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April 2024 by Sodgerel Togoo
The Goddard provides outstanding teaching for my children and I am grateful for the opportunity to enroll them at Goddard School.
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November 2023 by ReacTaoist M
Our 2.5-year-old child was asked to leave the class due to being labeled as "too naughty." We're quite displeased with this situation and plan to provide further details at a later time.Except this issue, I'd like to rate the Goddard School of State College 4 out of 5 stars.We initially enrolled our child at the age of 1.5 years, and the teachers were incredibly supportive in helping them overcome separation anxiety. Over the course of the year, our child had a generally positive experience at the school. After transitioning to a different school, we encountered no significant issues, and we believe that Goddard played a crucial role in instilling the idea that school can be a fun place for kids.I want to highlight the exceptional kindness of some of the teachers. In the Jellyfish room, Teacher S stood out as someone who truly understands children. During drop-off and pick-up times, we frequently witnessed her skillfully redirecting children from undesirable activities. Even when we arrived late and only a few kids were left, we would often find that Teacher S had already assisted in packing our child's belongings.Another remarkable teacher, Teacher S in the minnow's room, who now works in the infant room, always shared detailed insights about our child's activities during pick-up. This included information about fun moments and language development, which we greatly appreciated.However, we do have some concerns regarding the teachers in the Starfish room. Upon transferring to this room, we immediately noticed a difference in the teachers' approach. During drop-off, their enthusiasm in welcoming the children seemed to diminish, possibly because the older kids may not require the same level of reassurance. Furthermore, the teachers in this room appeared less engaged, as we observed instances where children engaged in inappropriate activities, and the teachers simply observed. For example, on one occasion, three children were playing around the sink, one applying hand soap alloever to their face, another repeatedly turning the tap on and off, another keeps getting water from the tap and spill everywhere. I even offered to dry the floor. We also had a therapist visit the school to assist our child in trying new foods, and they shared their concerns about the Starfish room being quite chaotic, at least during the lunchtime visit.On a positive note, the facility itself is clean and well-organized, but it's worth noting that space is somewhat limited.The daily activities are thoughtfully scheduled and generally followed. They often send home art projects created by the children, which we found to be a lovely touch. The daily reports are comprehensive, including details about activities and educational goals.In terms of communication, the use of the preschool2me app for real-time updates on diaper changes, meals, and naps is quite convenient. However, we noticed that they typically provide only one picture per day, and if the teachers manage to capture more, they combine them into a single image using photo editing. Additionally, they frequently send home printed pictures, which we appreciated.
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November 2023 by Abenaa Jones
Great care provided to families!
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October 2023 by Maria Terry
The Goddard School has been an excellent fit for our family. The staff are friendly, attentive, and caring towards the children. They seem genuinely invested in the well-being and development of each child. The facility is beautiful, and most importantly, we felt welcomed as soon as we enrolled our daughter. Being new to the area is already challenging, and having a wonderful experience at Goddard ultimately helped our transition.
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December 2019 by Peter Jackson
The Goddard School in State College is an amazing place. It is set-up like a grade school where each classroom has a true curriculum. Both of my kids have attended the school over the past 5 years. The owners and teachers are fully vested in creating a safe, fun learning environment for children. I am amazed with the amount my kids have learned (both didactic and life related) at the Goddard School. Our oldest was very prepared for kindergarten (after graduating from the Goddard School) and I believe that our youngest will be as well. Depending on your child's age, Goddard also offers an excellent, accredited Kindergarten class.
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December 2019 by Zaya Myag
I had my son go here for good 5-6 months. As some of the reviews suggested, it may be a little expensive. But what I find troubling is not the price set but the tendency of it being elastic somehow. I am sorry in advance if I can't fully explain why I have acquired such feeling.My son was part time as they didn't have the full time option. He would go 4 out of 5 days and prior to his start date, I called the office to ask what the full time price would be without mentioning that we were already on the potential customer list (if I may call him such), they said 998. So in my mind, I kinda came up with the expectation of fee which I will be responsible for. I had help from child care subsidy program for two semesters which promised to help with roughly 75% during the months school is in. I ended up paying $350 per month. I will say I have estimated to pay less. I didn't inquire further or complain not because it didn't take a toll on our finances. Because it did. Because partly I felt I had to be grateful that I had help from CCSP etc and felt not entitled to complain. And because our son is the most important person in our lives and I didn't want to take a slightest chance of this situation affecting him in a neg way as foolish as it may sound.SInce his start date, ownership has changed which was the strangest thing. The email just popped up one day and she said that she is selling the business and disappeared in two days. Smooth transition.I did like my son's main teacher. I could feel she connected with him which is above all the most important thing mom could ask for from care. The most important. I don't really care for the agenda and programs. I would want someone who would at least try to see my fantastic child through half the lenses of mine. I could feel and my son did too, the teacher liked him and adored him. Just for this matter, I would probably forgive and forget all of the negativeness.Couple bombshells to wrap up this review. The staff did seem pretty gossipy. Didn't like the front desk girl...no connection just don't care attitude...some floaters just disappear after couple visits... I did like some of the floaters... I wished they would keep them...smells like not very healthy leadership style from the top from the way staff is handled.
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December 2018 by Kris Keimig
I have two children at Goddard and I highly recommend to any parent in need of a full time daycare. The teachers have been extremely caring of my children and it definitely feels like a home to them.There's a good balance of play and learning. Snacks and downtime are integrated as well. They basically potty trained my kids for me and are in the process of teaching my oldest to read. I just have to support the direction they are setting - they've done a ton of the legwork. I might sound like a lazy parent but you show me a full time working parent who is also able to develop a full time curriculum for their child, and I'll show you a liar.For a working parent (not connected to the university) there a ton of logistical benefits; they're open so you can maintain a 9-5 job schedule, they don't close frequently (for weather, etc) and they are great at communicating when your child has an illness or has been hurt.Additionally, they will have periodic events throughout the year to involve the parents; your typical parent/teacher meetings and events like art shows.If I was doing it all over again (finding a daycare for my kids) then I hope I would make the same decision. I'm glad my kids are there.
