St Joseph’s Preschool

Our two boys recently finished preschool and very much enjoyed their time at St Joe’s. They both loved all their teachers and friends over their combined four years there. We found it to be an excellent preschool. It is extraordinarily convenient and well run, and both of our kids learned a lot. The staff was kind and nurturing, and they go out of their way to provide both education and fun special events (magic shows, field trips, holiday performances, etc.). The tuition is very reasonable, especially considering that they are open long hours all year round, and they provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. I’m very happy that we chose St Joe’s and would definitely recommend it to any of our friends with small kids. Thanks to the director, the teachers and all of the staff for working so hard and providing such a great experience for our family!

It’s been over 2yrs since this school was reviewed and I had to write an updated review about this amazing little school.
St. Joseph’s is the quintessential old-​time play-​based preschool. You won’t find slick, shiny high tech learning tools. Instead, you’ll find children’s artwork on the walls, teachers that know the names of every kid in the school and a school handbook that tells you to send your kids dressed to PLAY! Make no mistake though, there is a lot of learning and development taking place every single day.
The director has now been there for about 3yrs and has really turned the school around from earlier years. St. Joseph’s has adopted the High Scope curriculum, which is a teacher-​guided, child-​led approach to learning across all the major components including gross and fine motor, social, creative, language and artistic development. They are also currently pursuing NAEYC accreditation which will only highlight further the commitment of the adminstration and staff on the growth of the children. Lesson plans are posted in the classrooms, in addition to daily individual reports, weekly school-​wide emails and monthly school-​wide newsletters.
The classes may be large, but the teacher-​student ratio is low with anywhere from 3 – 5 teachers per class. Each classroom has 1 or 2 head teachers with degrees in child development or early childhood education in addition to assistant teachers with significant experience working with small children.
It is a Catholic preschool, with a simple grace before lunch and 20min chapel once a week, but the focus is really on the broader goodness and kindness values which cross all religious and secular traditions. In addition, there are wonderful extracurricular options available including soccer, Spanish, computer and creative movement for additional fees if you want to provide an additional activity for your child.
Clearly I could go on and on about all the things we love about this school. Our daughter is thriving, and having toured and interviewed multiple schools in the area (Montessori, immersion, play-​based, church-​based, etc…) we absolutely made the right decision in sending her to St. Joseph’s.

I just returned from a tour of St. Joseph’s Preschool and after reading Christina C.‘s review, I felt compelled to write a review of my, albeit brief, experience while I was there.
I did my research before approaching St. Joseph’s Preschool with the Virginia Department of Social Services. St. Joseph’s is a LICENSED preschool. They one minor violation in the last 6 months (just 1!!!), but nothing that my current day care provider hasn’t already dealt with. Christina C.‘s review indicates that St. Joseph’s is religiously exempt from having to obtain a state license, but that is no longer the case. St. Joseph’s has a license to operate in the state of Virginia until June 11, 2012.
From Christina C.‘s review, she mentions a director, referring to the director as «him» and «he». The director that I met was a woman, she was kind, warm and very welcoming. She was full of information, she answered all of my questions even before I could ask them! She gave me the tour of the school and it blew me away, compared to other preschools I’ve toured recently.
Considering Christina’s review, I believe they’ve made VAST improvements.
I really like their new curriculum and learning approach that she has institued, called the Reggio Emilia approach. It is designed to be less teacher instructional and more hands on with the children, encouraging the children to explore their interests through art, expression/​dramatic play and taking them to the next level without strict guidelines.
I really liked the layout of the school as well as the outdoor play area, which was HUGE compared to others I had seen. I also like the location of the school and outdoor play area as it is far off from the main streets and backs up to the W&O trail. Most other schools I’ve visited have been on major roads with lots of traffic. Unlike other schools I have visited where the classrooms are just rooms in the basement of a church converted into «play areas», this school looks like it is a mini elementary school, with separate classrooms, hallways, etc. It felt very quant and reminded me of my elementary school days.
Yes, this is a «catholic» school, however, the director informed me that they teach the children about all religions and religious holidays. They are also affiliated with extra curricular activities such as Yoga, Dance and Soccer, which makes it really easy to sign your child up.
I noticed the menu and I was glad to see no chips or other junk food, but nutritional meals. They provide the menu to parents ahead of time to the parents react if necessary. There is also a yearly schedule that they publish and provide to the parents to let them know of holidays/​closures, events and group outings.
Overall, I was impressed with the school and have decided to enroll our son there. Once he begins going to the school, I will follow up with another review based on his reaction and how well he is doing.

My 3 year old goes to St. Joseph’s full-​time. I was very nervous about sending him to school, because he had been home with me since he was born and I wasn’t sure how he’d adapt to the change. He also has a significant speech delay, so he wouldn’t even be able to tell me if something was wrong at the school.
But I shouldn’t have worried — sending my son to St. Joseph’s has been a great decision. He loves it there. It is not a revolving door like some daycares, his teachers have all been there for several years. And they’re really great, very caring and enthusiastic. They take very good care of my child, and I will certainly send any other children here without hesitation.
If you are searching online to get reviews for this school, you’ll see that many people have commented that the school forces 2 year olds to sit and do worksheets. That may have been true at one point in time, I don’t know, but it is absolutely not true now. My son is one of those children who never sits still, and he is thriving there. He has never brought home a worksheet, only paintings and other age-​appropriate crafts. The director who started with the school in mid-​2009 believes in a play-​based curriculum, and my son’s classroom is run accordingly. Every time I walk in, children are playing, doing fun projects, listening to music, reading books…
The school has a nice little playground and they do go outside every day, unless it is raining.
Of course, no place is perfect. The building, built in the 50s, sometimes smells musty. Communication between parents and teachers is sometimes a challenge — the children in my son’s class are sent home with a report every day, but it isn’t always filled out completely. If you take a few minutes to talk to the teachers, though, they are always more than happy to answer questions and tell you more details about how your child is doing. The past drama with directors makes me a little wary that something will happen — I really don’t want our current director to leave!
The food is decent. It’s never going to be as good as homemade, but they do prepare meals on-​site and it’s mostly nutritious stuff. They used to serve a lot of juice, but the current director fortunately made the switch to water and milk. Chips are never on the menu. I only wish the «morning snack» was a little bigger.
Overall, I’d very much recommend St. Joseph’s in its current incarnation. The best part? My speech-​delayed son started talking MUCH more within just a couple of weeks of starting there. Any school would have helped him, I’m sure, but his comfort level at St. Joseph’s makes a big difference. He feels relaxed and happy there, so he’s more inclined to talk. He’s learned so much, with no worksheets. I’m very glad we found this place.

To answer a question posted to me… Yes, I experienced all this myself and so have some other parents at this school with whom I have spoken with. This is a review and it is honest and objective. I am a Catholic and that is the only reason I did not pursue further action against this place. Check with state of Va to find out how religious institutions are exempt from many rigorous requirements which other childcare facilities have to comply with.