Light Academy of Fr

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My son has done amazing the last 2 years being at Lighthouse. There is an adjustment period to the Montessori approach. However, it is well worth it! Every child would want to learn like this and be in a school environment that feels like family with amazing educational opportunities that traditional schools do not offer. They foster kindness, community involvement (w/monthly field trips), and adjust the teaching to fit what the child needs. I have recommended this school to other families and their children are thriving as well. No bullying, small classrooms, individual attention, and teaching of Christian values which is role modeled by all the staff. They also give scholarships to those that could otherwise not afford to the cost of tuition. During COVID, they did not close, our son learned everything he needed to for the year, and they went above and beyond to keep the children safe. The other concerns mentioned in previous reviews must have been resolved as we have only had great experience with the school for 2 years and my son wants to stay until he graduates.

The name is Lighthouse Academy of Fredericksburg. We found the academics here to be sorely lacking, with very few materials or resources, limited instruction time for students, a curriculum that does not resemble the one posted on their website), no record-keeping or progress reports, and minimal communication with parents.

The Lower Elementary Head Teacher and Owner of the school refused to communicate with us and in fact treated us as a nuisance every time we attempted to ask her questions. When we expressed concern that our daughter in her first grade class was not learning to read, we were told that she must have a learning disability. We had her evaluated and no disability was found. We then discovered that this teacher/owner was actually leaving the classroom on a regular basis to go work out at the gym, and having the school’s Office Manager (who has absolutely no experience or training) give our daughter lessons. When we expressed disapproval over this, we were met with anger. Furthermore, we immediately put our daughter in private tutoring and she was reading within a few weeks. This is just one example out of many that led us to conclude that Lighthouse Academy is not what it pretends to be.

We are filled with regret that we did not do our due diligence and better research whether this school has the proper accreditation and teacher-credentials to deliver what they promote. The truth is that Lighthouse Academy has no accreditation whatsoever, not through the American Montessori Society, not through the Virginia Council for Private Education, and not through the National Council for Private School Accreditation. They operate as a for-profit business and therefore are not monitored or regulated by any governing agency, board of directors, or department of education. We feel they are exploiting the Montessori reputation in order to charge higher tuition rates, while in the classroom, a true Montessori method is used sparingly if at all. Furthermore, only a handful of the teachers here even have a college degree. We know of SO MANY families who wasted time here, unaware that their children were being neglected academically. Most who leave here find that their children are far far behind and must repeat grades.

I want parents to know that we have 5 other sets of parents who regret having had their children enrolled. A revolving door of disappointed families, poorly trained staff many without college degree. The children are given the # of cards to do each day, and are left alone at their desk. The staff roster on the website is not even current. It is disorganized, mis-managed, much too expensive, and sadly a waste of so much time. After a few months or a year it was clear something was not right. Thankfully a set of us parents got together and found we shared the same frustration. We all left and what a difference the change to Faith Baptist School, Fredericksburg Christian Academy to name a couple. When our kids told us how they were so happy at their new schools "It wasn't like this before" and realized how unhappy they had been before. It broke our hearts. K5, and 1st n 2nd grd. I wish we had dropped in more and viewed the classrooms to really see what they were (not) getting done.