The Goddard School

240 West Swamp Road

Doylestown, PA 18901

18 Reviews

School District
Grade

PK-K
Type

private

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Reviews

Submitted by parent on May 02, 2024

My son has been here for over a year and we are happy with his teachers, his development, and how clean the school is.
Submitted by parent on February 03, 2024

It's mind boggling how expensive daycare is for your child here and they don't have surveillance cameras in each room. There was an incident that occured with my child and it was completely brushed under the rug. The teachers at this school are great however they are not with your children the whole day and are left with child care workers who don't have patience with the kids. Also the owner states this a place that accept children who don't speak English but the workers display a different attitude. On the website they mention language as part of the curriculum and its not that they introduce another language to your child that they can use instead It's random letters from other languages but no really an immersion.
Submitted by teacher on October 19, 2023

The owners and directors of my school seem to not know how to manage staff or behaviors or students. Myself and many other teachers are over classroom ratios for most of the mornings, and some of the afternoons. There are 2 teachers and 1 student with allergies, and management refusing to remove the item from the menu. Staff and management also have no training on students (or teachers) with disabilities, and staff are not equipped to teach students with special needs.
Submitted by other on February 05, 2023

Unfortunately, a lot of the work environments at Goddard schools really depend on the owners. I have only ever worked at one Goddard, but the owner I worked for was very difficult. She was constantly pushing staff members away because of her dismissive and condescending attitudes about everything. In the one year I worked there, the school went through more staff members than I could count. We, also went through about four different directors, many who quit after only a few weeks or months.The school constantly had a high-turnover right and was short-staffed. It really felt like a very negative and toxic environment much of the time. The owner really played favorites with both staff members and families, which is so unprofessional. She was nice to me for the first few weeks I worked there, but after that I just felt like chopped liver honestly. She constantly picked on me, criticized me, and would come into my room just to point out mistakes she could find. She often embarrassed me in front of the kids and said rather inappropriate things. The worst part was she did not do this to all of her employees, but only those she felt like doing it to.I stayed for a year for my kids, but that was definitely more than enough. Thankfully I am now teaching at a brand new school this year where I am well-appreciated for all the hard work I do and not criticized for ridiculous things like I always was at Goddard. After my personal experience working here, I definitely would not recommend this particular school.
Submitted by other on October 01, 2022

Poor management here and a lot of unethical things happened behind the scenes.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2018

From the first day of Preschool we knew that our son is going to enjoy his time as all the staff was welcoming and motivated. He is lucky to have teachers like Ms. Mina and Ms. Linda. They helped him how to stay organized, help others, stay focused and always stay interested in learning.
Submitted by parent on May 09, 2018

Fantastic. The staff is all amazing and my son absolutely loves going.
Submitted by parent on October 22, 2017

Exhausting! Could be happier i pulled my child out of there. From the director Lisa down to staff it is horrible. Lisa as well as staff members rude!
Submitted by teacher on November 15, 2016

Worked there for eight months. The owner is only concerned with making money. She, and the director insult parents and berate staff to other staff. In the short time I worked there no less than 10 to 12 people quit or were fired, including the assistant director. I was criticized all the time. Loved the babies and their parents, but couldn't take the constant criticizing of my job performance. For what the teachers get paid the amount of work required is excessive. I would never, as a parent send my child to the Goddard School in the Bailiwick Office Complex in Doylestown. I was let go for supposedly making an insensitive remark about a baby, so instead of a written warning or anything of that nature I was fired. The children are only a means to an end here.
Submitted by parent on July 21, 2015

Both of my children have attended this Goddard School since they were in the infant room. In my opinion, the quality of the teachers is unparalleled. I feel that each one has truly cared for my children, and helped both of them blossom at each age/stage of their development. I would highly recommend this school to anyone.
Submitted by parent on June 13, 2015

