Best Preschools in Arlington?

[Anonymous]

We will be moving to Arlington from DC this summer. Could somebody please tell me about the best preschools there? I am at a loss.

[Anonymous]

I am in a similar situation so don't have any first hand knowledge. A coworker recommended Westover Baptist, Trinity Presbyterian and Mount Olivet. She also recalled applying to Columbia Baptist, right over the line into Falls Church and indicated that Temple Rodef Sholem is just over the McLean/Arlington line and is very good with really excellent teachers and a lovely facility but is a bit more expensive than the church-affiliated preschools. According to my friend none of these schools is particularly religious in its pre-school program but they are housed in churches.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck with the move.

[Anonymous]

Depending on where you are moving in Arlington, you might want to think about joining MONA (Moms of North Arlington). www.monamoms.org It is $25 for the year and along with a listserv similar to this one, they also have a lot of recommendations for products, stores, restaurants, etc as well as a preschool spreadsheet that breaks things down about each school. It doesn't rate them per se, but gives you an idea of when you need to apply, how you get in, etc. The problem with Arlington is that there are too many children for the number of preschools available, so everyone ends up applying to the same ones. I am currently looking for preschools for my 2.5 year old for next fall, and have considered all the ones the previous poster recommended. There are also several Co-Ops which I cannot do because I work, but if you are available you might look into. Ones I can think of offhand are Kinhaven, the Unitarian Universalist church, and Lee Center.

[Anonymous]

Our son goes to Temple Rodef Shalom for pre-school just over the Arlington border in Falls Church. It's a play-based preschool with a strong pre-K program at 4 years old. Teachers are great and the curriculum really is amazing - it's incredible the kinds of things they introduce kids to. The only disadvantage is it's not a full-day program.

There are lots of non-Jewish kids in the program but the kids do learn about all the Jewish holidays etc so there is a religious orientation to it (but not heavy-handed at all). Good luck!