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May 2024 by B C
Not foster friendly. No compassion. We took in a 3yr old girl and began searching for daycares. Based on the Goddard reputation, we came here first. They couldn’t have been more rude and condescending. No she’s not potty trained yet…she came from an abusive household…no need for the snicker and ask multiple times. The answer isn’t changing. No she doesn’t know colors or how to read.Fast forward six months, she’s been at KinderCare and loving it. Fully potty trained, knows all her colors and is beginning to read at 3.5 years old. My wife and I, both being executives in our respective fields, are SO glad the search worked out the way it did!
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May 2024 by AngieJim Clarke
We have had a wonderful experience with Goddard. In September 2021, we enrolled my daughter when she was 2 and it was one of the best decisions we have made. The staff is exceptional and they have teachers that genuinely really care for the kids and keep them engaged in the curriculum. The curriculum is a perfect blend of play-based and structured learning activities. My daughter has shown significant development in language, social skills, and cognitive abilities since joining.My daughter needed therapy and the school was open to having the therapists come to the classroom to work with her in her environment. They provided feedback for my daughter’s needs and the teachers were very receptive of incorporating the suggestions to improve my daughter’s development — which was one of the reasons that she was able to make great strides.They incorporate a variety of activities, including music, arts and crafts and daily outdoor play (amazing playground — separated by older and younger kids), which makes learning fun. It is a newer building and all the classrooms are set up for a school environment — open window to see each of the classrooms, spacious, clean, and well-organized. They have a variety of age-appropriate toys and learning materials that keep the children engaged and stimulated. The outdoor play area is safe, well-maintained, and equipped with fun play structures that my child loves. Overall, my experience with Goddard has been nothing short of fantastic and I highly recommend them.
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April 2024 by Mike Agrusa
Goddard ended up being a fantastic decision for my son after we were able to provide him with in-home childcare via family until Pre-K. The school at Plymouth Meeting has made that transition, as well as his preparation for Kindergarten and beyond, incredibly smooth with their care, structure and passion. He is always greeted with friendly faces, by both the owners and Leanne and the amazing directors. They make an effort to incorporate broad concepts and ideas into their Pre-K program, and I can see my son growing and developing amongst his peers thanks to Goddard's nurturing yet encouraging environment and teachers. They are a great example of care and attention to detail in education going a long way.
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March 2024 by Kim To
My daughter had a difficult time transitioning to daycare but the teachers and administrators have been super kind, patient, and flexible with her. She loves it there now. In addition to the wonderful staff, I also want to highlight the secure layout and cleanliness of the facility, the playground, the structured learning both on a daily level, as well as fun events during the month. The administration and teachers are very organized, communicative, and responsive. We, as parents, always know what’s going on with our daughter, from a fire drill to playing with ducks. I would recommend Goddard to other families of the community.
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December 2023 by Alexander Stefanini
Although we’ve only been here a month, we are happy with the school overall and have seen big improvements in our child’s social, emotional well being compared to previous placement. Facility is clean and modern and staff are attentive and friendly. We are big fans of a facility that uses positive reinforcement and not punishment or discipline.
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October 2023 by Drew Beal
I'm super thankful for The Goddard School of Plymouth Meeting. We were fortunate enough to find an opening for our 1-year old when we moved to the area four years ago. Dropoff and pickup are super secure, and the staff know every family very well. My second child goes here as well. I highly recommend The Goddard School of Plymouth Meeting to anyone looking for a high-quality daycare center.
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October 2023 by Mary Beth McCloy
A beautiful school with a wonderful community of educators who truly care about each child! My children are thriving and I cannot wait to watch them grow. It truly is a Goddard family.
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December 2022 by sanjana dewan
This is my first time reviewing anything. I recommend this school to all those parents who are looking for a clean and safe place for their children. Also the school makes your child feel they belong here and are loved by all the teachers. A big shout to the owners Scott and Kayte who are always around and make sure kids, parents and teachers are well taken care of. My child started in the baby room as one the first babies when the school opened it doors in 2018 and now graduated and all set for his journey in elementary school. He has come a long way we feel the school groomed his so well that he has turned out be this confident kid who is ready to face the world. Thanks to Ms Gina, Ms Lilian, Ms Noemi, Ms Anna, Ms Brianna for loving and teaching him all the wonderful things. We will miss you all..
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December 2022 by Brett Neal
Our oldest son started in the infant room the day the school opened when he was a three month old preemie. He heads to kindergarten this fall well prepared from his time at Goddard. Throughout our time at here we have had clean rooms and happy children (our younger son is currently in the Buttercup classroom). There has always been good communication from both the teachers and the owners. A first class experience from beginning to end.
