My family has been with goddard for over 3 years and my sons (age 4 in June; age 2 in July) are absolutely thriving at Goddard! Where do I start?! The activities the teachers do throughout the day, the organization and routine (which I have learned is super important for toddlers) professionalism of the staff, communication with parents, and even catered lunches... are just a few of the things that make the experience at Goddard Alexandria unparalleled. As a mom who always felt I would prefer to spend the day with my kids, I know that my children would be missing out on so much if they were not at Goddard... it gives them a great education, confidence, nurturing caregivers, fun activities, and social skills. The biggest thing of all is the staff. Ms. Zaida , Ms. Helen and Ms. Kassie in first steps are amazing. They are so detail oriented and organized - as a mom of two active boys 2 years apart, I'm constantly forgetting something, and when this happens, they are always on top of it (and they never make me feel bad.) My son LOVES going and happily goes into their arms, and is even attached to them! Sometimes he doesn't look back! All of the wonderful photos they send are so appreciated and also show how me what a great time he is having. They truly love the children as though they are their own. My son has learned so much and is always doing something new at home like ASL or learning animal sounds. They even get the 18 month old kids to get in a circle, read books, and sing a welcome song! All 3 teachers are so sweet, positive, and somehow never seem stressed or overwhelmed. It's an amazing environment. In the rare instances my adventurous son falls or bumps his head or gets sick, they immediately call to let me know. In addition to the report in the app, also give me a great rundown at pickup of his his day went. I would trust them with my life! My older son is loving Ms. Lindsey and Ms. Jennifer in Preschool 2! He has learned so much, his speech has improved, and he's always excited to go tell his teachers something funny in the morning. He is very sensitive and does not handle transitions well, and both teachers have helped us teach him coping skills and learn regulate. A few times this week he has even said "let's go back to school"! Ms. Lindsey also used to be a behavioral specialist, so having her working closely with him has been so nice. Both teachers treat my son like their own child. He also doesn't eat as much as he should, and they are always trying new ways of encouraging him to eat. I never have to worry about his safety or happiness, and they always communicate immediately if something seems off with him that day. At pickup, they give me such a detailed rundown and spend as much time with me as needed to chat about his day. A few months ago, I was worried about his transition into this older class, but Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Lindsey have been a blessing and he (and I) could not be happier. I also want to shout out Ms. Shantel and Ms. Becky, my older son's previous teachers. They are so loving and my son felt so nurtured under their care as well. They were instrumental in providing him with coping mechanisms, improving his speech, and giving him the love and attention he needs. They still say hi and talk to him regularly and you can tell they still care for their kids previously in their class! They put my son's anxiety at ease and always made him feel better if he was having a tough day. I still love seeing them! read more

As parents of a newly enrolled student this school year, we feel that our daughter is enrolled in an exceptional school. She learned so much in PreK 1 with Mrs Gabby & Mrs Nina. It didn't take long for us to see her start to blossom & grow scholastically at Goddard. Mrs Gabby along with Mrs Nina have created an atmosphere full of enrichment. Her positive influence and guidance has become so infectious to our little one that she pretends she is Mrs Gabby at home and my husband and I are her students. And it shows in how Kendall pretends & plays Mrs Gabby so well. She really has such a genuine love for Mrs Gabby and her teaching. It shows in how she is truly inspired by her and loves attending class so much it's hard for her to leave school. And this warms our hearts to see. Our daughter already had basic prek knowledge of the complete alphabet, numbers and counting from 1-20 and could recognize alphanumerics visually. She also knew her shapes and colors at an early age of 2. Goddard has met and exceeded their promise to promote STEM and 2nd language arts and it shows. Our toddler now speaks Spanish with numbers, counting and knows colors as well. My daughter also came to love Ms. Nina. Mrs Nina is a welcome addition to The Goddard School in late 2023. She is such a treasure and a wonderful educator with decades of experience and knowledge. We'd like to give Special thanks to Mrs Traleece, Mrs Andrea & Mrs Sarah. These professionals are at the heart of what makes our school among the very best that Alexandria has to offer. As Directors and Executive Staff at The Goddard School they have shown such an eye for excellence & attentiveness to the needs of the children and parents. These are the hallmarks that makes them such an excellent academy. And to the many member's of The Goddard School educators and supporting staff, Mrs Michelle, Mrs Jennifer, Mrs Kiki, Mrs Lindsay, Mrs Maria, & Marley's Mom, and to so many we weren't able to name. We can't thank you enough for the passion & endless love you bring to The Goddard School every single day. The Graham Family read more

