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| - I am a Speech-Language Pathologist, and I have a lot of experience with education and behavior management, so my expectations are very high when it comes to caring for my son. I am not writing this review for any reason other than to help out another parent who might be conflicted with where to get the best care for his/her child.
My son is 5 years old and started attending The Goddard School almost three years ago. At previous schools, we had dealt with directors not listening to our concerns, employees being aggressive and/or rude to the children, and employees being dishonest about very serious issues. When my son's dad and I went for the walk through at Goddard, we were pleasantly shocked when every single classroom (and that's no exaggeration) was quiet and under control. We thought maybe it was a fluke because we were doing a walk through, but now we know that is the norm. The class ratio is 10 students to 1 teacher, which is much lower then his previous school, and the room is structured with centers. Each child appears to know what the expectations are and the teachers give the children positive redirection (tell them what TO DO "keep your hands to yourself") rather than negative redirection (tell them what NOT TO DO "don't hit"). Both of these things are why I think the classrooms are so organized and under control.
One of the things that I love about Goddard, and found to be unique, is that the owner is on site and is visible through a window right when you walk in (not hidden away in the back somewhere). Also, the director is in the front office and available every time I drop my son off (around 8) and pick him up (around 4). Both of these ladies are always smiling and willing to help out the staff or parents whenever needed. Also, when you walk in, there is a security system that scans your fingerprints and each parent has a passcode. No one is walking in without prior approval. My favorite part is when you check out, you automatically (so you don't have to worry about someone forgetting) get an email that tells you any important notes or reminders from the teacher (i.e. water day is tomorrow, don't forget ___, etc.), when your child slept, what they ate/how much they ate, what the weekly theme is, and what the goal and activity was under each individual area. For example, the categories for my son are "Computer Lab", "Creative Art", "Language Arts", "Motor Skills", "Music/Movement", "Physical Development", and "Special Enrichment". The area is listed, an activity they did that addressed that area, and what the educational benchmark/goal is. In the beginning this was really helpful when we spoke to our son about what he did at school that day, because he was not able to completely explain it or needed some prompting for him to explain an activity. Now, we use it as a conversation starter at dinner and discuss his day. With this email I already know what he did and I can guide the discussion, which is a huge plus for someone who works in the school district! The email also includes a few pictures of your child doing the activities or just having fun and a picture of your child's plate with whatever food he/she didn't eat. All of this is stored through an app, so if you want to go back and look at it later it's all organized and you can keep it like a diary to show your child when they grow up. They also have a lesson plan posted outside of each classroom with the same type of information on it, but I think that might be weekly or monthly.
So all of the previous information looks great on paper, but does it really make a difference to a child's learning? All I can say is from my personal experience with my son, it absolutely makes a significant difference! At his previous school, he was learning the basics like numbers, colors, letters, etc. but shortly after starting Goddard, my son came home and talked about much more complex things. For example, when the weekly theme was solar system he told me which planet was closest to the sun, which was farthest, which one has rings, which one is earth, etc. During the Hawaii theme, he told me how many islands Hawaii has and talked about volcanoes. After the Texas theme he showed me where Texas was on the map and that it was the largest state. This weeks theme is Tennessee and he told me all about camping and making s'mores. They also have a little garden outside that the kids plant things in and my son talks about what plants need to grow, etc. I could go on and on about the things he has learned, but until you experience it for yourself, it's hard to understand how significant of a difference it is.
For anyone looking for a school that will not only ensure the safety of your child and teach them the basic concepts, but will teach them more complex things through real life experiences should definitely consider The Goddard School. We are certainly glad we did!
Oh, and they heat up food for you! :-)
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