My son attended this Goddard School for over a year, but he has moved to a different school. Overall, while there are some good individual teachers at this school, the administration is a nightmare. The owner, in particular, seems to prioritize money over the best interests of the kids. The lack of professionalism from the owner and the administrative staff is a real issue--many months they wouldn't even have basic things like calendars available, or their communications would be inconsistent. One time they sent out an email about having a "desert bar" ... and had it spelled that way multiple times, so it wasn't just a typo. Is that who you want responsible for educating your child?Aside from all that, our son was diagnosed with some speech and socialization delays during his time at this school and entered Early Intervention. Both of his EI teachers visited his school and told us for his personal needs and learning challenges, the environment at this school wasn't right. Once we found a new school that felt like a better fit, we wanted to move our son right away, but the owner refused to let us leave without requiring dues to cover the full 30 days written notice, despite the fact that the enrollment agreement allows them to waive fees and let a student go if it is in their best interests (and we had a verbal conversation about it over 30 days before we left). For comparison, the school he moved to would have let him attend a few weeks for free just to help us do what was best for him.I wasn't surprised at all to see some other reviews here on Greatschools that similarly echoed our experience--teachers are mostly good, but the owner/admin staff is not. And with the high level of staff turnover at these type of schools, you are relying on the owner to continually hire good people and hold them to a high standard. I would not trust the owner of this school to actually do that, at all.Basically, I wouldn't recommend this school to anyone. If your kid is a follower and fits in to a crowd, they'd probably do fine here, but you can find better. If your kid is at all unique like mine, this school has been generally unsupportive and not helpful, especially compared to his new school where the teachers and administrative staff have really gone out of their way to figure out ways to help keep our son engaged and included (that he has really responded to).
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2014

I was fine with this school until recently while picking up my child, I witnessed the owner loudly berating someone in the front office with other staff present. While not sure if this was an employee or parent, I am still very concerned what type of conduct happens in front of my toddler while I am not there. It's now making me wonder about the recent turnover with the teachers aides. I am so unsettled by this, I am currently in the process of looking for alternate care. There are plenty of other choices in the area, including another Goddard School.
Submitted by parent on September 03, 2014

The lead teachers for the younger children seem to care about the children immensely. I have never worried about dropping my son off in the infant room through the last year of Preschool. The charges for this school, while not excessive, are no different than any other daycare in the area. Where the teachers are amazing, the office staff is ok and have had three different people since 2011. Just be sure to get a copy of the price list before signing anything since whenever you ask about your charges, the information you know was stated to you changes and you are left feeling stupid.
Submitted by parent on February 03, 2013

Great school, accommodating with parent's schedules. Most teachers are warm and they seem to care about the kids. She's learning and loves going to school.
Submitted by parent on June 09, 2012

My son has been at Goddard for 3 years and my daughter started recently, at 14 weeks old. We have been very pleased with the teachers and curriculum there and would recommend it!
Submitted by parent on May 31, 2012

Our Son has been with Goddard since he was only 3 months old. Goddard was the best choice in child care that my husband and I decided to send our Son. From the infant classroom to getting ready to begin Kindergarten in the fall. He has always felt safe, secure, the teachers are the best. They have taught my Son more than I could have ever dreamed of. He is so smart and well rounded. They truly have shaped his future. My husband and I are so blessed from everything the wonderful teachers at Goddard have provided. Early childhood development is so important. If you can afford it. I highly recommend the Goddard school. Its truly like no other school out there! Finally threes Kindergarten program. I just feel so fortunate that my husband and I are able to send our Son to Goddard because you get a full-day of curriculum. The public schools are only 2 1/2 hours a day. So our Son will have a huge head start once he begins 1st. Grade! Im so happy we choose Goddard and have provided our son with the best head start in his early childhood education! Thanks to everyone at the Goddard school on Swamp road on Doylestown PA. Jason, Valerie, and Hunter Pierce
Submitted by parent on May 30, 2012

My daughter has attended here for almost 6 years and my son has attended for the past year. Everyone that works there is great. My kids have learned so much too. I would 100% reccommend to anyone thinking of sending their children here.
Submitted by parent on June 22, 2011

I started my daughter at Goddard at 8 weeks and was immediately comforted knowing that she would well-cared for and nutured. She has absolutely blossomed at the school! The teachers are focused on making each day enjoyable and a learning experience for the children.