Preschools in and around Gainesville (Linton Hall, St. Paul: home, transfer, preschool)

[kb9906]

I am looking for preschools, and I am having a terrible time finding information on any within or surrounding Gainesville. Aside from Haymarket Baptist (no way would we get a spot in there), does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, we are looking at BeanTree Learning in Ashburn ... anyone have any info on that one?

[Laurilee Wellington]

Yes, there is an excellent preschool in Haymarket, St. Paul's School, and it is becoming known as the "Harvard of Preschools". My sister had her daughter attend for several years. It is a Christian school with a developmentally appropriate curriculum. I heard they introduced HWT for their handwriting curriuclum. The program is very well run. According to my sister, the teachers all have their degrees and several teachers including the kindergarten teacher have graduate degrees and are certified. Everything we have heard has been very positive.

[Kelly King]

We have our son at St.Pauls 2-year old mothers day out program and are very happy with all that he is learning. We have registred him for the 3-year old program, which I heard is now full. I heard they have three openings for the 4-year olds for next fall. Good luck! It is hard to find good preschools.

[Jenny Delaney]

Do try to get into St. Paul's if you can. Once your child is in their preschool it is much easier to get into their kindergarten program. Even if you have to put your kid's name on a waiting list, do it. Kids who go to St. Paul's School always end up in the GT programs in public school. The schools are very well aware of St. Paul's reputation.

[dod236]

I hope this is not late info We just registered our 3 year old at St Paul, they opened a second 3-year old classroom for the Fall.

[boner42]

Originally Posted by kb9906

I am looking for preschools, and I am having a terrible time finding information on any within or surrounding Gainesville. Aside from Haymarket Baptist (no way would we get a spot in there), does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, we are looking at BeanTree Learning in Ashburn ... anyone have any info on that one?

No, nothing on Beantree, but Haymarket Baptist is not so difficult to get into if you persevere. However, St. Paul's School, which as a preschool and kindergarten, is challenging. St. Paul's has an admittance process that requires an assessment. We endured the process and then learned they could not accept any more students. They were very nice and returned the application fee since we were not able to get our child in. You probably will have a much easier time getting into Haymarket Baptist.

[boner42]

Originally Posted by Laurilee Wellington

Yes, there is an excellent preschool in Haymarket, St. Paul's School, and it is becoming known as the "Harvard of Preschools". My sister had her daughter attend for several years. It is a Christian school with a developmentally appropriate curriculum. I heard they introduced HWT for their handwriting curriuclum. The program is very well run. According to my sister, the teachers all have their degrees and several teachers including the kindergarten teacher have graduate degrees and are certified. Everything we have heard has been very positive.

It is competitive for sure. We were unable to get our son in. He is at Mountain View now and we may pull him if we can find another school. Linton Hall is full, Seton is full, All Saints is full and St. Paul's, our first choice and closest to home was also full. But good luck. Finding a good school is tough.

[boner42]

Originally Posted by Kelly King

We have our son at St.Pauls 2-year old mothers day out program and are very happy with all that he is learning. We have registred him for the 3-year old program, which I heard is now full. I heard they have three openings for the 4-year olds for next fall. Good luck! It is hard to find good preschools.

Smart move. Wish we had signed our son up when he was three. We would probably have been able to transition him easily into St. Paul's four year old program and then been able to get him into their kindergarten class that way. Yes, their 4-year old program was also full that year. Well, hindsight is always better.

[marche787]

Originally Posted by Jenny Delaney

Do try to get into St. Paul's if you can. Once your child is in their preschool it is much easier to get into their kindergarten program. Even if you have to put your kid's name on a waiting list, do it. Kids who go to St. Paul's School always end up in the GT programs in public school. The schools are very well aware of St. Paul's reputation.

We had thought about putting our daughter in St. Paul's 2nd grade and I wish we had. We are so displeased with the public school system here. The standards are much lower than back home (CT). Our daughter is in the GT program at her elementary school, but it not the least challenging. She is getting bored. We have to drag her to school every day. We will see if we can get her into St. Paul's. We are familiar with waiting lists and it sounds like it is worth the wait. Thanks.

[Claire2900]

My nephews were in BeanTree in Ashburn and transferred to the new one in Westfields a few months ago. My sister in law and friend RAVE about the center. Very pricey and not close to Gainesville though