Goddard School

OMG they have a real actual garden for the kids to grow real plants!\r \r Please forgive my enthusiasm but my son has been cooped up in an apartment (pretty luxury but a no-backyard apartment anyway) his whole life. And now he is spending part of his day tending his tomato he planted! How cool is that? Every morning he goes out in the outside classroom at this Goddard school to water his plants, clean up the soil and learn about life cycle and composting and recycling.\r \r This is a very unique program I've seen only at this location. I am not an environmentalist or naturalist or anything like that, but I do love the idea of my son learning to garden and learn about responsibility and appreciate the foods other people grow for us to eat.\r \r If you want your children's hands touching real earth and real dirt, take them to this school. I was sold the very first minute they took us out to the classroom they built outside for this program.\r \r Mark more

Besides the excellent care and education there, I really love the ""international feel"" of this school. In the foyer they hang flags of the countries where their students & parents come from. And it looks like a mini UN. There is real effort to learn the best from each unique student and their family. We are white and came from a place where there was almost no diversity at all. Now our children have a chance to get exposure to different things in life. In our opinion they need that exposure for the world economy they are getting into. \r \r Dee M. more

Outstanding Achievement! \r \r My son graduated from the Goddard school on Higley a few weeks ago. And after a couple of weeks in a public kindergarten I now know how powerful the Goddard school is. The Kindergarten teacher says our son is head and shoulder above everyone in the class. His math, reading and pattern recognition is at least one grade above. His computer skill is a lot better than children his age and his overall manner is very pleasant around other kids. She said he looks and talks with confidence.\r \r The people at the Goddard school said it was his good gene, they just helped a little. But I know better! \r \r Thousand thanks to the Goddard school and their Pre-K program.\r \r JB more

I was so impressed with their new Promethean board. I saw this when I toured a couple of weeks ago. I saw it for the first time in my life (never heard of it before, in fact) and received a short demonstration and liked it so much.. But only now after a couple of weeks hanging around the class I truely know what an effective teaching/learning tool it is. I did a little research and found out it is very expensive, used for corporate offices or universities. I wonder how they can afford this for 2, 3 years olds. Well, it's good for our children, and they are learning like the fun would never end! more

I like the rate!\r \r I was attracted to this Goddard school on Higley road after reading the reviews online (thanks to the folks who spent the time to help me out). I came to the school and found no surprises. Everything was nice and pretty, just like the words of mouth. What I found as a big (and pleasant) purprise was their tuition rate. I always hear they are high-class and expensive. But that was not true. They gave me the tuition rate which was very competitive with other preschools, but they had much more (and much more) to offer. So, value-wise, it was such a bargain for my family.\r \r Did I also tell you my daughter loved it there? We all do, every day. more

Giving Thanks\r \r I was in an identical situation as Beth, another reviewer on this page. But my ordeal lasted only 5 weeks. And I was treated absolutely the same way: no change in being respected or niceness. You would never know that I was laid-off and didn't pay tuition for my son. And I didn't know about Beth nor she knew about my situation, until last week when we compared notes.\r \r So we decided to go public with a public THANKS to the Goddard School on Higley road. Now you can put a gun to my head and I wouldn't leave these good folks. more

Fine School, Fine Folks\r \r The folks running this school on Higley road are fine & kind people. I am an Engineer with a stellar credit, but all of the sudden I lost my job due to a lay-off at my company. I found myself in a hand-to-mouth situation, and was forced to take my daughter out of the school. But they insisted I didn't. For over three months they did not say a thing about tuition, fees or money. And they treated my family just the same: with the same respect and courtesy.\r \r Since then I found another good job and paid back everything I owed - without interests or late charges! \r \r I am not sure that is a good business practice but it is sure more fun than cutting throat - even though they had every right to cut mine.\r \r Bravo Big Heart for a change!\r \r BJ. more

A very good place to send your children to. We send ours beginning tomorrow. Very pleased with what we saw on the tours and the phylosophy of the school. We were sold in the first five minutes with the push for education. The deal was closed at Parents Night Out. My wife and I have not had a real date in ages. We are looking forward to this Sat when we can go out for a decent dinner and a movie just by the two of us. Simple pleasure, but so hard to have!\r \r Jim P. more

This is as close to a perfect preschool as I can find. We enrolled last year are still happy as day one. Everyone is very committed to making this institution the best they can. And they don't run this like a business at all. Our son gets up and can't wait to go meet his teachers and friends there.\r \r Kim more

We are here at this school for a while and still love it! The owner is really committed to keeping the top notch people working there. Over the months I saw some turn-over and I would approve every decision. Each time, they replaced the previous teacher with a better person. They are really committed to serving the families. It is obvious they are not in just for the business part.\r \r Christina G. more

If you want to know the true picture of any franchisee, no matter it is McDonalds or HR Blocks, try to see the quality audit result from the corporate. This audit is always extreamly difficult to pass since the corporation always want the franchisees to uphold the reputation of the whole system. The audit looks at behind-the-scence items which a normal customer would never see, but critically important to support the customers. In this case, our own children. And this school is among the best of the best in the industry.\r \r We have been there for a year now and constantly feel lucky to have such a school for our children. We continue to love it\r \r Susan. more

