The Goddard School

I am pretty demanding, have no problem expressing myself and have high standards. I have waited two years to completely experience the school before giving an accurate review.
We have two children currently attending the Goddard School and this has been one of the BEST decisions we have ever made.
PROS
— Very clean environment.
— Sinks and bathrooms in every class. Kids wash their hands constantly.
— Classrooms are meticulous and well organized.
— Playground is colorful and have lots of activities.
— Beautiful artwork all over the campus inspires creativity
— Love the secure environment — Palm print scan and code to enter building. Also electronically check in and check out.
— Electronic Reporting — Photo updates of your child. Daily report on what your child is learning, how much they ate and drank etc.
— The teachers are very friendly, nurturing, competent, great at their jobs and treat children with the utmost love and respect. The teachers truly make Goddard very special.
— Safety is huge at this school. On the rare occasion that there is an incident, a detailed report is written and parents notified immediately.
— If a kid is sick, they are immediately quarantined, parents called and sent home. This greatly reduces the spread of that illness especially in the flu season.
— The administration is very kind, calm and really listen to any concerns/​suggestions.
— Administration is super responsive. They get back to you immediately.
— The school only closes on major holidays and have early opening and closing times. This is very helpful for working parents.
— Goddard has fun activities for the entire family every couple of months either in the evening or weekends. Nice to meet other families and so much fun for the kids.
— Parents night out is awesome, you drop off your kids on a Saturday evening and the kids have a fun movie night with their friends while you relax/​go out.
— Children’s creativity is really enhanced with the numerous projects going on all the time. Recently for Earth Day, they had a fashion show using recycled materials that the kids made. There is a garden where kids grow all kids of vegetables/​plants.
— The education curriculum is very good. When my older child transferred here from another school, he could hardly say any words. He was talking in two weeks. You will see an immediate improvement in the development of your child. If there are any issues, they really take the time to help your child advance or improve. You get score cards every few months to see how your child is doing and this is very helpful.
— My older child loves homework. Ms. Jessica in the TK class makes it so much fun that your child will be begging to work on homework in the evening. Imagine that!
— In addition to learning, the kids have a lot of fun. My son will cry if he has to miss school. He loves it that much!
— My children are truly thriving at this school and I am so glad we listened to the Unilocal reviewers. It has been the best decision we have made.
CONS
Absolutely None!
As one parent stated, RUN and don’t walk to this school. It is that good!
Comments on Previous Posters —
— NEVER EVER in two years have I EVER seen a teacher with a cellphone. NEVER. Also children are always in the classrooms and not the hallways. Goddard has some of the best teachers and it is very offensive to insinuate that they are that irresponsible to use a cellphone in the presence of children.
— If your child is very very prone to accidents and you expect your child to go through life never having fallen down, please get a private nanny to watch them or homeschool them. There is a very low student/​teacher ratio which is fantastic. However, it is an impossible task for any teacher in any school in this world to keep their eyes solely fixated on your child all day long. May I also add it’s an impossible task for any parent as well. The teachers here are very responsible, very careful and I have never once had an issue with them caring for my two very SUPER ACTIVE boys and that includes an infant too.
— If your child is attacking other kids, it is your responsibility as the parent to resolve it. In addition, it would be beneficial to be more cooperative/​proactive with the school and victims family. I am aware of at least two kids that have hit others that are still enrolled at the school. The parents are instrumental in turning this behavior around and NOT the school.
— Shalini, Fernando and Abbey are super involved and truly the easiest people to talk to. They may not always agree with you but they listen to feedback. It is quite hard to imagine them being rude/​aggressive, it’s honestly just not their personality.

I cannot say enough good things about this place. The commitment and love given to my son is beyond what I ever expected. It’s impeccably clean, had responsible staff members, a fun educational program and safe.

Put your child here at your own risk! I placed my 2 yo son here for only a few months and the experience was awful. Within a period of 2 weeks, my son fell twice. The first time he fell (pushed by another kid they said but I don’t believe them), causing his ear to bleed and the bruise lasted five days. The second time he fell, his mouth was bleeding. In both instances my son fell because the teacher was not attentive. As you walk down the hallway, you’ll see some of the teachers browsing their iPhone instead of watching the kids.
When I expressed my concern about safety to the school admin, Abbey, she was a mouthful; she was completely defensive and told me that things like that «just happen.» She offered no willingness to look into the situation and assess whether or not they need to improve. She and Mr. Fernando, another admin., downplayed both incidents and basically told me that it was nothing.
When I spoke the owner of the school, Shalini, she was completely also insensitive to what I had to say. By this time I had already given notice to remove my son from the school. Shalini’s response when I spoke to her was, and I quote, «your son is leaving the school anyway, so why are you complaining?»
If you register you child here and he/​she gets an injury, don’t expect the staff to be honest with you about what happened. They will downplay the whole situation to legally cover their behind. While most of the teachers here are nice, the admin and the owner are extremely insensitive to the your concerns, even when it comes to the safety and welfare of your child. I would not put my dog here.