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December 2022 by Gabrielle Kiry
We had our daughter at the Goddard School in Plymouth Meeting since 2019 and our experience there recently swung from overall satisfaction to abrupt discontent where we ended up looking forward to her last day there. A few months ago we couldn’t imagine saying something like that, but we quickly changed our minds after an inexcusable and unexpected back and forth with the co-owners.First we will say, the teachers at Goddard have been great. Although we haven’t been able to meet any of them for the past 2 years due to the pandemic, my daughter has had nothing but good things to say about her teachers and she has learned a lot from them. We’ve come to learn that this school may be a perfect fit for a family who will quietly fall in line and not question policies set in place by the co-owners. I think this is why we didn’t see their apparent true colors for all these years, we didn’t ever question anything.The issue started after the CDC dropped the mandatory masking recommendation for children. They required the kids wear their masks inside and outside (even in the dead of summer). We asked a few simple questions about when they plan to go mask-optional, and were immediately shut down with vague statements like “… we decided that we were going to continue to require masks through the end of the winter virus season” and that “we trust that you respect our right to make our own policies”. This is when we started to see that policy making at Goddard can be made up with no actual facts communicated to back it up and with no known parent input whatsoever. Not only were our questions immediately shut down, we felt shamed as though we were the only parents with any questions, which we know is not true. Coincidentally, the same day we asked about the masking policy, the school’s Instagram page was populated with “parent emails” thanking them for continuing to require masking.Our emails back and forth continued as we tried to seek any information about what criteria needed to be met in order for the children to be mask-optional, as every other daycare/school/county had already been made mask-optional. We were told by the co-owners that we were being “insulting”, that we must have “covid fatigue”, they were not going to be answering any of our questions and that “there are other schools that (we) might feel more comfortable” sending our daughter to. Can you imagine? After 3 years at the school, being told we should look elsewhere because we questioned a policy for the first time? Parents trying to get details regarding a policy that effects their child every single day and we are told we are insulting and that they are not going to answer our questions simply because they didn’t actually have the answers? Aside from their inability to provide information regarding their policies, the shocking disrespect we received for questioning them is ultimately the reason we decided to unenroll our daughter early. We just felt it was important to relay our experience for those considering enrolling their children.
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December 2022 by Kenny O.
The Plymouth Meeting, Pa location is Fantastic! not sure what why any of these other parents would put a negative review for this location. We switched our son to this location in June of this year 2022 from another school in Philly and we are totally satisfied with the way they run their school. The teachers, Management staff and owners are great. Very involved! They are very organized, prioritize the needs of each child not just ours, great communication, activities and giving back to charity. Our son is so much more happier at this location and learning compared to the other school that we left. They spend alot of focus on the Kids learning and development. I'm very happy that my wife and I made the switch to this location.
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March 2022 by Gabrielle T.
We had our daughter at the Goddard School in Plymouth Meeting since 2019 and our experience there recently swung from overall satisfaction to abrupt discontent where we ended up looking forward to her last day there. A few months ago we couldn't imagine saying something like that, but we quickly changed our minds after an inexcusable and unexpected back and forth with the co-owners.First we will say, the teachers at Goddard have been great. Although we haven't been able to meet any of them for the past 2 years due to the pandemic, my daughter has had nothing but good things to say about her teachers and she has learned a lot from them. We've come to learn that this school may be a perfect fit for a family who will quietly fall in line and not question policies set in place by the co-owners. I think this is why we didn't see their apparent true colors for all these years, we didn't ever question anything.The issue started after the CDC dropped the mandatory masking recommendation for children. They required the kids wear their masks inside and outside (even in the dead of summer). We asked a few simple questions about when they plan to go mask-optional, and were immediately shut down with vague statements like "... we decided that we were going to continue to require masks through the end of the winter virus season" and that "we trust that you respect our right to make our own policies". This is when we started to see that policy making at Goddard can be made up with no actual facts communicated to back it up and with no known parent input whatsoever. Not only were our questions immediately shut down, we felt shamed as though we were the only parents with any questions, which we know is not true. Coincidentally, the same day we asked about the masking policy, the school's Instagram page was populated with "parent emails" thanking them for continuing to require masking.Our emails back and forth continued as we tried to seek any information about what criteria needed to be met in order for the children to be mask-optional, as every other daycare/school/county had already been made mask-optional. We were told by the co-owners that we were being "insulting", that we must have "covid fatigue", they were not going to be answering any of our questions and that "there are other schools that (we) might feel more comfortable" sending our daughter to. Can you imagine? After 3 years at the school, being told we should look elsewhere because we questioned a policy for the first time? Parents trying to get details regarding a policy that effects their child every single day and we are told we are insulting and that they are not going to answer our questions simply because they didn't actually have the answers? Aside from their inability to provide information regarding their policies, the shocking disrespect we received for questioning them is ultimately the reason we decided to unenroll our daughter early. We just felt it was important to relay our experience for those considering enrolling their children.
