I would not recommend this facility for child care The majority of the staff don't seem to enjoy children --there is no sense that the teachers actually enjoy children. We found the staff to be rather rigid in their teaching & discipline styles. They don't seem to be able to adapt to a specific child's needs. They are frequently understaffed. Always sending out messages to get parents to "volunteer" to skip school/pick up the kids after they've been dropped off. They offer you "credit" if you do this, but the "credit" is significantly less than their daily rate...so essentially you are paying them so you can watch your own kid?!? And if they don't get enough volunteer pick ups, they'll just close classrooms, meaning you can't come to school/you have to pick up your kid after drop off AND you don't get any compensation at all--you are paying them full price so that you can watch your own child. Heaven help you if your kiddo ends up in a class with one of the director's / teacher's kids. They let those kids run wild and pretty much run the classroom. The directors clearly favor a couple staff members over others. That whole situation is super awkward to be peripherally involved in and observe. It reminds me of mean girls in high school...so awkward and not something to appreciate having to see when I'm paying this much for allegedly professional care givers. The cost of enrollment is astonishingly high, even compared to other facilities. They don't do anything there to justify a higher price point--they don't have better staffing ratios, don't offer more activities or provide better food. On top of that, you are expected to help cater a seemingly endless number of meals for teacher appreciation. The formal "teacher appreciation week" consisted of several breakfasts and lunches and the food requests were bizarrely specific. There are several more times throughout the year that you are expected to help cater meals for staff. Overall, I felt that this facility treats the kids as economic units. Their priority is making money, that's it. The facility is clean. Sometimes they have good teachers, but usually the good ones leave within ~12 mos, likely due to the toxic environment. I have heard from others that the care is better for the babies (like up to 18 mos or so). I don't have experience with that at Goddard. read more

I really have nothing bad to say about this school at all. Loved all the teachers. Highly organized and efficient. Feels safe for my child. He just graduated and I feel so grateful that we found this school for my son. Miss Katie and Lisa in the "Wise Owls" or 4-5 year old class have been there for as long as my son went there. So at least 3 years. When you see a daycare with high employee retention, they are doing something right. It's a play based school and that was a great fit for my little boy. Highly recommend. read more

My son started Goddard 2 months ago & he has been so happy. He loves going to school. He talks about his friends & his teachers. He's learned so much about planets & about earth. Everyday he brings home art work, he didn't express an interest in art until he started school here. The facility is very clean & is in pristine condition. I would 100% recommend this school. Thank you Goddard & the Grasshopper room teachers. read more

Our family absolutely loves this school! Both of our kids have gone here and we've had the best experience over the last 6 years. The teachers and all of the staff are amazing! Highly recommend! read more

Goddard is an amazing school. The teachers and directors have made us feel so welcome and I have never trusted anyone more with my kids. They are family and I will be so sad when our daughter goes to kindy next year and we no longer have a kid at the school. We love Goddard! read more

Our kiddo has been at Goddard for 4 years now and we love it. The teachers are great, there are age appropriate playgrounds for the different classes, and while our daughter is a year away from kindergarten, she already knows the entire alphabet. We've also really appreciated the emotional intelligence / conflict resolution she's learned at Goddard - for instance, when she's upset she knows to take a break or ask for space and finds a quiet place to calm her body down, rather than yelling or hitting. She's also learned about sharing and asking for a turn, which is difficult to teach at home when they don't have a sibling close in age. read more

My family has had the most wonderful experience at The Goddard School. I love being able to pick the kids up and see what invested teachers they have, interesting curriculum they have available to them, and the social emotional skills they are gaining from the Goddard environment. The school is so supportive of children going through all of the different stages and I couldn't appreciate them more. I highly recommend The Goddard School. read more

Can't say enough great things about this location in Happy Valley. We have had our son here for 2 summers and he loves it. Kids are involved in multiple art projects daily, themed by animals/space/plants, etc. They do a lot of science and art experiments with the kids, lots of letters (for older kiddos) and age appropriate activities. Everything is themed, and they are so creative in their programming. The kids get to display their artwork around the room which makes our son very proud. They send at least 1 email home each day with a FULL description of what happened that day and a picture of your child-which is great to see what they are up to and the art they worked on. Staff are all flexible, kind and warm. Highly recommend this location! read more

