The Goddard School

My 3.5 year old has been at Goddard since she was 4 months old. This week I enrolled my 3 month old. It's an incredible school with extremely loving, intelligent, professional, and committed teachers and staff. Cyndi is an excellent director who ALWAYS responds to my emails or concerns (of which I've had very few). They have a very high teacher retention rate. My daughter had the same teacher for 16 months and now has had the same teacher for 7 months. I think this is very rare to find. My daughter is currently learning numbers, writing letters, french and yoga. They even have outside organizations come in to offer extra activities such as dance or tumbling. This makes it incredibly convenient for me to expose my children to so many experiences without adding more time to an already packed schedule. I genuinely feel immensely grateful for all the teachers and staff at Goddard. It makes being a working parent so much easier. I recommend it to anyone without any reservations.

I can’t possibly put into words how much I love this place! My kids have been going there since they were 2. Now my oldest daughter is in Kindergarten and she is still friends with all the kiddos she met at Goddard. She is above all the state standards from the education she got in preschool. Our other daughter is 3 now and recognizes letters writes her name plays well with others and is headed down the same path as her sister. Goddard is not a daycare, it is a school with education at the forefront, and they care about your child’s education as well as their well-being. It was a blessing to find the school, when we were looking for childcare options and we couldn’t be happier. From the teachers to the director Cyndi, they all care and it shows! If I can’t stay home and teach them and be with them because I work, I know that Goddard Springbrook is by far the best place for our kids to grow and learn.

This place and its staff ❤️- We have been sending our boys to Goddard since February 2016 when we had to abruptly leave our former daycare. At the time, my boys were 15 months and 3 yrs. My husband and I were very nervous about sending our kids somewhere new, but after having looked at a few other daycares, we knew this was the place. Ms.Cyndi, the director, and every single teacher, was very personable and welcoming from the beginning. We went to an open house and she took us around and had different teachers speak to us about what went on in their rooms on a typical day, and we felt like we had a good idea of what our boys would be up to while at the school. The flexibility of the management and staff for days our boys need to come (they go three days a week but the days always change because of our work schedules) has been awesome! Cyndi has always been so accommodating to our family’s needs. Additionally, the place is so clean all the time, even when I can’t pick up my boys until closer to close! It’s amazing. This was something that definitely caught my eye. Each day, you are sent a report of your child’s activities and what they are learning, which helps create good conversation, activities, and enrichment at home. During the day, I get sent pictures through the Tadpoles app of what my kids are working on, so that is really nice! My older son was already reading a little when he started, and Ms. Cyndi and his new teacher took the time to evaluate his abilities to decide his proper placement so he wouldn’t be bored. Even though he was a little emotionally immature, they decided to bump him up to a pre-k class instead of preschool so he would be appropriately challenged, and wow did he flourish! He is almost 6 now (and in kindergarten) and reads books that 3rd graders do! The school also has special events several times throughout the year, from game nights to circus themed activities, trunk or treat at Halloween, and more, with my favorite being that they hold their own science fair in the spring! My older son was able to participate last year and it was a great way for him to start being responsible for some of his own work and creativity. We picked something simple to do so he did the project by himself (for the most part) and then on the day of the fair, he was able to give a short presentation to the judges all on his own - something he became comfortable doing because talking in front of his class is part of the curriculum! Most importantly, my kids clearly love going there every day. They are excited to see the staff and it’s clear they feel like they belong. As a teacher myself (for high school, not little ones), sometimes this profession in general can have a lot of turnover when staff is not happy, and fortunately there is not much turnover with staff, particularly the last couple of years, and that makes a world of difference in my opinion. Now that my older son is in kindergarten, he goes to Goddard for before and after school care, which has also been great! This keeps him busy with friends and being active even after the school day is over. I know that he is safe and in a place he loves, so it’s a win-win! I can’t imagine my kids going anywhere else. It has been a wonderful experience for them and we couldn’t be more thankful.

I could not be happier with the school and staff at the Naperville 83rd St. location. The teachers have been great with the kids and really focus on each child individually as needed. We switched schools a few years back as the previous school's director was not present and when she was, she was not attune to what was going on in the classrooms. That is not the case at the Naperville 83rd St. Goddard. The director at this location is present and attentive throughout the school. She is aware of what is going on in all her classrooms and is always available for parents and their questions and concerns. Her and her morning staff are always reliable and have never left us unattended or waiting on them; this was not the case with the previous school. The director at this location is direct, assertive, and extremely proactive, which in my opinion, are critical skills when managing the safety and well-being of children. I did not and would not feel comfortable having my children at a school where the director and teachers were not as actively engaged as they are at the Naperville 83rd St. Goddard School.

My children have gone through the Goddard kindergarten program. I have had a wonderful experience both times. Ms. Joanna at the 104th street location was my son's teacher and Ms. Dunham at the 83rd street location was my daughter's teacher. The curriculum is challenging for a kindergarten program, which is something that my husband and I were looking for. We wanted a smaller class environment which delved deeper than just learning the alphabet and basic math. That is exactly what Goddard delivered. The front staff and the kindergarten teachers/aides knew all of the children in the program very well and went above and beyond to always make sure that our children were happy, healthy, and learning new material everyday. I highly recommend Goddard for their kindergarten program.