Goddard Indianapolis is such a special place! The teachers are genuinely excited to see the kids every day, you can tell they love what they do and truly care about each child. Communication with parents is fantastic; we always feel informed and included in our child's learning and growth. It's such a joy knowing our little one is surrounded by people who are passionate, caring, and supportive! read more

A few days after the publication of my initial review (now at 70 "useful" votes) Goddard North's owner AGAIN violated confidentiality, and basic professionalism, by calling another Goddard parent to discuss my family's termination. This was the same family friend who had been asked by the school to sign my son's paperwork, despite having absolutely no authority to do so. My friend stated that she did not initiate this discussion, and openly expressed to Ms. Patel that she had no interest in further discussing this matter or my family's personal business. My friend told me the call began with Patel offering to drive her son home in an emergency if she remained enrolled (I was her son's emergency contact and sometimes picked him up) and quickly devolved into Patel badmouthing me. According to my friend, Ms. Patel claimed I "triggered" her daughter (a then-classmate of our sons) into repeatedly hitting Ms. Patel (a behavior Patel did little to correct) during the conversation that occurred the evening I was trespassed. This conversation ended with me clearly informing Ms. Patel that my child would be leaving Goddard by the end of that week, making her decision to trespass and legally bully me--for the perceived crime of calling out her racist behavior and demonstrably false claims using a "tone" she didn't like--particularly petty and vindictive. While my only issue is with the conduct of the other ADULTS involved in this matter, Ms. Patel's hypocrisy regarding her own child's problematic behavior was one of my main points of contention with Patel that evening. Ms. Patel deemed my black 3-year-old son a danger to others (including the ADULT staff) for throwing a toy, even though the teacher reported that my son had been physically provoked (climbed on) by the other child involved, yet she was completely unwilling to hold her own child, or the white children in my son's class, to similar standards. When challenged, Patel attempted to justify her daughter's behavior by telling me her child was "tired" and she would definitely be less tolerant if her child "had been hitting the staff." I witnessed Ms. Patel's child hit other children/staff more than once; I witnessed her hit her mother more than thirty times. It wasn't any different. Clearly Patel's own (lack of) discipline skills, indulgent parenting, and willingness to offer up excuses were to blame, not my "tone." When I directly identified clear patterns of racial bias at the school, Patel suggested I should do the heavy lifting of educating her staff (presumably for free), not her or her paid director. The evening of my trespass I very clearly told Patel it was definitely NOT my job as a paying client to provide free racial bias (or any other) training to her franchise preschool to ensure my son's fair treatment, particularly when she and her paid director were clearly unwilling to address their own racially problematic behaviors. Patel, clearly unversed in irony, countered this "threat" (of unsparing criticism) by chastising my "tone" and threatening to have me arrested. Around the time she called my friend, Ms. Patel sent me a handwritten card, wishing my son and I "all the best," instead of simply refunding my prorated tuition... as one might expect given that our family was expelled. This struck me as wildly insincere, as the Patels had literally threatened me with arrest only days earlier. Clearly my initial review struck a nerve, as had her inability to have it removed from two of the three platforms I posted to, and she needed to do some serious damage control. Parents: Don't be fooled by a beautiful building, polished marketing provided by Goddard corporate, glowing reviews written by the owner's sister, or the (in my opinion) clearly staged photos (of their own kids) added by Goddard management following my initial review. The vast majority of Goddard's "certified and experienced teachers" have no professional licensure or relevant degree and neither does Ms. Patel. She's a profiteer, not an educator. Goddard's licensing record, publicly available via the Indiana FSSA website, is alarmingly poor, especially for a new facility. Their citation record includes THREE separate failures to appropriately report substantiated or alleged instances of child abuse/neglect that occurred on site; repeated failures to follow state-mandated drug screening, criminal background check, minimum education, and training requirements for staff; leaving toxins in an area accessible to children; feeding a child breast milk from the wrong mother; and leaving a 22-month-old toddler unsupervised outdoors (the second citation involving a toddler left alone outdoors in a calendar year). Goddard's current Paths to Quality rating is a Level 1--the worst possible score for a licensed center--and in 2020 their licensing status was "probationary." Clearly I am not alone in my assessment. read more

I love this Goddard school!! The teachers spend adequate time with their lesson plans to encourage learning and development. They really interact and ENGAGE with the children instead of just "babysitting" so to speak. I love how they have an app where they send you several picture updates throughout the day and also discuss what the kids are doing throughout the day from feedings to bathroom breaks. I am honestly shocked that they aren't top rated because this location in particular goes above and beyond. The administration is also very active, involved, informative & polite. I'd def recommend this daycare facility to anyone in need of sufficient safe care!! 10/10 highly recommend. read more

