Goddard School

My 5 year old has been at The Goddard School since he was 18 months old. He will be more than prepared for Kindergarten and will be reading before he leaves Goddard. The teachers in the Raccoons classroom are fabulous! I have since enrolled my infant in the Tiny Turtles classroom, and they have exceeded my expectations. \r The teachers, as well as the administrators, love my children. They are so loving and caring to both my boys. It says a lot about a school when your child wants to stay and keep learning through play. \r I would recommend the Goddard School of Brier Creek to anyone that wants their child to learn, be nurtured, and cared for. It isn't just a daycare. We love our school!!! more

My daughter has attended the Goddard School's in both Apex and Brier Creek (owned by the same couple) since we moved to NC over two years ago. All of the teachers and staff are professional and kind. The organized program is perfect for preschool age children and my daughter has enjoyed all of her ""jobs"" at school. When we moved to Raleigh and switched to the Brier Creek location it was not close to our home. We have enjoyed the experience so much that we were happy to make the longer drive to keep our daughter enrolled in a great program. I would recommend this school to anyone looking for an experience where your child will love going to school. more

My child has been enrolled in the Goddard School for a little over a year and a half and we love the staff, philosophy, and environment! The facility is warm, welcoming and always clean. The classrooms are clean and have pictures of the children, their families, and their art work hanging on the walls. The playgrounds are age appropriate and have lots of open space for running round. The office staff is friendly, courteous, and professional. We have absolutely loved ALL the teachers our child has had. Each day the teachers present a daily sheet with all the things our child participated in during the day and also provide added notes regarding how his day was. The teachers are never to busy to discuss our child’s day and seem to truly care about each one of the children. The school provides extras such as gym class, Spanish class, and music class which our son really enjoys, as well as, parents’ night out and ice cream socials. Our son has truly learned a lot during his time at the Goddard school. The only negative….he has so much fun that he never wants to leave at the end of the day. more

I've never posted a review online. But today for the sake of my child and his peers that fact is changing in hopes that no one else's child should fall victim to bullying the way that mine has. I enrolled my son in August 2010 and I was pleased until what should have been the #1 issue?SAFETY?took a backseat to policy, protocol, and poor judgement. I was called to come and get my son and to be prepared to a doctor immediately because he had bitten his tongue. Upon arriving at the school I learned that it was not an accident but an incident that another child caused. When I asked if it had taken place due to a conflict the director described it as ""normal 2 year old behavior""- later found out it was the furthest thing from ""normal"" My son's well being was the first issue & I would deal with other circumstances later. My son had been hit with such force that he nearly severed the tip of his tongue off completely. Through his discomfort he shared with me the name of the child who did it. This is a child who on one occasion bit 6 out of 9 peers in one day!!! A few days later he attacked the 7th victim, a little girl had a large blue bite mark that covered the majority of her face for over a week. When he decided to attack my son (who at the age of 2 can sense this child's instability and knows to keep his distance which was how he was one out of 2 that did not get bitten) he jumped over another child to pounce on top of mine to push him to the ground. My son never saw it coming. He sitting in circle time. no time to move. no warning to brace himself for a 30 pound impact so strong that caused him to bite through his tongue. After attacking my son he moved on to another child who also hit his head and needed an ice pack afterwards. And after 7 kids getting bitten (6 in one day), My son nearly biting through his tongue, and another toddler experiencing a blow to the head which happens to house a brain that is still developing like the rest of the 2 year olds THE BULLY REMAINS ENROLLED. I understand that in certain businesses there is protocol but when protocol and cloudy judgement allow other children to remain endangered then its time for the community to be informed that the tolerance level for misbehaving is hazardously high. the school continues to allow this child to be disruptive and make the environment for learning unsafe and less than conducive. The commitment to trying to help the child comes at the expense of other babies' well being. It is my belief that as long as there is a high tolerance for such behavior not only are the children at risk, they're development could potentially be effected. These children are already going into ""bully protection"" mode. Some are taking on the behavior while others' self-esteem and sense of security is effecting their spirits. When the entire body is being attacked the only thing to do is to CUT OUT THE CANCER! The policy at this institution is to love the cancer, give it a shadow/extra teacher so that our tuition dollars can go to rehabilitation of a 2 1/2 year old criminal in the making instead of to our own children. They send specialists to the cancer. And until the cancer decided its wants to yield, the rest of us just have to deal and pray that it doesn't choose to zero in our children on that given day.Today I walked. My child is out of harm's way but it pains me to think there are other's who are not. And it is for that reason that I am choosing not to go quietly. It is my obligation as a mother to fellow parents to keep you informed of such mishaps that could potentially be very harmful to your children. Consider this post a member of ""the village"" that is helping to look after your children sounding the warning alarm. The teachers are GREAT. But I dare NOT put my child in the middle of a structure where the foundation is shaky. There needs to be strong reconsideration of how things are done at the top. more