I am extremely picky and judgmental so if I give something a 5 start review it is a huge deal. I looked into a lot of schools. My daughter had problems at her previous school and I was told it was her behavior. It took me too long to realize that I was not just dealing with poor behavior. The Goddard school is amazing, they believe that positive reinforcement is what should be used to promote good behavior. Well doesn’t that make sense? I have already popped in to surprise my daughter a few times, and what I saw the first time is what I see every time. It is very clean, the children are good in the group environment. Let’s be honest they are all 3 years old, so they are not perfect and certainly not my daughter. But they are happy and play well together, and listen to the teachers and listen to the rules. The need reminders sometimes but that is because they are 3. My daughter has become a different person with such a nurturing environment. We also recently lost her grandpa which had some behavior issues with it. The staff at the Goddard school was understanding and comforting to her. One day when she wasn’t sleeping for nap time they moved her into another room where the change of environment worked and she fell asleep. Simple right? It’s almost as if they deflect the negative then focus on the positive behavior. I haven’t even started talking about the curriculum but I have to work so I will add to my review later.
I have never given anything 5 stars before. I would recommend the Goddard school to everyone.

We absolutely love this school! It’s a new school in Calavera Hills so facility is clean & fresh. The owners & teachers are wonderful! They send daily updates each time your child leaves as to what they’ve done/​learned for the day. My daughter loved her teachers & the past year she’s been there has really advanced. Also the school is so safe! Each parent has their own PIN number & has to put their hand on the finger pad in order to enter the building which I think is huge! All of the above is very worth the monthly fees. :)

We had been searching for a good preschool for a while, and I did lots of research on what was available to us in our area. Im so happy we found The Goddard School. We started my son at 14 months, and now he is almost 2. He absolutely loves the school, and all of the teachers. When I pick him up everyday, he says bye to each and every staff member he sees in the hall, and teachers (that I dont even know) seem to know his name. The staff is very nurturing, kind, attentive, and caring. We love the daily reports, and weekly pictures, and the owners and directors, Shalini, Fernando, and Abbey are very involved. There have been times where Ive emailed them and have received an answer through email or phone call right away. We are very happy with our choice.

When our daughter turned 18 month last year. we decided to send her to daycare. We compared 3 daycares in the area and decided to send her to The Goddard School. We loved the teachers and school management team. We enjoy reading the daily activities report with the detailed information on her nap schedule, how much /​what she eat, learning activities in school and photos. It has been 10 months since my daughter started daycare at Goddard. She has been growing and improving so much in so many areas, she can sing many songs and count to 20. and she is still as sweet and happy as she was.

We had searched for a good preschool for quite awhile, and then we found The Goddard School. GREAT school for so many reasons. Our little guy has been at Goddard for almost a year and he absolutly loves this school. The curriculum is impressive. Within the first month, his vocabulary had increased dramatically. Now, his language skills are very sophisticated. We love it when people ask «How old is he?» The teachers are very kind and attentive to all of the kids. They email detailed daily reports outlining our little guy’s lessons and activities for that day. Wonderful owners and Director — very caring and engaged with the parents. The school is immaculately clean, bright and well maintained. Excellent security in place. Other parents are very friendly — lots of playdates! SO happy we chose The Goddard School. Just a great school!

Our daughter is among the first batch of kids enrolled in this new school. It has been two years and we still love this center. The #1 thing I like is the cleaningness. As my daughter never caught flu or illness from school but she was sick very often in her previoius preschool center. It saves time and energy for parents indeed.
The owner also puts a lot of effort creating new ways to make the environment better as well as getting good staff. I can tell they are working hard to make the program better day by day and I am happy to recommend to my friends to enroll in this place.

