As my son approaches his preschool graduation from the Goddard School in Wake Forest, I have had some time to reflect on his experience at this wonderful school. Prior to attending Goddard, we had a terrible experience at one of the larger, corporate daycares. At three years old, my poor little guy was sobbing on the way to this prior school and I felt terrible leaving him there. I quickly researched other options and arranged a tour with Goddard's owner, Tom. My first impressions of the school were so positive. Over the past two years Goddard has managed to surpass all of my expectations. The building is warm, cheerful, and extraordinarily clean. The rooms do not reek of disinfectant, as I have found in other preschools. There are ample toys, games and books, but the rooms are not overwhelmingly packed; plenty of room for free play for the children. The outside area has huge umbrellas to shade the children on hot days and a lot of safe, sturdy play equipment.
My father was in law enforcement, so I am always looking for the loopholes in security. This is one of the biggest advantages of Goddard in Wake Forest. The school is separated from Rogers Road by a trench that would be insurmountable by a car, even if one happened to stray from the road. In addition to black wrought iron fencing, the school maintains lovely bushes and trees that make the schoolyard nearly imperceptible by passing traffic. When entering the lobby through the main door, there are windows into the two offices - one belonging to the owner and the other for the director and assistant director. Beyond the windows is the secured door to enter the school. Almost every day the owner Tom is in the lobby greeting each parent and child as they enter the school. This is the highest level of security to me. As polite parents, we know how often it seems correct to hold the door open for another parent - regardless of security concerns. Tom ensures that this does not happen during the busiest time periods by acting as gatekeeper for the school. The same level of security applies during the most important part of the day - picking up your child. My son's grandparents came by to pick him up one afternoon and they were asked to provide ID, in order for Goddard to release my son to them. Even though his grandparents may have been familiar faces, the Goddard staff does not take chances with your child.
I am a high school English teacher, so my expectations for his learning goals were very high, in addition to the loving care and safety Goddard provides. The teachers provide structure and learning activities, but do not quash the children's inherent curiosity to explore. The teachers maintain a portfolio of student work and also provide daily reports on the activities for the day. This allows parents to discuss and extend the learning that happens in the classroom. My son can be quite shy, but the teachers always find ways to coax him out of his shell without pressure. He is very proud of his accomplishments and has many positive comments to share at the end of every day. I have great relationships with all of his teachers and they always share any concerns with me the day that the concern arises. I am certain that his growth in this positive educational environment will help him so much when he enters kindergarten next year.
My son has had a wonderful experience at Goddard in Wake Forest. He loves his teachers and has made good friends with his little buddies in his class. I was very worried that when I went back to work I would have to feel guilty about how my son spends the majority of his days. I feel so lucky that we found this preschool, because he always looks forward to going to school. And, I have never once felt "mommy guilt" when dropping him off. This positive experience will likely have a life-long impact on my son's overall approach to school and learning. read more