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December 2019 by Samantha Demuren
I would agree with the individual that wrote the initial review for our first couple of months and its downhill from there! I'll begin with the positives. First, the facility is beautiful! New, clean and modern. Next, there were some wonderful teachers; Ms. Brittney (no longer there), Ms. Susan (no longer there), Ms. Ana (no longer there), Ms. Shannon (no longer there) and Ms. Brianna (still there)! One of the owners Kayte (the wife) always greets you with a smile on her face and appears welcoming; keyword, APPEARS! This ends the only positive thing about this place based on my family's experience. Approximately 4 months after we enrolled our son, he came home with HORRIBLE diapers rashes that look like bedsores. Mind you, our son began Goddard when he was well over a year old and never EVER had any issues with diaper rash. I literally cried when I saw my child's bottom. My husband and I discussed it and agreed we would not pull our son out but rather try to work with the facility, as there is no perfect place. When we brought this to the attention of the owners as well as the Director, Denise; our feelings were dismissed we were told our child must have sensitive skin because the teachers change them regularly. At that time we had no other choice but to leave him there as other centers we looked at and liked had a wait-list. The issue only became worse from there. On the weekends, we would everything we could: ie: change him regularly, use diaper cream (which we provided to the daycare), make sure he is dry etc.) and by Monday morning his skin had dramatically improved, just to pick him up a day later to more diaper rash. On several occasions, we would pick up our son and it was clear that he was left in a soiled diaper for an extended period of time-based on how it appeared. After the fourth time, this occurred, and our unsuccessful efforts to get the issue remedied with the teachers we raised the issues with the owners once and the Director once more. Again, we were dismissed and in so many words called a liar, because according to "Tadpoles (the app. that tells when your child was changed, when they nap, eat etc.) he was changed after a BM." EXCUSEEE ME! All parents and really a blind man can tell the difference between a recent bowel movement and one that has clearly stayed for an extended period of time. Suffice it to say, we are no longer at this daycare. Save your time and your hard earn money because this was the most expensive daycare of all the daycare we toured, but like most parent, money isn't an issue when it comes to obtaining the BEST care for your child. In this case, the care received was subpar at best!
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December 2018 by K
Our first week at Goddard. A parent must read.First, a disclaimer, I never write reviews- I barely have 5 seconds to myself- I just felt the absolute need to let the world know about how impressive and extraordinary this school is. Second, make sure when reading reviews of other daycares in the area you check the dates of when several of them were written (our last daycare would bribe people into writing reviews i.e.; “write us a 5 star review for a chance to win this Mother’s Day basket” - this drives me crazy especially went the consumer is trying to sort through all that). Let me start with the owners - two of the most genuine people you have ever met, like the kind you could go have a beer with but the kind you feel superiorly confident leaving your most prize possessions with. Right from the entrance it’s always warm, welcome and filled with lots of natural light. The security it’s second to none - like James Bond called he wants his gadgets back- finger print scanners, facial recognition and touch screens with personal identification codes. Wow. In today’s world when, sadly, the news seems to have children under fire; security was a big thing for us. Once you walk in you can almost smell the clean, not the unwanted coverup scents or even the straight up chemical overload smells, but pure new and fresh- that new car smell. Each class room has “sticky paper” on the floor so you don’t have to take your shoes off (because we can all relate that one day you’re rocking your ‘holy socks’ and the whole school is packed with parents -gulp). A picture says a thousand words... and their policy is 2-5 pictures PER DAY. We got 46 pictures in 5 days. With those pictures my “mom guilt" melted away; He’s engaged with other children, teachers, books and toys. He’s smiling, playing outdoors, even painting!?!? He’s so busy our 8pm bedtime seems to be a stretch to get to anymore he’s so tired from such a fun filled day! For all my first time parents reading this, DON’T make the same mistake we did.... before our son actually came into this world, I’ll admit, he was a thing... a dollar value... and being financially savvy we opted for (not the cheapest) but the mid-costing daycare and boy was I wrong. Once our son came into the world I knew immediately I made a mistake. I made a surprise visit to our (now) old daycare and saw everything that wasn’t good enough- very little natural light, always stuck inside the same room with no fresh air, tattered playground & almost no security. I think we got maybe 6 pictures in 3 months. My first week their was filled with worries and anxiety as were the following months until I could get our son into Goddard. Do yourself a favor and enroll your kids here, its amazing and worth every penny- the teachers are incredible, the atmosphere is positive, the owners are engaged, understanding & humble, the entire facility is incredible.
