The Goddard School

This school has a horrible director and a owner that doesn't support his staff. I have witnessed this leadership to be very rude to parents and unappreciative to their staff. The turnover rate is extremely high and they're is no consistency with the teachers. I have observed the classrooms out of ratio alot of the time and DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SCHOOL TO ANYONE WHO HAS COMMON SENSE. THIS SCHOOL IS ONLY FOR THE DESPERATE.

My two boys have been attending the Goddard School in Sandy Springs for only two months, now, and I feel obligated to tell others how amazing this experience has already been. I’ve seen mixed reviews on the web, and had some trepidation about switching schools, since there was nothing terribly wrong with the last one and didn’t know if it was worth the pain of transitioning two little boys yet again, but I was having some concerns with excessive screen time and low quality daily reports. I have several friends whose kids attended the Goddard School, and I took a chance based on their glowing feedback. What an incredible change. My toddler went from crying at drop-off daily at the last school, to throwing his arms wide and happily going to both teachers in the Young Toddler class. When I pick him up, he runs to give me a hug, and then starts walking around the room pointing and naming things for me, in no hurry to leave. My three year old is in the Early Pre-K class, and is so enthusiastic about learning. Each week, there’s a different theme, from trains to camping to Summer at the North Pole. And the activities that pair with the theme are so much FUN. They had a snowball fight with jumbo marshmallows. They brought their stuffed animals in to camp overnight (when the kids came back the next morning, the animals had made a MESS overnight – LOL.) He’s become so confident in his knowledge. And the daily reports – oh, they’re beautiful for a Type A personality parent.  For each child, I get at least a couple of photos daily, average around 4, and the reports are DETAILED. Whole paragraphs on each activity, what aspect of their development it is intended to target, and how it accomplishes that. So I have lots of information to carry on conversations about what they learned and reinforce the concepts. (If you’ve ever asked a three year old, “so what did you learn today,” you’ll know that can be a very one-sided conversation!) My early concerns are washed away – I had a mild concern about the outdoor space (which was small compared to the previous school, and I want my boys to get lots of physical activity). Not an issue – its plenty big for their size, I’ve arrived a little early and just watched them chasing each other and playing happily on the equipment and with the toys. And they go outside three times a day, which is great. My other concern, which was some of the negative online reviews about the administration – I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with the director and assistant director. They’re always upbeat, gave me great direction and a thorough orientation, frequently ask for feedback, and I’ve never encountered an unreasonable rule. They are very organized – monthly calendars, weekly updates, daily reminders. My husband was originally concerned that the daily calendars were TOO full – that they didn’t have enough “free play” time, but that’s also been fine. I think they strike a great balance between structured activities (which are fun and often active), and unstructured free play. I think I covered all of my main thoughts – basically, if something happened years ago that led to those negative reviews about this school, I think they’ve been resolved. It is now an incredible learning environment and I would happily recommend it to anyone who believes learning is good, and should be fun.

Unless you compare things, you wont get to know the real picture. We explored several schools before my son joined "Infant 2" in 2012 and now in Junior K. Now, I have started looking for some private schools as Goddard has classes till Kindergarten and he will have to switch eventually. However, while taking the tour of these private schools, I can very easily sense the education standards, classroom (well organized), curriculum (the exposure your child is getting) and of course the teachers you have at Goddard is "AWESOME" which some of these good schools also do not have. I must say GODDARD @ Sandy Springs is definitely recommendable.

I just wanted to let Mrs.McKinney (sic) know that the prek teacher didn't quit. I happen to know her personally.

Goddard Sandy Springs has become a horrible school within a span of two years. Many families are desperately trying to leave for neighboring daycares. Within just three months during the summer, 6 families left ONE CLASS and 9 teachers also left. Turnover is awful. The curriculum is no longer as strong as it used to be (likely due to the lack of qualified remaining teachers). Because they have problems retaining teachers, most teachers don't have early childhood degrees as they sell you on during the tour. In fact, some teachers don't even have degrees. The administration, specifically the director, Thonja, has created a hostile environment and is disrespectful toward parents, teachers and even children. For example, I would say good morning to the director each morning, and she would simply ignore me and not respond. That's not the kind of environment I want my kids exposed to. She always refused to buzz me into the door when I was juggling two children, backpacks, diapers and sheets. Instead, she would force me to set everything down, and buzz myself in with my finger (despite buzzing in other parents). For $3000 a month for my two children, that's beyond unacceptable. So many reviews have also pointed out she's so blatantly dismissive of any concerns and refuses to take responsibility for any incidents. When my youngest daughter came home in dirty underwear consistently (from not being wiped properly), Ms. Thonja told me I was lying. She once loudly berated my husband in the hallway while children and parents were walking by to the point that we received several phone calls from other parents asking what happened. We finally made the decision to leave this day care in the Summer of 2016 when teachers began expressing their concerns to us as well. Since then, we've run into other former families and teachers in the neighborhood and have heard even more horror stories about Goddard Sandy Springs. There is a mass exodus of families and teachers. Teachers are so unhappy and it shows. The PreK teacher quit after just a month this summer and it was never communicated to parents. The best teachers have left, and the ones remaining are scared of Thonja. Other teachers have claimed to have moved, when in reality, they're still in Atlanta. (I know because we've run into them and they've told us how awful she is to them). Families are also leaving rapidly and claiming "the commute" but in reality they've moved on to Dunwoody Prep and Primrose, which are just 2 miles away, due to the turnover, Ms. Thonja, the lack of curriculum and the lack of customer service. The owner, Jay, is a terrible leader and despite many conversations with him expressing our concerns, he simply choose to do nothing and is rarely on site anymore. So many families have expressed concern to him to no avail. For the amount of money you will pay to attend this school, I would recommend a school that values you as a customer, has credentialed, HAPPY teachers, and takes action should any concern arise.