The Goddard School of Decatur

"Today is my son's last day, he has attended for 3+years, because we are moving. I absolutely LOVE this school and have never had an issue. My son enjoys going each morning & sometimes acts like he's not ready to leave when he gets picked up & that is what is most important. I have seen him grow so much during his time here; he's teaching me stuff lol. I feel all the teachers and administrative staff genuinely love their jobs but want to give a special shout out to the teachers my son has had; Ms. Safia, Ms. Gigi, Ms. Shannon, Ms. Shira, Ms. Tiffany, and Ms. Melissa. I believe each of these wonderful women treated my child just as they would their own & even though I know they had to have had rough days(who wouldn't with children all day) I could never tell by their face, the way they spoke to the children, or the way they greeted me. We're sad to be leaving but I'm sure my son is ready for what's next because of Goddard."

"I don’t know where to start with this review. I have waited months to write this because I wanted to be sure my review for this “facility” was coming from a clear mind, and I wanted to give my thoughts surrounding our experience here time to settle. With that being said, I can 100% without a doubt say, I do not recommend the Goddard School of Decatur to anyone. Our few short months there were absolutely horrible. This daycare really had a negative impact on my child’s morale and was disruptive to our lives. Please also note, this was not my son’s (who is 3 years old) first experience with daycare. He had previously been in half-day daycare since he was 1 years old with no issues. This was the only daycare on our list that had availability; this should have been my first red flag. My husband and I received weekly calls to come and pick our son up in the middle of our work days for the most ridiculous reasons. If he did make it through the entire day, I would nearly always be asked to sign some arbitrary document when I picked him up. One of the document's I was asked to sign stated something along the lines of “slapped child with banana peel”. I have many more examples of petty things like this. Please note, my child is a normal 3 year old with no diagnosed behavioral issues or any issues for that matter, however this place could not seem to care for him, and constantly made my child, myself and husband feel as if we were doing something wrong. We would receive calls from the director claiming they could not get him to calm down and would then ask me what I recommended they do? The fact that the daycare director/teachers do not know how to “calm/redirect” a 3 year old makes me question their employee qualifications, and their ability to adequately and safely manage infants and toddlers. It was very evident that my son’s teachers had little experience and were also overwhelmed; from what I observed, they had zero job satisfaction. The teachers lacked the ability to care for my son and even more worrisome they seemed to lack patience and compassion. Instead of trying to work with my son they would simply call my husband and I to come pick him up at any given time. When picking up my son on multiple occasions, there would be 20 plus kids in the room with 1 teacher. The room would be in complete chaos. The tone of the teachers’ voice towards the children was rude. It really seems as if this place is only focused on making a profit and did not consider my child’s future/best interest as a top priority. We ultimately decided to pull our child out of this daycare (which was very inconvenient considering my husband and I both work full time jobs). Removing him from Goddard was the best decision we could have made. We were left without childcare and had to rush to hire a nanny for a few months until we got accepted into a new daycare off the waiting list. I could go on and on with more examples of first hand experiences of why the Goddard school is just below par, but I have decided to waste no more of my energy on this place. My son finally got into our top choice daycare after being on the waitlist for several months, and everything has been wonderful. His teachers at his current daycare love him, are able to care for him, and they are receptive and nurturing unlike any person I encountered at Goddard. We had zero issues with the nanny and have had zero issues at our new daycare which is even more proof that Goddard School is the problem. From one mom to another - don’t waste your time or money with this place."

"If I had to tell somebody why to choose the Goddard School of Decatur, I would say there is a great trust level that they establish, the curriculum is very enriching, it’s very well-rounded, the teachers are very warm. They have great staff and teachers, especially Ms LaShonda is the best teacher and very caring. She’s a shining example of the type of teacher that Goddard needs more of. We are so blessed to have her care for our son, Advait. We get daily updates multiple times on how he is adjusting and doing playful activities. It's a great place for your children to attend & a lot of things to learn!"

"We have been so delighted with the care and education our children have received at Goddard. My son attended daycare a couple of years back and we are delighted to return with our daughter, our newest addition. The staff are very friendly, helpful and welcoming. They have even made it easy for me to come in on my lunch break and breastfeed my daughter. They communicate daily with me about what is going on in their day, complete with pictures! The owners and directors are visible and approachable with questions and concerns, although we haven't had any. I've never worried while entrusting my child's wellness and education to the fantastic folks at Goddard."

"We have been extremely pleased with our decision to send our son to The Goddard School. I get multiple emails throughout each day, with pictures, to show what activities he's doing... art, Chess, Spanish, singing, show and tell, counting, letters, patterns, play, etc! And when I pick him up, his teachers are very excited to debrief me on his day. My son loves all his teachers and friends. Personally, I love the flexible school hours, the diligent attention to COVID protocols, the cleanliness of the school, and the fact that they serve lunch (for a very small extra fee)."