The Goddard School of Alexandria - West - Child Care & Day Care Near Me - Alexandria, Virginia

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Our family has been enrolling our kiddos at the Goddard school for over a year and a half and are continually amazed and impressed by the care and education our babies receive from the incredible teachers and staff, including: Ms. Michelle, Ms. Lizette, Ms. Maria, Ms. Ronnique, Ms. Jordan, Ms. LaSasha and Ms. Sarah. While these are the teachers who our kids have direct classroom experience with, ALL the teachers at this center are genuinely kind l, talented in their field and care deeply for the kids here. Additional shoutouts to Ms. Michelle for essentially teaching US the parents about caring for/preventing ear infections and general first time parent must-knows, and for Ms. Ronnique as she helped our girl finally turn the corner on potty training. read more

Updating this review as a parent of now two children at The Goddard School. We continue to appreciate how thoughtfully the teachers and staff care for our toddler and baby. We are especially grateful for Ms. Michelle, Ms. Lisette, Ms. Maribel, Ms. Sasha, Ms. Kassie, Ms. Crystal, Ms. Charia, and Ms. Kaelyn. read more

As parents of a newly enrolled student this school year, we feel that our daughter is enrolled in an exceptional school. She learned so much in PreK 1 with Mrs Gabby & Mrs Nina. It didn't take long for us to see her start to blossom & grow scholastically at Goddard. Mrs Gabby along with Mrs Nina have created an atmosphere full of enrichment. Her positive influence and guidance has become so infectious to our little that she pretends she is Mrs Gabby at home and my husband and I are her students. And it shows in how Kendall plays her so well. She really has such a genuine love for Mrs Gabby and her teaching. It shows in how she is truly inspired by her and loves attending class so much it's hard for her to leave school. And this warms our hearts to see. Our daughter already had basic prek knowledge of the complete alphabet, numbers and counting from 1-20 and could recognize alphanumerics visually. She also knew her shapes and colors at an early age of 2. Goddard has met and exceeded their promise to promote STEM and 2nd language arts and it shows. Our toddler now speaks Spanish with numbers, counting and knows colors as well. My daughter also came to love Ms. Nina. Mrs Nina is a welcome addition to The Goddard School in late 2023. She is such a treasure and a wonderful educator with decades of experience and knowledge. Once again the Director and Executive Staff at The Goddard School have show such an eye for excellence & attentiveness to the needs of the children and parents. These are the hallmarks that makes them such an excellent academy. And to the many member's of the Goddard stuff, so many we weren't able to name. We can't thank you enough for the passion & endless love you bring to The Goddard School every single day. The Grahams Family read more

I'm so happy my granddaughter attends this school !! ALL the staff are friendly, caring and warm. She is happy to go every morning and is learning so much every day. Everyone there goes out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. They know every single child, parent and even me a grandmother by name. The communication is fantastic !!! The teachers are great !!! Seeing pics of my granddaughters day is wonderful. It is truly an amazing school. read more

We feel fortunate to have great teachers like Ms. Miche, Ms. Crystal, Ms. Kassie, Ms. Zaida, and Ms. Helen watch over and nurture our child. We can feel their teaching immensely when our child is with us at home. We appreciate all their hard work. read more