This is by far the perfect preschool, it’s so up to date with all of the curriculum, they even have lesson plans for the infants that attend there. All of their staff members are educated and have either a associates or bachelors degree, or in the process pertaining one. My son was there during the summer well my husband and I worked. They have such an amazing program, my son had so much fun. You can literally walk in with a blind fold and just know by the enthusiastic and their positive attitudes that it’s the perfect school, I would recommend this school to anyone.

Not happy– warning this is a looong review.
My son started and was doing great the first days but after day 4 he started biting the kids in his classroom. Of course, this is not how I would like my child to behave, BUT, he was only 1 year at the time so it was hard for him to understand it was wrong.
I was shocked to learn how the staff reacted– they asked ME what they should do! I explained he never bit before and never does it at home so I couldn’t help them (the child experts?). After 2 weeks they called and said my child was dis-​enrolled.
I am amazed that a daycare that size never had experienced a situation like this before and not knowing how to react. I paid good money to keep my son in their facility and when he acted out they reacted as he was a monster they could not control. They actually recommended us to get a nanny because daycare would not be a good fit for our child at the moment.
My son went back to his original daycare (thank God they could take him back) and guess what– he stopped biting immediately.
At first I was very impressed with the Goddard school. Ok prices, clean, bright, daily reports, safe. Now I know that it was all a façade and when it all comes down to it they actually don’t know how to take care of kids especially if there is an issue within the classroom. The assistant director’s child was bit by my son and although I don’t condone the behavior I am sure that it was hard for the parent to be objective in this situation.
I would also like to add that on the morning of my son’s last day, the two teachers in the classroom did not even acknowledge me and my son and just kept talking about shopping. My gut tells me the teachers was not very interested in their jobs if they could act like that in front of a parent.
I waited a few months to write this review so I wouldn’t do it just out of rage. Talking to other parents and his current daycare/​future daycare, everyone is horrified by how they handled the situation. The way they acted will forever be a painful memory and I just hope my son never experienced anything bad from it.

We are so happy and pleased with our new preschool, our daughter loves going to school, she always tells us what she has learned at school, she is constantly singing new songs and telling us all the stories she has learned at school. The environment is clean, staff is friendly, they take extra care of children’s privacy and everything is well communicated with parents. Parents get a daily report of children’s activities to the details of how much of their lunch they ate or how long their nap was. They send snap pics of kids while playing and doing activities during the day which brightens up my day at work seeing my baby happy at her school. School has an open door policy, any parent can stop by any time to see their children… I just can’t say enough good things about this school. We are looking forward to our daughters years here and glad to have found a place that will give her a great foundation for her future education!

Nigh on a year since we sent our son here to learn
Many subjects are taught and some fun in return
So if you like places that are clean
Teachers and directors not so mean
Your child will blossom and grow and not be left astern

I am super busy with my own business so I normally do not take the time to leave reviews. Because of the amazing job this school does with my now 3 year old, I had to let others know. Here is the good and the bad, from my experience;
Good — Amazing teachers, there is a definite underpinning of high quality, educated teachers that enjoy what they do. The administration is great too, I believe the culture starts top down here. This appears to be more than a business venture for them, but my guess is that it has something more personal and meaningful behind it. I cant put my finger on it, but that special touch is evident in so many areas. Additionally my son has dramatically improved his speech, social interaction skills, spelling, alphabet, counting and basic addition. I was totally surprised that he knows the names of each of his classmates and can identify their parents and other teachers from other classrooms. He looks forward to going to school everyday and overall he loves this school.
Bad — If I do not time it right, traffic is horrendous (sp?) around 4:45 to 5pm. It is much better around 5:15 — 5:30.

All staff members are educated and well trained. My daughter’s transition was smooth and she quickly adapted. She raves about the school, staff and all her new classmates. I highly recommend this school. It has been a blessing in our lives and we look forward to the ongoing education and growth we will experience as a family!