My two girls have been attending Goddard for the past three years. We were new to OR, and so happy to have met the team. My oldest daughter just started kinder In 2020. I feel like Goddard really prepared her for school, and it was seamless! As I Mom, that is all I could ever ask for. My younger daughter really enjoys her pre-school as well at Goddard. Her potty training is coming along nicely, thanks to the reinforcement at pre-school. She enjoys all the activities and teachers, who are so warm and caring. Thank you Goddard for all that you do, the team there is great! read more

Our son has been going to Goddard Happy Valley since April 2016 and he loves it. We really like this school for many reasons : - the building is safe, clean, bright and secure - Miss Rachel and Miss Felicia (the directors) have always a smile on their faces and they respond to all our emails very quickly - Also the teachers are lovely! We have always had an amazing experience with all of them We are happy with this school and would totally recommend it. read more

The teacher is careless！My son came here since he was 18 month.At the beginning,we can get 4-5 photos of what my son doing in the school.But when my son over 2 year old and switch to the higher grade "Fishes" class,we just got only 1 photo everyday and sometimes no photo.And he get hurt everyday in this school!We finally decided to stop sending him here because we really don't want to put him in this dangerous situation everyday! read more

"We always have felt a sense of safety from Goddard. Always warm smiles and greetings. Our sons teacher Ms. Lori always keeps us informed and on a daily basis we can tell that she always has his best interests in mind. As parents who constantly miss their child when away, we feel very fortunate to be able to leave him in your hands." read more

Our oldest son has been going here since they opened approx 2 1/2 years ago. The staff is fantastic!! My son has learned everything from his ABCs to cleaning up after himself & self care in this fantastic environment. Now that he's 3, he is also learning computer skills. Our infant son gets to have many different sensory experiences in the baby room. The activities throughout the year are great and varied. We will be moving soon and will be very sad to say goodbye to such a fantastic facility and staff. read more

Our daughter attended Goddard from 10 months to 6 years. I highly recommend this school. In addition to daycare, they are teaching the kids, helping them through their development. Extremely accommodating and wonderful folks at the front office as well. Our daughter was well prepared for Kinder thanks to Goddard. When Covid hit, the school quickly pivoted and miraculously made it work. They facilitated online learning, helped her do her homework every day and provided me with feedback daily. Cant recommend them enough read more

Our son has been going here for over a year since he was 5 months old. The school is amazing and the teachers are very personable. They take great care of the children and teach them all sorts of great things at a young age. They do everything from sign language and yoga to art and music. It has been great watching my son develop and make friendships at such a young age. It is the best daycare out there hands down! read more

The Goddard School of Clackamas - Happy Valley - Preschools Near Me - Clackamas, Oregon

Although we now have only one child currently enrolled at the Goddard School in Happy Valley, we have had all three of our children there since 2014, and we are still going strong. By the time my third child/my daughter leaves in a few years, we will have enjoyed 7 years of loving teachers and support staff who have enriched our children's lives in a variety of ways, some of which still keep in touch with our family even as they have moved on in their careers. We appreciate the patience and encouragement our children have been blessed with and would highly recommend the School to new families to the area, or anyone approaching the time to enroll their littles into a safe and positive environment for them to grow and socialize approriately! Thank you to ALL of the Goddard staff - you know who you are =) read more

Pros: Amazing teachers Nice facility Nice toys/books Great curriculum Snack provided Cons: Staff treated disrespectfully Teachers make 10/hr at the most expensive High teacher turn over Kids/teachers sick a lot(typical in a lot of daycares) read more

We just love Goddard and appreciate all they have done for our child. The staff is truly caring and we are very happy with our choice to have our child here. read more

Goddard in Happy Valley is fantastic. My daughter is thriving there. Everybody is very attentive to P-Bear's individual needs - I could not be happier. Her teachers are outstanding. I would happily recommend them to a friend. read more

Our son has been attending Goddard for the past several months -- he is in the infant classroom and we could not be more pleased! Everyone knows our family and takes a genuine interest in our little one. I love getting pictures and stories via email throughout my work day. His feeding and napping schedule is what works best for him, no one has tried to adjust it for convenience. All of his teachers are great at communicating with us about everything, after another daycare didn't work out for us this has come as a huge relief. read more

We love Goddard School! Our daughter has been going there for the past few years and she is always happy and engrossed in an activity when we pick her up. Staff are very nice, building feels modern and secure, and the responsiveness to any questions I have ever had has been super quick. read more

