Lake Anne Nursery Kindergarten, Reston | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

We consider ourselves fortunate to have selected LANK for our twin daughters’ first experience with school. Our first impression when touring LANK was how joyful a place it is for the kids and the genuine warmth and compassion of the teachers. These qualities proved true throughout the two years that our girls’ spent at LANK. They participated in the 3 Day preschool and 5 Day Pre-K programs and were some of the youngest students in their classes as they have summer birthdays. Now, they are well prepared in a variety of ways – and excited – to head off to Kindergarten in the fall.

My daughter said it best: “On our first day of LANK, so much fun and joy. We stick together, no matter what. It’s time to open up your heart.” Our girls’ daily excitement to see their teachers and friends was a testament to just how special LANK is to them.

LANK is an idyllic setting for children to engage in play-based learning. Inside the school there is an abundance of windows and natural light, allowing the children to enjoy their indoor learning environment while remaining connected to nature. The school’s open floor plan really helps build a sense of community among the children. At first, I was concerned that it may be overwhelming for one of my daughters but the teachers do an excellent job using a variety of teaching strategies to make the most of the space. Both of my daughters thrived in this setting. In hindsight, I realized a more typical classroom setting may have been less conducive to the play-based learning environment we wanted for our girls.

The playground situated in the woods, unique in Reston, is the heart of the school and instrumental to LANK’s teaching philosophy. We were impressed with how immersed our girls were in nature and the amount of time spent outside as part of their learning at LANK.

Having gone through the preschool/Pre-K program with twin daughters, I can offer that LANK did a phenomenal job of nurturing and teaching to our girls’ individual needs, personalities and temperaments. One of our daughters had a challenging first year as she acclimated to preschool and her teachers at LANK truly were among her best champions. Her 3 Day teacher’s insights and encouragement led us to seek additional testing and interventions that have been transformative for our daughter. We are grateful to their teachers, Mrs. Hanes, Mrs. Glahe, Mrs. Scanlan and Mrs. Ruesch. Their dedication, compassion, humor, creativity, patience and wisdom was evident in the lessons and knowledge imparted on our girls as well as the amazing arts, crafts and photos that accompanied them home on a daily basis.

We were pleased with the curriculum and the daily hands-on learning opportunities evidenced by the girls’ dirty clothes and blossoming curiosity and skills. A highlight included learning about the life cycle of various animals by having chickens, eggs and eventually baby chicks, tadpoles and cocoons/butterflies in the school for kids to interact with on a daily basis.

The dedication of the school’s administrators and staff exceeded our expectations. Executive Director, Joan Wain and Administrative Director, Patty Marsh make an outstanding leadership team. They were outside every morning to greet the children and parents and returned again at dismissal. Along with the teachers, they made drop off and pick up a wonderful learning opportunity for the kids – to nurture their social skills including meeting and greeting, making eye contact, taking turns and being respectful toward others.

The lines of communication between LANK and parents are excellent. We always felt well-informed of what our children were learning. The high level of parent involvement is also another exceptional quality of the school. Parents serve on LANK’s Board of Directors and there is an active, impactful PTO. There also is a variety of volunteer opportunities throughout the school year to accommodate parents’ time and schedules.

LANK also provided a comforting and reassuring first foray into the summer camp experience for our girls.

We cannot say enough about this treasure of a school. LANK is a true gem! We have 3 children, 12, 9 and 4 and they have all attended LANK. We cannot imagine sending them anywhere else! Not only is the staff loving and caring but they are also open and honest with communication. In the fall of 2020, we were faced with the decision of whether or not to send our then 3 year old back to school amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The directors held a virtual town hall and laid out their plans to safely reopen LANK. They provided detailed information about safety protocols and measures that would be taken, to include daily temperature checks of staff and children before entering the building and a checklist to ensure no one was experiencing any Covid symptoms. They spent almost 2 hours virtually going over their plan as well as answering questions and concerns raised by parents. We learned that class sizes would be decreased, staff and children would wear masks at all times (and for the youngest age group they would try their best) , cleaning and disinfecting would take place regularly throughout the day, and the list goes on. My husband and I had multiple conversations agonizing over making the right decision for our daughter and our family. Ultimately we decided that being in school in person was the best decision for our daughter. She has been back to school since the end of September and she looks forward to each and every day! And that is due to the tremendous care and love given by every staff member. They truly are our heroes. We have loved LANK since the first time we toured in 2011 and our love just keeps growing. LANKs play-based curriculum allows for children to express themselves as individuals. Each of our children has a love of nature that LANK helped foster. The staff is highly knowledgeable in early childhood practices which are evident in the development of our children. LANK truly is a special preschool and we have loved our experiences at this school.