LAKE MANASSAS ACADEMY

This daycare is in a nice quiet area of Gainesville. We needed flexibility for our schedule for our toddler. It's a popular daycare and the toddler rooms are crowded almost everyday, most mornings. The toddlers have their own nice outdoor area to play on good days. The caregivers are super nice. They have a good routine for the toddlers to learn to be independent from washing hands, drinking from cup, to potty training. They have parents nite out on Fridays and siblings are only an additional fee extra who are older and do not go there. Flu season 2016-2017 was bad and it was tough getting through that with all the kids being sick.

My 3 children have attended LMA for close to 4 years now. We?ve loved our time there, and have never considered changing centers. Costs have always been fair IMO (considerably cheaper than the centers we visited when living closer to DC, and in line with centers in the immediate region). Management has always worked with us in terms of: - sibling discounts - accommodating partial week schedules (during times when we were not working full time) - a rare late payment The fact that it is a locally owned center and not a chain (ie. Minnieland / Kindercare) makes a difference. The management staff has been the same for my entire tenure, though there is the normal teacher turnover (IMO, ?normal? for the childcare industry). I feel like I (and my kids) have developed real relationships with not only their teachers but the management as well. We often see the teachers around town, and have even used one former teacher as a personal baby-sitter. Perhaps the most telling fact about our view of LMA is the fact that it is not the closest center to our house (there are about 10 closer), nor is it necessarily along our commutes to work. But we quickly recognized the quality of the child care, and the fact that our kids loved going there. My children have developed wonderfully there academically and socially. I often have to plead with my kids to leave at the end of the day (b/c they?re having fun). My older kids especially love the summer outings and field trips (pools, parks, movies, farms, museums).

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My children started here August 2012 when we moved to the area. I have a Kindergartner, 3 year old preschooler, and 10 month old infant. We are very satisfied with the school and the staff. Almost all of the teachers in the school know all three of my kids and call out to them by name every morning; likewise, my kids know all the teachers and classrooms and feel very comfortable here. The classrooms are wonderfully designed and well equipped for the kids. The preschoolers change classes, which enables the teachers in each room to focus on different learning areas (3 rooms - math and science, language and literacy, family life). It is a great program. The K class is also super and my daughter is thriving in the smaller environment of a private Kindergarten. Lastly, my 10-m.o. has special needs (limb difference) and the school has been great about reading through her IFSP, coordinating a meeting with the early intervention OT to better understand what they can do to help her adapt, and is willing to purchase extra things needed to help her adapt and grow. We initially visited in March 2012 as we knew we would be moving to the area and since that time, they got a new K-teacher and the principal (wonderful) left. I was amazed to see how seamlessly that transition went, the school explained the teachers reasons for leaving (K wanted county job with retirement and principal wanted to be closer to home), found a great new K-teacher, and the administrators picked up the slack quickly left by the vacancy. The school overall has very low turnover. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a great daycare/preschool/kindergarten.

My children both attended pre-school at Lake Manassas Academy. We are very pleased with the facility, teachers, and the value of the education. Both of our children showed noticeable improvement with letters, numbers, social skills, etc only a few weeks after they began attending the pre-school lab program. Cons: the children have to bring their own lunch they have to wear expensive uniforms that cost $23 per shirt + shipping and tax, and no sandals ever enrichment programs are expensive and you don't really get any additional education for the $, just crafts, etc extra programs are very expensive and very basic and minimal administrative fees on everything that nickel and dime you to death So, it is a great school with loving and caring teachers and great education, but it is strict with food and clothing, expensive, and they try to squeeze more money out of you every chance they get.