The Merit School Of Gainesville (#37)

We love the merit school! My daughter does the private school program and the teachers are wonderful. She is typically a very shy kid but she is shinning here in the small classroom settings. The teachers and especially ms Ciara are amazing. We feel at home here.

We had numerous concerns with this daycare, but two key issues ultimately compelled me to write this review. First, we were given only two weeks notice to leave, despite both parents working full time and the difficulty of finding infant care on such short notice. This decision felt abrupt, unprofessional, and lacking in compassion. Second, the reason given for dismissal—our 10 mo old going through a brief biting phase—was handled poorly from the start. Biting at this age is developmentally normal, but instead of working with us to address it, we were given minimal communication, no real strategy, and contradictory feedback from different staff members. We were repeatedly told it was “normal” and “just a phase,” had one meeting prior about it where we asked for possible techniques and how we could help, yet were a short time later blindsided with a meeting kicking us out. Where we were told the behavior had become unmanageable—something they had never previously communicated clearly. After switching to a different daycare, the biting stopped immediately. This was the final nail (fact) that led me to post the review. The other daycare quickly identified the root of the issue. The contrast in professionalism, knowledge, and attentiveness was stark and confirmed our growing concerns about Merit’s environment and staffing. One key thing identified is Merit is not staffed to sufficiently care for and stimulate infants. They cycle through staff to make sure they’re up to ratio, however, they do the minimal changing and feeding but don’t provide the environment for or put energy into stimulating. Some additional red flags we observed: * Neglect and lack of supervision: Merit staff admitted they couldn’t provide our son the attention he needed. A review of classroom photos by our new daycare revealed minimal toys and stimulation. * Poor hygiene: Our son was routinely picked up with food in his hair and on his face. Infants are messy, but there was clearly no effort made to clean or care for him throughout the day. * Lack of incident communication: We were not notified about events like him hitting his head once until picking him up. * Staff behavior: One young caregiver was repeatedly seen on her phone instead of interacting with the babies. Her inattentiveness was evident every time we saw her. * Short staffing: The classroom was consistently missing its lead teacher, and while there were one or two competent caregivers, they were the exception, not the rule. * Mismanagement of supplies: We provided ample diapers and wipes, yet our son routinely came home wearing the wrong brand. But then we’d be out well before he should’ve been. It appeared that his belongings were being used communally. If you’re considering this daycare, know that if your child goes through a completely normal developmental challenge, Merit may not have the knowledge, resources, or willingness to support you through it. I hope other parents are shown more grace than we were. I spent the several months we were at this daycare defending it to my wife who was repeatedly noticing things. I should’ve trusted her. We are very grateful that our previous daycare (we switched because we moved) took our son back with open arms, immediately crafted a plan to support him, and have treated us like partners in his development—something we never felt at Merit.

We recently moved to the area and took our time in finding the right place for our daughter to attend school. We toured about 5 different schools and the Merit School of Manassas was the place we felt most comfortable with. This school has really friendly staff and I have witnessed the love they have towards the kids. My daughter constantly tells me that she’s happy here and that’s our biggest reassurance that this school is great. Not only do we enjoy how the teachers from different classes greet us with a genuine smile and make you feel welcome. But always the lesson plans and different activities prepared for the children.

I am so grateful to everyone at this school. My child has had a rough experience with other daycares. I almost quit my job in fear of my child being miserable when I drop her off at a new daycare. I'm so glad I gave Merit School a chance because my toddler has never been this happy being dropped off! I'm talking about she is running through the front door straight to her classroom! No more tears! When I pick her up, she is all smiles! She been learning so many words too! My toddler went from being angry at everyone that wasn't me to being full of love and happiness. I am forever grateful.

We love the Merit School of Manassas! All 3 of our kids go there and they are all in different programs and love going to daycare every morning. The teachers are amazing and genuinely care about the kids. The daycare director is very involved and spends time in classrooms which I think is incredible. My kids learn something new every day. I highly recommend this daycare.