Goddard School

Our son has been attending the Goddard school for ~2yrs now. We have been continuously pleased with the school. The staff and teachers are wonderful. The classes are well rounded in what the children learn, even at this early developmental stage/age. It includes many different attributes of an early education and helps to establish a great foundation in early development. Another attribute that the children receive is socializing, using their communication skills-""using their words"" and treating others with respect. We love what our son is getting out of the experience of preschool, and particularly at the Goddard School. more

So I have to tell people that today when I dropped my baby girl off at school, she had a very hard time today for some reason. Maybe because my husband is the one who usually drops her off and picks her up. Well that being said, that made my drop off hard for me. I hate it when your child grabs you tight and is repeatedly crying your name. So a couple of hours later, I got an email from my daughters teacher with a pic of her laughing and doing crafts with her friends! That made my day. Literally!! So to all those parents that have hard drop offs, I hope this helps you out when deciding a daycare. Thank you Goddard school for all you do. more

Our son attended Goddard school beginning at age 3 and continuing off and on for a year. This was his first school experience. We could not be happier with the results. Our son went through the normal separation anxiety (as did his parents) which was adroitly handled by the staff. They comforted him and reassured us that he would settle in quickly-and they were right. Upon his arrival, they introduced him to the group of 7 or 8 similar aged kids. Each day upon arrival we were greeted at the front door by Kathy, the Administrator, who showed an incredible grasp of and concern for even the smallest details (like our son's first bee sting when he tried to pick up the bee). \r \r Miss Emily, his teacher, was a wonderful young instructor. Our son reported that he experienced a wide variety of activities each day. Miss Emily kept track of even the most minute detail and shared them with us when we picked up our son each session. She provided a written daily report of the general class activities with specifics as to how well our little guy was doing. She always found time to visit and made us feel welcome and well informed. \r \r Our son bonded quickly with the other children and spoke of them often at home-giving us the reassurance that he was getting the social, intellectual and physical activities that we had hoped he would. He always came home smiling and totally satisfied with the day's activities. \r \r From the physical standpoint, the school was impeccably maintained and orderly. Optional parent activities were plentiful.\r \r Our son gave the school his highest testimonial when he told his mom on the way home one day that when he had a son, he wanted him to be a butterfly (the name of his class). more

Our child has been at this Goddard facility for well over a year. After aggressive searching throughout the area we came to the conclusion that the friendly staff, clean, well-lit and secure facilities and sense that teachers/staff are attuned to our child's specific needs is a value. The school is highly organized and our child is thriving in the school's environment. more

This Goddard School offers a well rounded education that allows the children to learn and have fun. Our four year old can write, spell words and read letters. She loves going to school and always speaks highly of the teachers and her classmates. As I parents I feel my child is in a safe environment that in fact applies the educational model presented to us before starting at the school. more

The Goddard School in Clackamas has been a great experience for my son. Because of The Goddard School, he has so much confidence and excitement towards learning. I am so glad we decided to take him here! more

My son just finished 3 years at The Goddard School, and now he is off to Kindergarten. And I can't say enough good things about Goddard! They made learning fun, and he just loved his teachers. I always had a good feeling when I dropped him off, because I knew he was going to have lots of fun while learning. Don't hestitate to take your child here...the owners and staff are wonderful! more

My daughter has been going to this school for about a year and now we have our son going. Both kids are doing very well and learning so much. I tried to potty train my daughter with no luck but at school she did it. She calls the school neigh neigh school since it has the horse logo. The activities they have for both my kids are great and creative. The staff are friendly and truly care for the kids. The cost is a bit high but they have tried to make it work for us. The only thing I was a bit concerned about was the turn over rate of the teachers but as with any job most do move on but for the most part they do make an effort to hire teachers with good education backgrounds and knowledge of childcare. Most of the other places I've looked don't have full days while this school is open from 7-6. I can call as much as I want to see how the kids are doing and not feel like I'm bothering anyone. The classrooms are clean and I feel safe knowing the kids are doing something and not being ignored. more

This is a wonderful school and program. It is such a great and amazing feeling going to work knowing that your child is safe in a school where the teachers are educated, safety is AMAZING, the management is caring and diligent, and the cleanliness is impeccable. Check out this school you won't be disappointed HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! more

We have had a very good experience with the Goddard School in Clackamas. Our child has been there for two years and he is thriving. He is happy, confident, and socially advanced. He has learned to work well with other children, and amazes us with his ability to problem solve disagreements with his siblings. He has learned all the letters and letter sounds through games and other play experiences, and he even knows yoga! He participates in many different art projects with different art media. We love that he sometimes comes home with paint on his clothes. His days are full of adventure and varied experiences, including sign language, Spanish, and gymnastics. The classrooms are clean, upbeat rooms with beautiful wooden toys. If you believe that preschoolers learn best through play and experiential learning, this school is a great choice. Each day provides opportunities to learn about reading, writing, and math through real, meaningful situations. more

We’ve been at the Goddard school in Clackamas for over a year and are very disappointed. We’ve recently moved our children to another local school and are much happier. Here is what we found;\r Our kids were moved between classes on average 3 times a day and as much as 6 times a day! Imagine trying to learn anything when you are being moved from room to room all day. The management is not at all forthcoming regarding this issue. Finally we resorted to checking the sign in/out sheet (which they have to keep by law) to see how many times our kids were “bounced”. When we asked why our kids (and it’s not just our kids it’s everyone) keep getting bounced the only real explanation we were offered is “she volunteered”. What? She’s too young to volunteer! \r On teacher in service days you’ll find the owners and director have their school age kids in the school and will occasionally find them “helping”. Uh, no.\r Teachers are young, as the other reviewer mentioned. I have not found this to be a problem. I find them caring and hard working. After more digging I found that they are very low paid and the staff turn-over is ridiculous! We’ve been fortunate enough to get some of the more long term main teachers but the assistants and secondary teachers in the room change very frequently.\r Our concerns about the bouncing, teacher turn-over etc. fell on deaf ears. \r The Goddard School is very expensive and ultimately we found that it was not worth what we paid. \r more

when I moved to Happy Valley I tooked the time to visit all the preschools...This one was my choice #1.\r \r as I entered to the school I noticed they had a ""super security entrance system, almost eye recognition ;)\r \r They had a very busy curriculum with tons of activities and a very strict disinfecting toy policy.\r \r The classrooms seemed very small to me, the kids were in a very confined space and they play room was outdoor and I kind of disagree with the change of temperature kids have to experience during the winter.\r \r The teachers seemed too young to me, which made me not to feel 100% comfortable leaving my child with them, I feel experience is a very important part of it.\r \r I did like the fact they had a lot of activities for parents, and couples night out, and movie night and so on; I belive it's important to incorporate the family too.\r \r CONS:\r - Goddard School rates for 3 days, (9-12pm) was almost $200.00 more than all other preschools. (9-12:30pm including meals)\r - you had to provide for snacks and lunch\r - The Owner or Director badmouth the other Preschools saying that the other school's teachers weren't college graduates and they were ""street smarts"" which in reallity was not true.\r - I didn't see the value of paying that much in comparison with the other schools.\r - small classrooms\r - outdoor playroom\r - not enough room for the kids to run freely indoors\r - you have to provide for food and snacks\r - \r PROS\r - neat freak\r - is like a new house, new paint, new toys\r - centraly located\r - parent community program\r - extensive curriculum\r - a different social economical group...\r \r I hope my objective review help parents to make a more realistic decision!\r \r Pros: curriculum, central location Cons: small rooms, non flexible tuition, staff too young more