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[quote=Anonymous]Another WFCH parent here, with 3+ years' experience with the school.  For what it's worth, I recommend that any one-line comment in this discussion thread be ignored, which will help rule out Internet trolls as well as people who simply have an axe to grind.  In my opinion, one-line like/dislike statements are either untrustworthy, useless, or both.

Our experience with the school has been very positive.  The teachers are well trained and experienced, and I say this as someone who has dealt with inexperienced teachers at other places in the past.  The teacher turnover rate -- something you ought to be looking at very carefully anywhere you investigate, by the way -- is remarkably low, which is a very good indicator for a school.  As some other parents have commented, the environment is incredibly nurturing, more so than you'll see in most other schools.  This is a place where hugs are the rule, not the exception.  The leadership of the school, like the staff, is thoroughly professional and clearly very deeply committed, and the educational program is fantastic. WFCH does a great job of making sure kids are well taken care of, are learning, are interacting well with each other, and are having a good time.   Of course, Montessori education is not for all kids, particularly those who require a lot of structure in order to do well.  When we interviewed the school, we spent a lot of time talking about the goodness of fit, and there was absolutely no hard sell going on.  The conversation was about what was best for our child.

I would add that the population of the school is one of its strong attractions.  This is a strong, warm, comfortable multi-ethnic and multi-racial community where a lot of value is placed on cross-cultural experiences and exposure to languages other than English.  In my experience other parents seem to be well educated and kind to their own kids and others' kids.   I don't know for sure, but I'm going to guess that the parent population contains a fairly high proportion of people with graduate degrees and/or higher socio-economic status, cutting across ethnic groups.  For us, an environment that is diverse, values education, and treats kids kindly is the kind of place we want our kids to be.

In response to some of the specific concerns that have been expressed by others...  (a) The playground is not the largest, but it's now got adequate shade, it's got very reasonable equipment, and it does just fine as a place for kids to run around, play in the sandbox, race around on scooters/trikes.  It's also accompanied by a nice sized indoor gym with running-around space and indoor play structures.   This was one of my only reservations when we signed up, since I'd have preferred to have a school with grassy outdoor play space, but in the scheme of things this has turned out to be a very minor issue.  The kids get [i]plenty[/i] of exercise and a very diverse menu of physical activity, and there are additional opportunities at the school for karate, dance, and mixed sports for those who want them.  (b)  The school is not in a ritzy area, but there is not the [i]slightest[/i] reason to believe there is anything problematic or unsafe about it, and I was completely boggled to see someone suggest otherwise.  I've never seen anyone even the slightest bit suspicious around the school, the outdoor playground is physically walled off and largely invisible to the outside, and the staff are clearly very conscientious about security procedures.

Just so I don't seem like a crazy booster of the school, I will add that our time there has had one or two blips --e.g. one child who was leading a "pack" of boys who tended to tease and/or exclude others, one assistant who sometimes talked to some kids in a way that was unduly harsh and critical.  But I judge a place in part, and maybe primarily, by what it does when things are [i]not[/i] perfect.  In both these cases, the concern was brought to the attention of the right people, action was taken firmly, kindly, and professionally, and the situation was made right.

Bottom line:  White Flint Children's House has my highest recommendation.  
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