasonal celebrations and daily rhythm bring a sense of magic and consistency that our child looks forward to. The extensive time spent outdoors each day is a huge bonus. We heartily recommend the early childhood program to Central Virginia families.

The Waldorf School has been an incredible experience for our family. What stands out most is the…read moregenuine care for each child--not just in terms of schedule and directed learning, but as a whole person. There is a strong emphasis on human connection, creativity, and meaningful interaction, which feels increasingly rare in today's fast-paced, technology-driven world. I deeply appreciate how the school encourages children to step away from "machine life" and instead develop a true sense of self. Rather than focusing solely on productivity or outcomes, the approach nurtures curiosity, imagination, and emotional growth. While inspired by Waldorf principles, the school does not promote any specific ideology of Steiner, but instead captures the essence of holistic childhood development in a thoughtful and inclusive way. Equally wonderful is the sense of community and support among teachers, students, and families. It's a warm, thoughtful environment where children are truly seen and valued. We couldn't be happier.

Sent two daughters here and paid for the full tuition. The saying is university of Virginia is a…read morepublic ivy. So with that in mind it is a deal for a world class education. For me would have been five stars but something happened at the last graduation Wish the administration cared more about the students than the tuition. In the off chance someone from uva is reading this send me a message and I will tell ya what happened. But my checks didn't bounce so they are happy. World class education but never forget it is a business to the administrators (professors actually were great and caring). They make uva less than it could be.

I am a former Student at Oakland School. Neither my parents nor I were impressed…read more My Review and thoughts on this school: Dump! Social Services should shut this place down for numerous, obvious reasons upon a closer look at this place or residing or working at this place. I am surprised they haven't yet just well done that. This place couldn't have possibly passed inspections when I was there and was deplorable. I have heard through credible sources there has been no improvement over the years! I attended this school for two consecutive years and it was an absolute joke for a boarding school especially considering the annual price. Student living/residential conditions are extremely poor. Additionally no air conditioning in the hot sweltering southern summers with some students residing in a trailer plus not well vetted dorm counselors or faculty. I have attended considerably better schools following this terrible experience at this lousy place and graduated high school valedictorian with no credit to my experience at this school. I then graduated with a double bachelor of science degree in Communicative Disorders, BS, and Psychology, BS, and I am now a master's degree student at a prestigious university ranked right under Vanderbilt in speech-language pathology. The educational "school" aspect of this place is not any better or any improvement in my opinion from what you can find for your child with a learning disability in a public school special education program, or private tutor. Definitely seek out a better quality boarding school and do your research and take a closer look. I can tell you right now there is no question in my mind and in the minds of numerous people I met and know from here, who have had the misfortune of passing through this place as either students, or employees, this place is an overrated, low quality school. Investigate carefully before sending your children here, is my recommendation. For God's sake, you can find "Wordly- Wise" books on amazon.com and you have been able to for the past 20 years! Please Note: In private chat rooms online there are similar sentiments to mine outlined above and similar rating's to mine voiced. I just thought it was long overdue for someone to be a little more forthright with voicing-writing about or verbalizing what actually goes on at this place. Things simply do not add up..."Where does all of the money go?" was a common question and sentiment of numerous staff members when I attended Oakland School and the staff morale was very low with a considerably high staff turnover particularly in the dormitories, where stability is needed the most. The staff members commonly voiced concerns about how the dormitory staff and teacher's pay at Oakland was low, the living conditions were poor to deplorable for the students who boarded and resided on campus, the cafeteria food was terrible, again, no air conditioning in the dormitories and majority of the classrooms, where does the $30k+annually for each student who boards there go actually? I believe one very positive, good and highly constructive idea would be for the parents of the students who attend Oakland currently and may share my concerns, together and request/demand an annual accounting as to where this money goes. Those are my thoughts on this anyway.

Our child began at Oakland in the summer program---we were looking for a camp-like environment…read morewhich could combine fun summer activities like swimming and riding with academic reinforcement for our child who struggles with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and working memory issues. After a very successful summer session, we decided to enroll for the winter boarding program and have been thrilled with the progress we have seen. Oakland is small, nurturing, and really "gets" kids with ADHD and learning differences. The calming rural setting and extremely small and personalized classes have resulted in our child loving school and making great progress both academically and with executive functioning skills. Oakland focuses on making sure that children obtain strong foundations in reading, writing and math---albeit at each child's unique pace. Perhaps more importantly, Oakland teaches children how to self-advocate and learn to manage their particular learning challenges---setting them up for future success in high school is one of the school's goals. Oakland's summer program is open to students from other schools who need academic reinforcement during the summer, and the regular program also operates on a rolling admissions basis for families seeking an alternative to their current educational situation. Tuition-wise, even Oakland's boarding program is comparable to the tuition of SN day schools in the DC area.

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