I was very nervous to send my son to daycare after he was home with a nanny for his first 18 months but after touring Goddard in Alexandria and meeting some of the teachers, I was reassured that he would be well taken care of. It's been a year and we could not be happier with the program and the teachers. We are so lucky that my son gets to learn with Ms. Charia everyday, he even talks about her outside of school. Ms. Kaelyn in Toddler 1 is also fantastic. I also have to mention Ms. Crystal who was my son's first teacher and was tremendous help transitioning my son into his new environment. read more

Shantel and Becky are truly the best teachers children in 2024 can have. Very attentive to the needs of ALL the children. You kidd need to have them as teachers!!! read more

The Goddard School has been a wonderful experience for my daughter (and me). The teachers and staff are great with the kids. They are also very responsive and attentive to parental needs/communication. The facility is excellent and very clean. I am very pleased as well with the amount of social learning that occurs at Goddard. read more

I needed to switch my daughter's schools to be closer to my new job about 6 months ago. My daughter was attending a different Goddard School which I loved dearly. I was so worried that no other school could possibly reach the standard of care that her previous school had. I was also skeptical about this Goddard School being so new. How could it possibly be as good as her last school? I am amazed about how wonderful and caring the staff and teachers are here. Every one in the school knows my daughter by name and they actually even know my name which is so impressive. We are greeted every day by the ladies in the front office and they've really become like family and love to joke with my silly kid. We are in the Pre-K 1 class with Ms. Maria and Ms. Gabby and they are both excellent teachers. My child has learned so much in their care and is ready to take on kindergarten. The Goddard School curriculum is amazing and her teachers really go above and beyond with science experiments and cooking art projects. My child has a blast and is excited to go to school every day. The campus is beautiful and clean. The multipurpose room is so fun and an excellent bonus for the kids to be able to play and get some energy out even if the weather is bad. The Goddard School Alexandria is truly a gem. We love it here so much that we wish they had a kindergarten because it would be a no brainer to continue her education here. read more

My son Ethan has been attending The Goddard School for almost 2 years now and absolutely loves it! Ms Lawanda and Mr DJ are his pre-k1 teachers and I couldn't ask for two better individuals leading the way! Three things were important to my husband and I when choosing a pre-school; safety and cleanliness, credentials of teachers and admin, and a FUN learning environment. The Goddard School of Alexandria offers all of this and more! We are so happy we made the decision to enroll our son here and would encourage any family looking for a great preschool to do so as well! read more

Our daughter attends this school in the Pre-K 1 class with Ms. Maria. She's flourished in the class and transitioned well from her previous Goddard School. Ms. Maria is adored by our daughter as she always talks about her when explaining what she learned for the day. Numbers, letters, math, art projects, cooking projects, athletics, reading, life lessons, patterns, and all kinds of other subjects / projects are things they do with our daughter. I know the school is preparing my daughter for bigger and better things and we appreciate their partnership. read more

