We entrusted our 2-year-old son to The Goddard School in Springfield, IL, hoping for a nurturing, attentive environment. Unfortunately, our experience was heartbreaking and ultimately traumatic for our child and family.
On June 30, 2025, our son came home with three to four distinct bite marks on his leg and a facial abrasion. The school did not call for medical help or inform us immediately. We had to personally take him to urgent care, where he was treated with antibiotics and topical ointment. Photographs and medical records document the extent of these injuries.
This incident is part of a pattern of concerning supervision issues. On several past occasions, we found our son crying inconsolably in the classroom while staff members appeared disengaged or inattentive. One particularly troubling incident occurred when we were just 2 minutes late dropping him off. The teacher said they'd give him breakfast, but when we picked him up, he was visibly distressed and repeatedly pointed to his mouth, crying for food--clearly he had not been fed for hours.
Goddard's own supervision policy states that staff should be "within sight and hearing of the child at all times" and "able to intervene to protect the health and safety of the child." The injuries and neglect we experienced make it painfully clear these standards were not followed.
Since this incident, our son has become fearful of other children, hesitant around strangers, and deeply anxious about attending daycare. This has caused emotional trauma, disrupted our ability to work, and forced us to find emergency childcare.
We have formally filed a complaint with DCFS, who visited our home and confirmed visible injuries over 24 hours after the incident. Despite our efforts to resolve the matter directly and through corporate, we received no meaningful accountability or apology from the school's leadership.
I share this not out of anger, but to protect other families from going through the same ordeal. The Goddard name should stand for safety and quality--but our experience failed on both fronts. read more