Primrose School of Chantilly

Veronica S.

Let me start by saying that there are some fantastic faculty members at this school. Mrs. Overson, Mrs. D’Costa, and Miss Cindi are clear stand-outs. But let me be clear - they are the only reason I am giving this school even 2 stars. The administration at this school is sub-par at best and falls far short of what you would expect based on the Primrose reputation and price tag. The owner, Kathy Sheanh, and the school Director, Linda Baker, over promise and under deliver. The administrators at this school are disorganized, frugal, and uninterested in partnering with parents. Kathy takes a highly defensive posture to even the most benign questions and is a master at feeding parents “the standard line” without answering any real questions. Discussions with her are completely surface level. She is noticeably frugal, despite charging some of the highest prices for childcare in the area. Linda is not much better. She is also disorganized, unreceptive to parents concerns, and an unreliable communicator who has, at times, been downright dishonest. One of the biggest issues at this school is lack of communication. The staff, with some exceptions, are mostly uninformed and unempowered to answer even the simplest of questions. They always give parents the standard line, “Kathy or Linda will get back to you on that”. The thing is, Kathy or Linda never actually get back to you. I rarely, if ever, got a return phone call or a response to an email without having to follow up with them multiple times. The ProCare app, which this school uses to communicate with parents, was useless as well. Messages sent on that platform typically went unanswered, and at the start of the school year the app was down, resulting in no academic information being sent to parents for approximately 2 months. At the price point Primrose charges, this is wholly unacceptable. On the topic of COVID, I also should mention that the COVID-related protocols at this school are Draconian. No parents are allowed in the school and parents are still required to socially distance outdoors while dropping off or picking up. The children were required to wear masks outdoors until March 2022 (no, that is not a typo), during a time when public schools were no longer requiring masking indoors. The tire swing – which is a huge draw for children on the playground – was permanently closed due to the inability to socially distance. And my child and several others in the class came home on several occasions stating that they were not allowed to speak during lunch because “germs could come out of their mouths”. COVID is also used as a blanket excuse for anything the school owner and Director don’t want to do. This school does not serve breakfast (just a morning snack around 10am) “because of COVID”. While this makes no sense whatsoever, no further explanation was provided and you can bet your bottom dollar that the tuition was not adjusted for the removal of 1 meal per day. Additionally, throughout the 2021-2022 school year, nearly all extracurricular events on the school calendar were cancelled “due to COVID”. There was no back-to-school picnic and no welcome events at the start of the school year. And perhaps the most egregious, there was NEVER an opportunity to meet my child’s teacher in person. Requests to do so were denied “due to COVID”. Two 15-minute Zoom calls throughout the year were all parents got. Lastly, I would characterize the Kindergarten program as mediocre at best. The Kindergarten teacher, Ms. Perash, lacks the enthusiasm you would expect from a teacher working at a school that charges $20K a year in tuition. My biggest criticism of Ms. Perash: she displayed a complete and total lack of positive reinforcement with the children. She never wrote a single comment on any of my child’s assignments. And when you’re in Kindergarten, a sticker, a smiley or a “Great Job!” on your paper goes a long way. Overall, my advice is to save yourself $20K a year and a lot of frustration and GO ELSEWHERE.

Monika

Not a good place to work at

Alpha

Primrose School of Chantilly is the gold standard for quality childcare and education. As new parents, we were initially worried about sending our six months old to daycare, but Primrose Chantilly made things a billion times easier for us. Our child's teachers, Ms. T and Mrs. S are amazing professionals with the heart and passion for children! They put an extreme level of detail in educating and caring for the children. They kept us updated regularly throughout the day. They strictly followed our child's feeding and changing schedules and didn't miss a thing! They kept our child happy and engaging throughout the day! The learning curriculum is centered around the development of the whole child! I highly recommend Primrose Chantilly!

Courtney Craven

Primrose of Chantilly has been incredible! All of the staff have been amazing. Our teacher, Miss Warner, is terrific with our child. Everyone at this school is so wonderful, comforting and I know my child is in great hands. When I initially started searching for a school, I was so picky and nervous, but it was clear that this was the best place during my tour with Miss Baker. Our child is thriving and doing so well. I'm so thankful for all of the teachers and staff! Thank you, Primrose!