Experience did not start off positive but have since changed my view. more

We just had to leave the Brier Creek Goddard School due to a move. It's been stressful trying to find another facility on par with what we've left. It's strange to read some of the negative reviews on here, as we've had nothing but a positive experience from 7 weeks through 2 years for my son. The teachers in each of the four rooms that he's aged through have been fantastic with little-no turnover (there was a little in the first few months of his stay in the infant room due to a teacher moving out of town, but I think that's been it--for two years). I think people need to keep in mind that daycare is pretty high turnover by default, but the fact that most of the teachers here have been here the whole time we attended speaks to how they are treated/paid, how well the facility is run/supplied, etc. I love that they recently added an addition to the school to provide an indoor gym (key when it's so hot out and also during the winter) with a teacher lounge above and another classroom. The facility itself is also spacious (halls are wide, etc.)--even as compared to other Goddard schools. Pros: Owners, management/programming, teachers, spacious Cons: Pack own lunch (but could be pro), expensive more

There are better programs in Raleigh. I am sad to say that I did not like the office staff much. However, the teachers were diamonds!! They took in my child and nurtured him. He was very shy and they helped him to become a great asset to the class. THANKS for that. Now on the other hand. They had a severe outbreak of Swine Flu and chose not to let parents know until it infected an entire class. Then they sent home a letter. When I asked why we were not called the staff just shrugged. For people who are supposed to care for the children, this was a case of $$ before children. I know that the buzz of the school is not as good as it once was. I hope they fix the communication. more

I have had my son there for over two years and they have done a wonderful job. My son was falling developmentally behind at home due to instability in the home caused by my late wife who had dementia and eventually passed on. As soon as her folks took her in and I could focus on him and create a more stable home environment he made a huge come back and is excelling now. I owe this mainly to Goddard as I am a working full time widower now and my son is in school from 7:45 - 5:15 every day. Their programs are very strong, educational and appear to be a lot of fun for the kids. The teachers are very good, kind and really care about the teachers. Due to my sons (and my) struggle I became pretty close to the teachers and staff. They provided excellent feedback when I ever ask how my son is doing. In the first year he was in the school I did notice a bit of turn over but was not too concerned as it was a brand new school and I figured it was a combination of getting the right staff, and the owners/management trying to figure out what works best as they were trying to build a team. I highly recommend this school and am a big fan of the Goddard School system overall. Pros: Good circulum. Caring and kind staff and administrators Cons: Some teacher turn over. more

I have two kids there and the third is going soon, as well.\r I really recommend this school because the teachers are great and the owners really care about the kids&parents'needs. more

We have had our children here for 2 years and they have been wonderful! They have VERY flexible schedules for part-time working parents and incredible teachers. The only drawback is you have to bring your own lunch. Well worth it! more

I sent them a email recently asking about their preschool. They responded promptly and I will be setting up a tour soon. They offer alot of different programs! more

I will be up front, I am a former employee of this center, and having worked in early childhood education on and off since 1996, working in all kinds of centers, this was the most pleasant to work. Yes, I will admit, that I have to agree with certain aspects of all of the previous reviews. The owners and director were always very nice and accomodating to me, being that I was also employed by another company and had many schedule changes with that position, as well as accomodating my graduate school schedule. Every other center I have worked at for some length of time in the past I always had something to complain about when I left, usually it was the way the management treated the staff. This center, I left with no real complaints. I actually never officially left, I took time off for school, but made my own choice to go elsewhere for a different type of position once my education was complete. Pros: The teachers and curriculum Cons: Turnover rates, cost more