I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THEM TO MY WORST ENEMY. First let me start off by saying, my daughter has been in the same home daycare since she was 6 months old. So transitioning somewhere we felt comfortable was one of my top priorities. I spoke to Traeeleece first. She seemed friendly and inviting. We set up a tour and was pretty excited too after looking at the website, the distance from our house and the fact that it was a newly built school. The tour went okay (I say "okay" that because there are a few people that shouldn't be allowed to run a business let alone a preschool), the facility was clean and most of the teachers were friendly. My daughter started here mid-late November and it has been hell since. During this time, we lost a member of our family. The state agreed to pay a portion of my daughters tuition for assistance. After Traeleece inquired about missing swipes for my daughters attendance (which is connected to how they collect payment), I told her that we'd call in to update her attendance and that we just lost a family member so we'd appreciate their patience. Within the same day, while grieving my family member, I first got a call from Traeleece stating with a nasty attitude that I needed to stay up to date on recording her attendance via the swipe system, received an email from their Director Andrea stating that if I can't adhere to their policies then I can leave or they can disenroll her and then got a call from a temporary state caseworker saying the school is complaining about the attendance not being updated. No respect AT ALL for the fact that we JUST lost a family member. Due to the pandemic, the state is paying preschools regardless of the parent updating the child's attendance as long as they submit the necessary paperwork. The school was notified of this multiple times via email and US mail as stated by my actual caseworker. So in conclusion, the school harassed me while my myself and family (a family they profit off of) were going through an extremely hard time, over money that they were going to receive from the state regardless.The added stress from the Management team (specifically Traeleece & Andrea) ontop of everything else, caused me to hate having to drop my daughter off. I DREADED pick up and drop off so luckily my spouse picked her up most days. I requested a meeting with Taruna, the owner, and she listened and offered her apologies but did the staffs attitude change or was there any apology offered from the specific individuals? No, just a "I'm sorry this happened and you feel this way." Ever since that incident I started planning to move my daughter. She turned 4 in January and when she first started (at 3), I was told she would transition to a new class. When I inquired about the transition before her birthday, I was told she wasn't going to a new class. In the middle of the week after her bday (her bday was on a Monday) they call me to tell me that she'll be transitioning to the new class that day. You're kidding me right? From what I was told by the teachers, they didn't even know about any transition plans until they got to the school THAT morning. Their swipe machine has been broken for a couple weeks so now I have to call in every time I drop my daughter off and pick her up. There were a couple days that were missed but you have an 8 day window to update. Yesterday, Traeeleece gives me the same attitude about the swipes and I told her that the previous dates she gave me to swipe in was incorrect as customer service told me the night before. I swipe in one of the days at the school and proceed to the do the rest during the day since I work from home. I get a call from Andrea stating that "We've decided this is Samantha's last day and all of her stuff will be ready when you pick her up". Now I have to take off of work to find a temporary daycare before school and explain to my kid why she can't see her friends anymore. They are disrespectful and money hungry. They don't care about your child or the families. Don't waste your time, money or energy on them. read more

The Goddard School of Alexandria has time and time again shown me what good teachers and supportive staff can do for a child who needs a little encouragement from time to time. My daughter is currently potty training and she has had no accidents since she started a week ago. Thank you for all you do for these kids and how welcoming and friendly your staff is to the parents. read more

The Goddard School of Alexandria has been excellent for my daughter over the last nine months. My husband and I have seen a considerable improvement in her communication, both verbally and through ASL, throughout her time at Goddard. The facility is always welcoming, inclusive, and diverse. We highly recommend the facility to anyone looking to care for their child. read more

We enrolled in Goddard about two months after they opened and now how both of our boys there. It's a beautiful, clean facility and the staff are amazing. Since we've been there so long we've had a chance to go through a number of classroom levels and have always been meet with kindness and support. We've developed a nice rapport with management who always greets us with a smile and willingness to help out (like when we forgot to buy lunch through the cafe service for one of the kids) and made sure our son had lunch. read more

We've been very happy with the Goddard West Alexandria location and our child's main Get Set teacher Ms Deborah. The transition was seamless and they were very helpful during potty training. Our child is thriving and seems ahead of other children the same age. The admin staff and owners have always been very helpful and responsive. The daily activities (music, yoga, art, sign language, spanish, etc) and outdoor time twice a day are all enjoyed by our active toddler. We definitely recommend this school! read more

Our daughter has been with teachers Lasasha and Daijanique since joining the school. They both have been amazing in their care and insight each and every day. read more

We have been sending out son to the Goddard School of Alexandria after switching from another local daycare. He's in the young toddler class and we couldn't be happier. Appreciate the care and love his teachers (Ms. Ebony and Ms. Tonika) and the entire daycare shows him. read more

