Private Schools

My family is so happy with the Merit School of Manassas Park. Both my daughter (3.5) and son (16 months) have been with the school since they were 3 months old. The teachers are so loving and treat our kids like their own. We are very pleased with the level of communication we receive on a daily basis. My son has had the same teachers as my daughter and both of them LOVE being at school.

I have 2 children that have attended Merit schoo of Prince William. One of them went pk4-2nd grade. Most of the staff is very loving and treat the children the same without bias or prejudice. My kids were always happy here and the school takes safety and academics seriously. Both my children excelled academically and have an impressive emotional intelligence. Just to give an example my 3 year old could identify 20 sight words before his 4th birthday. My 8 year old is advanced in math and reading. The campus is large but I do think they are outgrowing the space as more people look towards private entities for education, so I did take a star off for that. I wish it was on bigger campus complete with a library and possibly go to 8th grade. They do have a great collection of books in each class and visit the local libraries as well which is also nice. Also I wish the Spanish, science and social studies programs were expanded The principal, Mrs. George, is phenomenal and will work with you if there are any issues that arise and really values her families. We had a bully situation that was handled expeditiously Now that my oldest is no longer there it has been difficult to top. I have spoken to many parents from merit that have moved on and they echo my sentiments. We have all been spoiled by such incredible teachers and customer service.

The time the teachers take for each student to teach and care about their success is amazing - thank you FCS

great place

Just a bunch of rich white people who try to look diverse by putting that random black kid in their brochure. Lot of snobs, I was touring St Catherine's and they had some of the boys at the school ground very rude and stuck up young men. If you're black be prepared to be looked at like your scum

The administrator tries to control your family's entire life. Admin has access to personal info and uses it to benefit them. Admin lies to parents and employees in attempt to control every aspect. Caught administrator lying to me trying to create and set up conversations and situations to cover their mistakes. They will use employees as pawns making them lie and play games. If you want to play childish games daily this is the place for you. If you are more interested in your child's education, look elsewhere. This school has potential but needs better leaders who actually care about your child's education and less about trying to remain relevant and in position. The majority of teachers are highly motivated, trained, and interested in providing a positive experience for your child. Isolation is used to force conformity. Fight for accommodations is unreal given this is an accredited SpEd school. Token reward system is held over their heads so much it causes discouragement.

If you are looking for quality education with biblical worldview teaching, Cornerstone is the place to be. High quality staff, excellent academics, wonderful learning environment. My children have thrived here!

We toured our public school (twice) and several private schools before settling on Pinecrest. We liked the full-day academic kindergarten, after-care (now before-care also available), and reasonable tuition. The fact that our son didn’t want to leave his evaluation won us over completely. We were overjoyed with our first year. Every day I would think “we were so lucky to find this place,” so, we re-enrolled each year and started our younger son in the preschool program. Although our oldest was accepted into the FCPS AP program we thought Pinecrest would do a better job challenging and preparing him for future academic success. He attended through 6th grade and is well prepared for advanced courses in middle school. The school is small but leadership does a great job of encouraging socialization. (Note: another plus is that the student body is very diverse.) Preschoolers are mostly kept separate (except attending and even putting on their own assemblies!) but there are lots of ways the K – 6 kids help and mentor one another. There are plenty of social and academic opportunities for the kids to interact with lots of different groups. Every child knows all the other kids and every teacher knows every student. I have found all the teachers to be dedicated, professional, caring, accessible and accommodating. They easily adapt lessons to student interest, usually covering more ground than public school curricula with small class sizes and no SOLs. How well the teachers instruct and care for the students is a direct testament to the Head of School. She provides wonderful vision and oversees implementation of routine and new efforts alike. I used to wonder why anyone would choose a private elementary school. Now that I see how these foundational years have shaped the kind of learners and people my kids have become, I understand. I have no doubt that we made the right decision with Pinecrest. I only wish more people could experience the same.