It's sad to see some of these reviews. As a parent at the school and someone very pleased, I thought the review system was supposed to help other families make educated decisions about the programs. It is apparent to me that some of these ""posters of reviews"" are perhpas disgruntled teachers that have been let go and are presenting themsleves as ""make-believe"" parents. Pros: Professional Staff and Owners, Best in Class Education Cons: no internet camera more

My child has been at this school since they opened 2 years ago and we could not be happier. The Owner, Director and Assisant Director are always friendly and will work on any concern we have immediately. The teachers we have had seem to really enjoy their jobs and are very friendly. We are greeted as soon as we come into the class and all of the teachers my child has had has made morning transitions much easier for us. Curriculum is also great. My child has learned so much over the past 2 years and I have Goddard to thank for that. My child would use sign language before she could use words and then my child comes home now talking about the many things she did at school that day. Pros: Management, Teachers, Curriculum Cons: Bring lunch more

The Goddard School in Briar Creek might be a popular school but you do not always get what you are paying for. They are one of if not the highest paying school in the area but high priced does not always mean quality. They are over worked and underpaid. If you take a tour they will paint a picture that things are great in the school. If you ask about teacher turnover they will tell you that teachers coming and going is normal but as a former parent of this school I have not seen so many teachers walk out the door as well as parents anywhere else. A lot of empty promises are made and not followed up on. Pros: The teachers, special programs; spanish, music, yoga, sign language Cons: Director and Assistant Director, you have to bring your own lunch, snack menu lacks variety more

We had our child here for almost a year and just recently took her out because the staff is wonderful, however the management... not so much. All of the good teachers are leaving 1 by 1 as the months go by and this is because they are not treated like they should be. Many rumors have gone around at the school and we weren't too sure what to believe, so we just took our daughter out of there. It is too much ""drama"" that we don't want to be involved with. When you take your child into a class and hear the teachers bad mouthing the school, that is a sign so I'd say!! We are sending our child to a different preschool in the area and couldn't be happier!! Pros: clean, large classrooms Cons: management is horrible, owners not friendly, children are not taught what they are suppose to be more

We put our 2 children in this school for 4 months....huge mistake!! The prices are the highest in the area and well not worth it. The owner of the school is completely rude , and just lots of drama going on in this place!! I heard a lot of teachers were let go for no apparent reason, parents dropped their kids off at school one morning with the teachers that they loved and adored...they go back that afternoon and their teachers no longer work there because they were let go. The school has gone down hill dramatically. Our kids are at Kids 'R Kids now and we LOVE it, should have gone there in the first place or hired a nanny!!! more

Our daughter spent several months at this school. The atmosphere is very nice however the school never lived up to its promise and we felt it necessary to move her to another school. Our main concern was that there was a steady exodus of teaching staff - the best teachers never stayed long - leaving classrooms in disarray and children upset by the constant changes. The management's seeming inability to retain the good teachers prompted questions as to why and what was going on behind the scenes that made the teachers want to leave. Another concern was the lack of continuity in the curriculum. Management couldn't decide if Goddard School was an academic preschool or just a daycare. It seemed to settle on being a daycare and most academics were thrown out. Pros: Nice building. Music and Spanish. Cons: Constant Exodus of Staff. more

I moved my son to Goddard school when he was 18th months old. They are wonderful at this school. There lesson plans are well thought out and age appopriate. He learns so much. They also have guests who come in and teach the children Spanish, Science and other things. They cover at least 8 subject areas every day. His teachers all are very nurturing to him and he is very happy there. He is blossoming socially, mentally and physically and I have the Goddard School to thank. It's so nice to know that my son is so well taken care of while i am at work. Pros: Great, Educational, Nurturing Environment. Teachers really care. Cons: no cafeteria more