My family and I attended the Open House last weekend. It was actually the school first birthday (new owner). They had a beach party for the students. It was so much fun.\r \r The important thing was I had a chance to talk to many existing families there. And good things I heard! Everyone gave the school and the staff excellent marks. I saw the interaction between families and the owner & staff and feel there was a genuine connection which was impossible to fake. We left there feeling very good.\r \r And we returned today to register for our daughter. She can't wait to start next Monday with Ms. Dawn.\r \r John.\r \r Update: It has been a few months. We love this school even more now. more

My husband and I came from another country attending an Engineering PhD program at ASU. Our daughter did not speak a word of English when we first came. So of course it was a big concern. She cried everyday initially, but the teachers tried very hard to give her so much individual attention, to a point that we felt so bad because she pretty much had one teacher dedicated to herself the whole day. But the owner said it was OK, and it will pass. They were right. Our baby now is a very well-adjusted child. She speaks better English then us (with a slight but cute accent) and doesn't have any of behavior problems (yet, let see how she behaves when becoming a teenager). For now, we enjoy our studying, feeling safe with our daughter at the Goddard school. I strongly recommend this school.\r \r Mary more

We enrolled our children there about six months ago and recently saw some turn-overs. Initially we were mildly concern, but then became every pleased with the decision management made. The director is just wonderrful to us and our children and the new teachers are better-trained. We believe they really care about the children in the decisions they make. Two thumbs way up!\r \r Cathy more

FIRE THE OWNER. SHES A SILENT WITCH.\r DO NOT BELIEVE All these Peaches and CREME reviews. I was threatened by the schools attorney to not write any bad reviews. WEll too bad!!!!!!! This school is horrible. It all starts from the TOP. VAN is the owner. Shes terrible. She under pays all her employees. They all quit or get fired. She will lie right to your face and say things like, ""oh my employees stay here forever."" FALSE!!! Its all over town VAN. You fire most everybody. YOU CRIB SHARE which I will be filing a complaint with the STATE OF ARIZONA on. YOU overcharged my family I came to find out about. I found all these things out from former employees Van. So if you want your attorney to take me to court then Lets go!!! I am not afraid of your attorney. Again, I have first hand knowledge that they were CRIB SHARING. Also, she will lie to your face and say she will prorate if you are gone but this is a complete LIe as well. She told her employees she was giving the school 6 months to see if it would be profitable. If thats not a money Grubbing owner I don't know what is.))LOL People again.... Please DO NOT BELIEVE all these reviews. NOBODY IS PERFECT. Everybody is afraid to write a bad review because their big bad attorney from California sends out a Cease and Desist letter claiming that he will sue you if you write a bad review. But don't take my word for it if you don't believe it. Go waste your money and experience it yourself. BE MY GUEST.)))LOL more

My husband and I took my 3-year old son to the school for an open house a few weeks back as part of our process to choose a school. We came back to sign him up at this Goddard location yesterday since it is, my far, the best school on our search. Surprisingly, the tuition is lower than some of the lower-end schools if you really look at the cost per week, or per day. And they have many many extra perks for the parents. We are using the free Parents' Night Out this weekend. Really looking forward to that since my husband and I have not had a real date for a while now.\r \r I might update you on how fantastic our romantic date is after this Sat :-)\r \r Catherine W. more

We have had the best teachers! Miss Cindy and Miss Maria have treated our daughter like she was one of their own. They are clearly teaching her new things because every day she is doing something that she wasn't doing before. After doing baby yoga and reaching for her toes our daughter has been non-stop trying to do it on her own. It is just one example of how wonderful the educational services have been. Our daughter is our first child and the thought of daycare really terrified us. We don't call the Goddard School daycare, we call it school and they could not have made the transition more comfortable. We feel at peace knowing our daughter is in their care every day. more

If you want to know the true picture of any franchisee, no matter it is McDonalds or HR Blocks, try to see the quality audit result from the corporate. This audit is always extreamly difficult to pass since the corporation always want the franchisees to uphold the reputation of the whole system. The audit looks at behind-the-scence items which a normal customer would never see, but critically important to support the customers. In this case, our own children. And this school is among the best of the best in the industry.\r \r We have been there for a year now and constantly feel lucky to have such a school for our children.\r \r Susan. more

My children have been in this school for over a year now. 99% of my experience ranged from good to excellent. One time I had a small issue. I brought it up and it was fix & resolved the next day. That's what I like about the school. They listen to you and recognize your input. Audrey. more

I do not know what the other parents are talking about because we found this school miserable. The owner is overbearing and rude, the director was never there and the teachers are young. We even heard the infant teacher was fired for strapping down a childs arms and force feeding. A few months ago, a bunch of teachers all left (ones we loved) and we soon followed after we saw who was replacing. Stay far away! more