You can bring your children here with eyes closed — it’s that good.
I did so much research that my brain was hurting and I felt confused. I had seen Veronique’s review on here and I asked her for more information — she was more than happy to talk in depth with me, so my first impression of the school was her. Then, I talked with the owner, Shalini, for a few months before moving to the area and she was very helpful and sent me lots of information by e-​mail so I could make up my mind — no spam, no sales pitches: just helpful information about the school.
I finally make it to the area, but I toured other schools just to be sure I did my research. I saw Montessori schools, Christian schools, free play daycares, etc. I weighed my final decision on value and price. For LESS than all of the other schools in the area, I can put my child in a school/​daycare that is new, state of the art, clean, qualified and friendly teachers, safe, professional, small feeling, and organized. For the money, it’s the best value overall. Also, there are no hidden fees — everything is straightforward. I like the auto-​pay feature for tuition because I’m horrible about remembering to write checks.
For the curriculum, my child is bilingual and bicultural and she learned lots of new words, skills, and cute manners. It’s amazing to see how she flourishes and enjoys going to school each day. They teach the children to console each other, manners, motor skills, and more. She really loves it and of course, her happiness is my happiness. The teachers have iPads and will often send photos directly to your email through the tadpole app — my busy husband and I love it and we forward the photos to our family who can see how well she is doing in school.
They also send via email a DAILY report telling you how many diapers they went through (and what kind: 1 or 2), how much of their lunch they ate, what activities, songs, sports, games they did and the goals of each activity through the Goddard method. They also inform you to bring more diapers or wipes and other things like bathing suits and stuff for special days. It’s very helpful to have this information to know how well they are eating, if they have diaper rashes or BMs that need observing, what they are learning and how. I look forward to these at the end of each day and I talk about them with my husband to see if we need to make any changes.
My child has been in the school for three months now and has NOT gotten sick once. For me, that’s a testament to their cleanliness! No wasted days, no having to pick up up a sick child, no wasted money; just a happy kid who gets to learn new skills, socialize, and enjoy the best possible care by a professional and conscientious facility — and an overall harmonious and loving environment.
I’ve referred other people who have sinced enrolled their children. They, too, are very happy with their experience. Don’t take my word for it, though, go take a tour and meet the staff yourself.

We love this school! Our son has learned so much in such a short time. When we enrolled him I was afraid of the language barrier and the fact that he does not do well being apart from us. It was a very easy transition for him from the beginning. It took him maybe 3 days to adjust which is a great sign for us since he still hasn’t adjusted to family that has been around us for years. We noticed within a few weeks he was talking to us about different animals numbers and colors, talking in full sentences in English, it amazed us to see so much growth in our child in such a short time. The teachers are great, they are all very attentive of the children and you can tell that they enjoy what they do. The directors always keep you well informed about any events happening at the school and we always see them in the classrooms getting to know the children and their habits. I love walking in and everyone knows who our son is and what class he’s in, which is great considering the fact that they have so many other children walking in and out of the facility. If you are having doubts about this place don’t! It will be the best decision you will make for your child’s education. Just visit the school, take a tour, you will see exactly what I’m talking about.

I am very happy with this school! More importantly my son is happy. Every night he tells me, «I love Ms. Cathy! I love Ms. Wenda!» (His teacher and assistant teacher in the 2 year old class). He also frequently talks fondly about his friends which I wasn’t expecting at this young of an age. Every day after I pick him up, we get an emailed update with little tidbits of what he did which also usually includes a memorable moment and attached picture that you can download and keep. It is so nice to be able to go through the email and ask him specific questions about his day rather than just «How was your day?». The facility is bright and happy and clean and the sink is one of the first things you see in the room. Parents are encouraged to have their kids wash their hands as the kids come in and as they leave. Love that good hygiene is a part of their daily curriculum. Their days are full of valuable lessons from science and music to nature and life skills and I love that they use a wide variety of media for creative projects. The school is very good about communication with parents on many levels. We even got a friendly reminder about daylight savings time! I would highly recommend this school to anyone looking for a safe, fun, loving environment for their child. Can’t say enough good things about this school!

What can I say. This preschool exceeds all expectations when it comes to my child’s education and well being. We’ve had our son in other schools and I can honestly say moving him to the Goddard School was one if the best things we’ve done. Not only is the staff extremely friendly, but you get daily updates and pictures about what their learning! Thank you Shalini, Mr. Fernando, and the rest of the staff for making this such an excellent experience!

Being a very involved parent, it is a huge relief to find a school who cares for their students as if they were their own children. Goddard has been a blessing, from the amazing staff, to an absolutely wonderful facility, we could ask for more for our son. The Tadpoles system will make any parent feel at ease when you get daily, if not hourly, updates on your child’s day. The ability for the teachers to send you «at the moment» pictures of activities your child is currently working on is just amazing. The Goddard School has focused on technology, and implementing it into there curriculum, and with the Tadpole app is just the first step in allowing parents to feel comfortable while they are away from them. Thank you Goddard for your outstanding attention to detail, and overall outstanding service in our child’s education.