I drove by this location when it was being built, and thought many times "that would be perfect for us!" When the school was close to completion, I decided to get more information. The first time I called, I spoke to the owner. She was very informative and helpful, and I was able to get my daughter enrolled quickly. From day one, I have had nothing but good experiences with Goddard. My child continues her strong development, and is flourishing. I consider it a very strong endorsement when she can't wait to go in the morning, and doesn't want to leave in the evening. The few times I am able to pick her up early, she is quite upset and doesn't want to go home. I especially like how the days are structured around fun activities that keep the children involved and excited to learn. My daughter has been learning sign language, Spanish, and geography among other things. I can tell she is genuinely interested and excited to learn. Whenever we have had concerns or issues come up, the owner and director have been great at communicating with us in a timely manner. I cannot express the importance of peace of mind that I experience when I drop her off each day, that says it all! read more

We have 3 boys (ages 4.5, 3.5 & 20 months) enrolled here & have had an extremely positive experience. The teachers are much more experienced & energetic than your average daycare. They are creative, fun & truly care about our kids. The owner, Tana, is also onsite every day & is very hands-on. Five stars all around!!! read more

We can't say enough good things about the Goddard School. It's been a wonderful environment for our children and I feel they are overly prepared for Kindergarten and first grade. Highly highly recommend. read more

The only reason I'm giving then even one star is because I have to in order to post this review. I would not recommend this school to any parent looking for child care or anyone looking for a career change. The classrooms are always out of ratio which go against state guidelines. Chances are your child will always be placed in a different classroom everyday instead of the one you pay for as soon as you walk out of that building to start your day. They will keep enrolling new students and infants even while extremely understaffed. The staff to student ratio is terrible. Instead of closing a class that they can't staff they stick teachers over ratio with more kids than that teacher can even handle. Not to mention putting children who are younger in older classrooms once the parents leave. Vice versa. While working for this company, we have been told not to tell parents or new employees anything but only good things about the school and it's extremely unethical considering how many ILLEGAL things happen there on a day to day basis. Your child will probably never get seconds whether he/she asks or not. They do not bring enough food for even one serving per child. The children are always very hungry by the end of the day when their parents pick them up. The school does not follow the disciplinary code for kids who are violent or physical to their classmates. I personally have witnessed certain children leave bruises and make other classmates bleed and the school did absolutely nothing over and over again. We've had very many employees leave in the last three months alone. Mostly new teachers not being trained and instead thrown into a classroom with no training at all. The management or administration is absolutely unprofessional and acts very unethical or inappropriate when it comes to behind the scenes (meaning when parents are gone). I worked here while pregnant (quit when I was 8 months). The classroom I was in was exposed to many illnesses, viruses, and a case of pink eye, and none of the parents were told or warned. I personally could not afford to put myself into that position of stress, anxiety and possible illness that late in pregnancy. None of the employees were communicated to about any sickness. Hours wise, they will push you out before your set 8 hours are through (giving you less than 8 hours) in your work day. I personally never worked overtime because of the fact many different employees had missing overtime hours on their paystub via end of pay period meaning tons of money missing from their check. All in all, I would never bring my own child here for education and care. It's very hard to work for a preschool/daycare where I personally would never bring my own child to. It's a very money hungry franchise and I wish I could have talked to my previous students parents about these issues and warned them before I left because it's not okay at all and they should be held reliable. Children are so important and guiding them/teaching them is so rewarding and unfortunately this school doesn't progress children, it pushes them back forcing them to not learn properly while also not letting the faculty teach properly. read more

Worst experience ever. The Goddard School has a reputation that is synotamas with the top early child development centers in the country. Because our child "only two and a half years old" did not fit into the schools standards that puts every child in the same catagory not allowing for individualism; thus creating an atmosphere that is not any better than an at home daycare with a much more exuberant amout of cost. Instead of putting a label on a child and telling his mother "We do not see any improvement, with out improvement we will have to dismiss you son from our school." We have since taken him to multiple specialist, all of which have said " there is nothing wrong with him, if anything he if further along than he is supposed to be . He just thinks for himself and requires a non-traditional approach to learning." Simply put..... he was board at your school, and Goddard is unwilling and understaffed to provide the excellance in education you would expect from over a $12,000 year school. read more