Full Circle Montessori School (Main Campus) 870 South Greenbrier Street, Arlington, VA 22204

"That we found Full Circle Montessori School for our kids feels like we hit the jackpot. We have one student in the elementary community and one in the primary community. We can't say enough about their respective directresses who take so much time and care to meet all of the children where they are. Our kids learn in ways which are often outside the box, and thus, more interesting for them. Learning is a fun adventure. Perhaps more importantly, FCMS focuses on the concepts of community, respect and giving back to others. In partnership with FCMS, we feel we're raising good members of society who see learning as exciting and fascinating. Choosing which school to send our children to was a huge decision and one we didn't take lightly. To feel like our kids are in such great hands is a gift. We're forever grateful to everyone at FCMS for the love and care they've shown to our children and for genuinely fostering a love of learning that we hope will stay with them throughout their lives."

"Our son is nearly 5 now and has been at FCMS almost 3 years. This is a unique school and I feel really grateful to have found it. Our son has been with three teachers over his three years, and each have been incredible. All have welcomed me to pick up the phone and call or text them at any time. They have helped me through everything from crib to bed transitions, toilet learning (in Montessori parlance :), and general life/parent craziness. I truly appreciate the thought and care that goes into everything at the school. The classrooms are thoughtfully designed and visually stunning. Parents are invited to visit, observe, and ask questions in the classrooms with their children on what they call Studio days. I personally love the tech-free environment and focus on healthy foods. Kids drink water only and there are no sugar-y or snack foods allowed. It may seem like a little thing but I've noticed my child comes home calm and in good spirits and falls asleep easily. He's never hyped up or tired at pickup. I've also noticed my son's attention span get longer and longer and longer as he's been at FCMS. He will work on puzzles, art, or building projects independently for long stretches and then clean up when he is done, just as he is expected to at school. By age 3 or 4 he was making his bed, vacuuming the house (pretty funny to watch a 3 yo vacuum and empty the dust chamber properly), cleaning his room, and retrieving laundry from the dryer and folding simple towels. It kind of blew me away at first. These expectations for contributing, taking responsibility, and caring for oneself and one's environment were definitely set at FCMS. They also host a series of parent-staff-teacher conversations (separate from the scheduled parent-teacher conversations) throughout the year to help translate all of the work of school to the home."

"My daughter (nearly 2) started Full Circle's YCC program this school year, and we've had such a wonderful experience thus far. The transition into her first school environment has been a breeze, both for her and for us. She clearly LOVES going to school, and we're consistently amazed at how she's taking on so many new opportunities for independence both at school and at home (toilet learning, dressing herself, cleaning up after herself, etc.). One of the things that originally attracted us to FCMS is their "Insieme" program for parents, and it has been invaluable so far. It's helped us feel so much more confident that we're providing the right support at home, building on what's learned at school -- this has been particularly helpful for us in making sure we're approaching toilet learning in a consistent way, setting up our home in a way that's conducive to building her independence, and encouraging rich language development. Even in a virtual environment for the time being, these parent sessions have been such a great opportunity for us to learn from the teachers, ask questions, and connect with other parents. Overall, can't say enough good things about FCMS!"

"After many years at FCMS we were sad to take our kids away, but our careers took us out of state to Chapel Hill, NC. After less than a year in our new location Covid 19 swept the continent, and schools across the country went virtual. At that time reality set in that in-person schooling was not returning anytime soon, so we reached back out to our friends at FCMS, and they welcomed our 10 year old back into their school virtually from North Carolina with open arms, because 'why not school in Virginia, since we are all virtual'. Well, as we suspected FCMS approached the virtual world just like they did those many years in the 'pre-pandemic times' - with great energy, enthusiasm, compassion, and thoughtfulness, creating the best environment possible for any child at any stage in life under any circumstances. We can't thank FCMS enough for making this year special for ALL of their students. Really something to behold, and we will forever look back fondly on these unprecedented times as a result. Thank you FCMS."

"When we begin looking into public schools for first grade, we were not considering Montessori at all. Our son had spent pre-school and kindergarten at another Montessori and I just decided to go to the Full Circle open house on a whim. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised by how elementary class was conducted and the initiative shown by the kids. That's when our relationship with Full Circle began. After the observation day, the administration team and especially Christie Yang really spent a lot of time and effort answering our questions and addressing our concerns. She was following our thought process very closely and put us in touch with the parents to help clarify our values when it came to education for our son. This was close to the beginning of summer and with all the chaos, we were very impressed with how good the administration was in following-up and we thought that if this is the care and professionalism they show to kids' education, then chances are our son would be in the right place. Since our son has begun at Full Circle, we have been extremely happy. It's a unique environment where we also feel like we are going through our education again, but with a different perspective. It's very positive and while its pure Montessori, it's a very entrepreneurial environment where they try new things and adapt to kids' educations needs. Its definitely not traditional and we put a lot of trust in the teachers - but the entire group of elementary teachers is amazingly smart, positive and collaborative. Our son has been so happy here and loves learning what he does, because it usually stems from his own interests. He loves his teachers and also the group of kids and parents are very easy going and nice. Even the entire administration is wonderful to work with. Overall, Full Circle has made our son's elementary education a very pleasant, rewarding, and fun experience. Delete review"