PROS
* The curriculum is very elevated and inclusive.
* The fun events they have like wacky hair day, winter wonderland, etc. were so much fun for us!
* The fact they give their teachers time off for winter break and other holidays is pretty admirable! These teachers work so hard taking care of our children and they deserve time off.
* The director, Alisa, is educated in child education and development. She has experience with therapies for children, so she was INSTRUMENTAL in setting us on the path to get my son diagnosed with Autism. I will forever be grateful to her!
* They disenrolled my son, and I am so thankful! He has flourished at his new school. His new teacher loves him! She invites him to do things on the weekend, has made adjustments for his sensory issues, and he has grown leaps and bounds in such a short period of time!
CONS
* Only one: Elizabeth. She keeps this center from being great by:
+Bullying Parents
-She told my husband and I that we should punish our four-year-old for a whole month for having a bad day. She said she did it with her children and affectionately referred to herself as a tiger mom.
-She threatened to disenroll my son every chance we met, over every little thing.
-She said my son's teacher, Ms. Kellyn, left because of him. Ms. Kellyn gave my husband and I the BIGGEST hug whenever she left and said she would miss my son and us so much. Even after my son left, Goddard lost 3 or 4 more teachers. The only common denominator in all those teachers leaving is Elizabeth, not my son. Take a look in the mirror!
-She said a teacher from Chicago, with thick skin, cried every time she had to work in my son's room, because of him. Come to find out, it was because the teacher was always over ratio.
-She threatened to call CPS on us because my son had multiple bad days in a row. It was a scare tactic because she didn't want us there, but she never did because it was baseless. She is just a power-hungry mandated reporter and thinks that makes her special somehow.
-She has a holier-than-thou air about her that you can never escape. She told us how her and her husband never had to even raise their voices at their children. Then in the next breath, told my husband and I we were afraid to discipline because whenever we came to pick up our son, we didn't raise our voices at him. You cannot win.
-If your child is not neurotypical, she will blame you and shame you, trying to convince you it is your fault somehow. First, she claimed our son's behavior was because we didn't spend enough time with him. Then when we refuted that, she claimed it was because we spent too much time with him. She said he would have been kicked out a long time ago at any other school and claimed he would not be successful at public school. Sounds like a great supporter of children, right?
+Bullying Teachers
-She undermines her directors all the time and will not let them run the school. Alisa and Kim are absolutely amazing! They always had helpful suggestions for us and ways to help my son get the diagnosis and help he needed.
-When teachers would complain about the way Elizabeth treated them or about constantly being over ratio, she would bully them and make the work environment so hostile until they quit or would take an extended leave of absence.
+Making up Rules
-She wouldn't give me the first names of my son's class during Valentine's Day so that I could personalize their gifts. She cited state licensing law that prevented her from doing so, when in reality there is no such law.
-She wouldn't let my designated pickup person inside to pick up my son. She harassed him and made him call me, so she could chastise me in the background for not giving them a heads up about him coming. My husband and I work full time. We designated people so we do not have to give you a heads up.
-Whenever they decided to disenroll my autistic son, she said my tuition was nonrefundable. The tuition agreement I signed, as well as the parent handbook, states upon disenrollment, unused tuition will be refunded. read more