I love Miss Lexi and Miss Teisha. They are so wonderful with My daughter. Every time I walk into the class- they are in such a good mood and really focused on making the babies time an enjoyable one. I also love that they help with Hudson's development- she is making great improvements in sitting, and I know it is happening this quickly because she is working on that skill at school as well. They do all sorts of activities from painting to yoga- my baby is not even 5 month old and she has mastered the butterfly pose and made me an amazing art project for Mother's Day. The teachers are also really great at keeping me in the loop- My daughter had a little bit of a challenge with the bottle at first, and the teachers gave me updates on her progress every time I came in to pick her up or to feed her on my lunch. For a first time mom, these reassurances really help!! Another note- the school itself is super secure. I know my little sunshine is safe and I even get photos throughout the day, which is SO AWESOME! Thank you Goddard School, and thank you Miss Lexi, Miss Teisha and Miss Cassidy! read more

Disappointed with Goddard for their lack of continues improvement. When faced with challenges, they talk a good game but does not walk the talk and gives up easily. For how much they charge the families, you would assume that they would put in some effort. They put my family in a challenging position giving us very short notice to find another school. read more

I went in for a tour here because it was the closest preschool that had summer opening. For the tuition, I was expecting to see more of a preschool than a daycare. It looked pretty typical to just a room maxed out on kids with just one teacher, doing whatever they want to do. Sure most toys and activities seemed fun and somewhat educational. But for $457/month for TWO HALF DAYS a week?! And they don't even give them a meal. Parents have to pack it for them... that price is just a little outrageous for what you're getting... plus the $200 "registration fee" when you begin?? But they have excellent security measures I suppose. read more

My son has been at the Goddard School since he was about 6 months old (he is 16 months now). It was very hard to leave my baby boy when I went back to work, but the Goddard School teachers and staff are wonderful and always went the extra mile to assuage my fears by discussing and adapting to my son's needs and schedule, giving me regular updates, and responding very quickly to all my questions. It's lovely to know that my child is at a place where you are greeted when you walk in and walk out, where the environment is safe and spacious, and where the staff and teachers are kind and responsive. My son loves his teachers at Goddard. Special shoutout to the school's use of the Tadpoles app; I love getting text and email updates about my son throughout the day and the daily report I get after I pick him up is invaluable for tracking his sleep, food intake, and learning! read more

"The teachers communicate well with the parents, there are always friendly staff available to greet you/answer questions. The director is very responsive and helpful with any concerns and questions. Love that I get picture updates via email throughout the day! Highly recommended!" read more

After touring three local daycare facilities in the Happy Valley area, it was clear that Goddard was the best choice hands down. Pros: Where do I start? Their facility looks new and is very clean. The staff is super friendly, positive and professional. Passwords and double entrances are used for to make the place very secure. The play area is covered and the private fencing keeps the kids from view. They seem to be the most technologically advanced daycare in the area. The sign in-sign out process is managed with iPads and you're emailed photos during the day and a progress report at the end of the day. They followed up with us with postcards and a friendly phone call after we toured making us feel valued. Cons: The biggest thing is that they provide snacks and milk, but no lunch. Parents prepare lunch and leave it in the kitchen where it will be warmed and distributed to the kids' classrooms. It's a small inconvenience, but at least we can ensure that the kids get to eat what they like. Also, the cost is probably near the higher end versus some other places. However, overall, it's not a huge increase as the quality of care more than makes up for price. We also toured KinderCare Clackamas and Academy4Kids in Happy Valley. They were both nice, but overall, did not have the cleanliness, professionalism and focus on education that Goddard did. This is our first month with them and we are more than happy with the decision. read more

Our now 6 1/2 year old is a "graduate" of the Clackamas Goddard School. Many good experiences and memories in her early childhood education. She was prepared for kindergarten, loved the Goddard School teachers and has a large stack of her art work as a keepsake. I would recommend the Goddard School based on our positive experience. read more

My child has attended for over a year and absolutely loves it. All of the staff are warm and friendly. They take great care of my child and do a wonderful job of creating a strong bond while making learning fun. My child always feels proud of herself for learning and that message is reinforced with the staff. The transitions away from family are tough, and staff are always attentive to these needs. My child looks forward to spending time with her "Goddard Family" every day. read more

I think the Goddard school has a very good program for younger children. I know of many parents who take their children here for preschool, unfortunately it wasn't a good fit for mine. read more

I like the electronic daily reports and the variety of learning methods that my children receive. The teachers and staff seem to really care about my childrens' all around development and growth. read more

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. read more

We are very happy with the school and what our daughter is learning! Our shy daughter now wants to tell EVERYONE that she is in school!! She even adds that she is at the Goddard school We could not be happier. read more