FYI- this is an honest review. I'm not frustrated with anyone, but I have to inform parents about this school. Tuition/money has never been my issue. The price and location are decent, but the daycare is terrible simply because of the Director. She lacks people skills and respect for others. She's a know-it-all but knows nothing. The owners need to fire her with all due respect. The male/husband owner is terrible too. He's arrogant and controlling. He doesn't listen to complaints but his wife is super nice. He only cares about money which I understand, but the place can thrive if they fire that Director. She came from Kiddie Academy, I believe. She's not a good fit and several parents complain about her. The director and teachers sit in the front office gossiping about people. It's super unprofessional. My child was sick and everyone knew. What happened to confidentiality and privacy? Here are my top concerns: High Turnover: First, my child had 9 different lead and assistant teachers within a 3-month timeframe (no lie). If you want, I can name them all. There is no reason for me to lie. My child doesnt attend that school any longer. In fact, her current school's tuition is higher and 10x better. The teachers were simply unhappy because the Director was mean. She inadvertently sent an email to the parents and it was meant for the teachers. The email was super rude and unprofessional...not surprised. Then, she turned around and apologized to the parents. My child was traumatized by the number of teachers in/out of her life. My child had a new teacher every month. The teachers were unable to discuss progress because they simply didn't know anything about my child. Teachers: Honestly, I observed one assistant teacher grabbing a child by the arms and pushing him. I informed the lead teacher and she said she would address it. I didnt tell the owners or Director because I didnt want my child to be harmed by that teacher or singled out. I waited until I removed my child from the school and wrote a note to management. Did they email or call me back out of concern - NO! CPS could've been called but it did not rise to the level of abuse, but I'm sure any parent would've been extremely frustrated if they saw their child being pushed or dragged on the floor. I was super shocked. I called my mother in disbelief. This incident happened twice. The first time, the teacher handled my child roughly. She slammed my child on the changing table. I asked if she was having a bad day and she said no. She attempted to explain her actions, but I walked away. She comes off super nice, but she's aggressive toward the kids. This isn't subjective because the lead teacher told me this wasn't the first time she heard that. Unreliable: I swear to you, they called me twice weekly to pick up my child for vomiting or diarrhea or having a runny nose. It was the smallest issue. My child never had COVID-19 or any other illnesses. I asked for money off tuition and I was told no. My child missed a total of 1 month worth of school. Secondly, they have too many days off. The school is closed 2 weeks for spring break like its a damn public school. This is daycare people! I'm sure the Director made this policy for her own benefit. They are closed on holidays as well. You will be paying for 1 or 2 months for nothing. Ask them for their calendar. I would not make this up. You will see so many days off. Education: My child learned nothing except social skills from her peers. My child was not stimulated in the classroom. My child knew her alphabets, counting, shapes and colors by the age of 1. They taught her nothing! I mean...nothing! We taught her everything she knows. My child is learning soooo much more at her current school. If your child attends Goddard, they will be behind their peers. Goddard is a professional babysitting agency. They don't teach the children, they only watch the kids. Those daily reports are pre-filled. Honestly, I wish the school would respond to this review because I emailed them. I have so much evidence of all these statements, its so sad. I feel sorry for the kids at that school because parents think their kids are learning until you compare to another daycare. Remember, every Goddard isnt the same. They have different owners and this Goddard is very new so there are a lot of issues that come with that. read more

My daughter is in the "First Steps" classroom in The Goddard School of Alexandria West. Since day one her teachers Ms. Crystal, Ms. Talaya and Ms. Kassie, as well as the school admin staff, have been very welcoming and have made the process of starting daycare a breeze. They make sure my daughter feels comfortable in this new environment, and have been very communicative to that end. They also provide her with a curriculum that other daycares in the area lack such as daily indoor & outdoor activities focused on language development, social skills, cognitive development, physical well-being and motor skills. I love all the daily updates and pictures of the activities they're doing, and how my child is responding to each one of them. Moreover, I love that now my daughter grabs her 'school stuff' and shows me to the door every morning letting me know she's eager to go to daycare. The cleanliness, friendliness, curriculum, and communication offered by Goddard is top notch. read more