The Goddard School

I can’t say enough good things about this school. Our son would come home excited and ready to go back the next day. The teachers and staff are exemplary and the school was always very clean. The daily emails were great and always gave us a good idea of what our child was learning. Unfortunately we moved away and had to find another school but our son still brings up his old teachers and The Goddard School frequently.

We’re a week out of Goddard after a year in, and it feels like we got our life back. I think if you’re really controlling and want a regimented environment for your child, it could be worth the extra effort and money. It wasn’t a fit for us.
PROS
1. There are some great teachers here. And that’s huge! But we’ve loved teachers at other places, too.
2. Generally the child-​to-​teacher ratio is lower than other schools, but not always.
3. Good security on the door and perfect inspection rating.
CONS
1. The policies killed us.
* We had to pre-​make bottles for the baby, and as a 7– to 9-​month-​old, we were told she drank 30 oz 8am-​5pm plus snacks and a lunch. That’s double what she drinks at home and at new daycare.
* We had to pack lunches for baby and toddler.
* Drop off took so long, and it was always a mess with too much stuff. For toddler, milk and anything heated were taken to a different room w a fridge. For baby, we brought milk into a connecting room w a fridge. And we had to take our shoes off and put on slippers or shoe covers.
* We had to buy and bring bedding and bring it home every Friday, back every Monday.
* There were so many fundraisers ALL THE TIME despite them being the most expensive daycare I’ve seen around here.
2. It felt like the owner doesn’t care about the children’s wellbeing, and here’s why.
* I gave notice, then retracted it. Within a few weeks, I gave notice again because we just could NOT take how time-​consuming it was. Our daycare routine was by far the worst out of all of our friends, so we knew we had to give ourselves a break. Helen insisted on us serving our 30 days’ notice even though I would’ve been up on the initial notice I gave.
* Then the owner, Helen, tried to move my son into the next room up entirely on his own. They had a new kid coming in, so she tried to bump my son into a room he didn’t know with new kids and teachers, knowing he was leaving in 2 weeks. They said it was because they needed to keep his class the same size.
That’s SO GREEDY and HEARTLESS. After that, I was clear that I expected the owner to do the right thing and refund the rest of the notice period because clearly I can’t trust her. She refused. So, that’s the kind of person she is. You can’t judge a person by what they say, but you can certainly judge them on what they do.

My daughter has been attending for 5 months in the 3 year old group. Her teacher is kind and patient. They provide me with daily emails about her day (the daily lesson plan, a picture of her, a personal statement of what she did that day, a description of how much lunch she ate and how long was her nap). It is a nurturing place where they focus on the whole child and theme based curriculum. For example, when learning about Ocean animals, they will read a book about the ocean, work on large motor skills by pretending to be fish in the ocean, focus on fine motor skills by creating a painting of the blue of the ocean, and so on.

6 stars but I could not get my mouse to work!
There is no way to describe how my daughter has sharpened her mind since she has been here for almost a year now. I am very picky of where I leave her and what I allow her to do. But the teachers here won me over, and they are not actors like some other schools where the teachers act all nice in front of you. I have 10 years of managment business experience, and I know when someone is just icing the cake. But this school has the best system I have ever seen. Every teacher my girl has has still loves her.
I can’t thank the school enough for the great way they treat, discipline, and teach kids.
Furthermore I like to let anyone know that if your child is not here, you are missing out. And if God gives me more children they will be attending here.

Warm, friendly and welcoming are just a few of the words I would use to describe Paul and Helen, owners of this location.
I have always felt that I could go to them about any issue with the school (and some not school related) and know that I would have their attention and they genuinely cared about the matter.
Our youngest has some issues with being denied something she wants. We worked with the teachers to try and address our concerns. We certainly felt that our child needed to be directed in a more constructive manner but we also felt that our child was not always getting the attention needed to avoid the behavior. This is an example of the level of dedication shown at this location of Goddard.
Lovely people, friendly teachers and so many great kids. :)

My son attended the Goddard School in Pennsylvania and my plan was to enroll him at another Goddard School when we moved to TX. And I am so blessed and happy to have found The Pflugerville Goddard school. I cannot say enough positive things about this school.
I am one of those parents who is very inquisitive and investigates everything my son does and this school passes with an A+. The school is clean, safety is top notch, the kids play outside almost every day. And the staff is amazing, you get daily reports of your child’s activities. The owner Ms. Helen, is like a mom to all the kids and she knows EVERYBODY by name. Making you feel right at home. My 2 year old is bilingual, and the teacher actually offered to learn a few words in our language to aid communication with him. I am having another baby any day now and that baby will be attending the Pflugerville Goddard School. Take your kids to this school if you want them to have excellent social and academic skills in the best possible environment. I absolutely LOVE this school. I refer everybody I know to this school, because every child deserves all this school has to offer.

I really have to say how much I LOVE this school. My baby is just over 3 months old and has been going here for two weeks. The staff is fabulous. They really care about the kids and they are good at their job.
We wanted to be sure that our spoiled little tadpole would be getting the best care while we’re at work and I have NO doubt that she is. Why? What makes this school so much better than the others? Let me tell you:
I did some research. The TX DFPS site has them listed at 2 deficiencies of 2159 standards. For comparison, my next closest center has 58 of 2482 and almost half of those are High Risk! Since safety ranks even higher on my concern list than spoiling, this was an amazing percentage and worth the price of admission in and of itself.
But there’s more. Ms Taylor and Ms Cassie are fabulous with the infants. It’s not just how they handle the kids when I’m there (which is often, btw, because they Highly Encourage parental visits & involvement), but how the children love them back. The teachers and assistants love all the kids, it’s obvious, but for the babies to respond in kind, you know they are being treated well even when no one is looking.
When my baby sees her teachers, she smiles and leans toward them. When the older infants (6 – 12 months) are packing up to leave, they pout and reach for their teachers.
And we get daily reports on everything! Nap times, potty times, tummy time, and events! In the last two weeks, they have learned 3 – 4 yoga poses, 3 – 4 letters of the ASL alphabet, read books, picked favorite pictures, even done «stained glass,» sponge and finger painting projects.
If anything I feel guilty for not challenging my brilliant little bear enough at home. So I’m very glad that we picked a great place where she can develop and grow in a safe, caring environment.
Wow. Do I sound like an ad or what? I don’t mean to, but I really love this place and wish there was a 6^th star.
What else could be helpful information? The Owner and Director are fabulous too. Their philosophy is that even though they are running a business, it’s a family too. If you miss the «it takes a village» attitude, this might be the place for your precious cargo.
Did I mention that when I wake her up from naptime at school, my daughter wakes up with a big, bold smile? And there is one other bonus: she comes home exhaustedly happy and sleeps all through the night.