Hope Montessori School

This school is a true gem in Annandale. At Hope you will find co-educators from the intelligent and dedicated staff. I felt they joined my side as i worked to grow smart, passionate and compassionate children. The school staff and students are very diverse. My kids have both grown up in this positive, respectful and nurturing environment. The teacher retention is awesome - a friend's son at UVA just came back to greet his Hope preschool teacher! Isn't that awesome!! I wanted Montessori education for my kids' early years and this was also one of the few affordable places. You need to check out this school! It's small, diverse, feels like a family and my children are prepared for future schooling because of their time at Hope.

*My daughter attends just the school program from 8:30-11:45. As an educator and previous day care provider, I was very picky about where I wanted my daughter to go to school and waited for almost entire school year before I wrote this review. If you are like me, you are reading every review out there and asking every parent but really this is THE place. I wanted her to learn independence, build self-esteem and enhance her learning to prepare her for school (socially, emotionally and cognitively) and Hope has exceeded my expectations! It is so hard to find great schools and we are SO happy that we found this school. My daughter loves going and has learned SO much. She just turned 3 and is all ready beginning to read and write! They do not push children but work upon their interests and abilities. There is no limit to what they can learn because of this and they are having fun the entire time.My daughter loves her friends and the love and peace Montessori establishes with everything they do. Our teachers, Mrs. Lopez and Mrs. Cardneas are the best! They are an amazing team and are energetic, happy, loving, fun, patient, kind and approachable. They are everything you would want in a teacher. The montessori materials in the program are AMAZING. Since Montessori is about independence, it was hard to get used to just dropping off or picking up my daughter without a lengthy conversation with the teacher, but if I had any questions or concerns, Ms. Thakral (Director), Mrs. Frieda (Assistant Director) and her teachers Mrs. Lopez and Mrs. Cardenas were always available. In the meantime, I had to get all of my information from my daughter which created this wonderful relationship between me and her. She tells me everything about her friends, the teachers, their class guinea pig and everything they did that day and I 100% believe her. All in all, our family is thrilled for finding this loving, caring and quality program.

Small outfit that lacks diversity in student population. Dominated by those from the same background as the principal/owner. They do not take constructive criticism well. They will kick your child out of the program if you complain, with no advance warning. Worked out for the better for us. Found other better Montessori programs near by.

Our kids love it here. We visited with a few Montessori schools before enrolling and so glad we chose Hope. Staff is so welcoming from day one...and can tell they really enjoy and care about the kids.

A few notes: Mrs Mac the best teacher I ever met .Experienced,seasoned she knew how to get my daughter's attention and interest going.Coming from a Spanish speaking family,my daughter spoke very little English when she started at 4 yrs old.5 months in Hope not only was she fluent in English,she was reading in English and taught herself to read in Spanish thanks to the phonetic system Mrs Mac used in the classroom...I have a toddler who will be soon joining Hope.I only have gratitude words for this beautiful neighborhood Montessori school,with all the ups of this brilliant education trend and without the downs of high paid-high class other Montessori schools I know.