The Goddard School

This is only my son’s second week at Goddard. He seems to be really enjoying it and face-​to-​face interactions with the staff have been great. The email updates through the day and report at the end of the day have really helped me with his transition into daycare.
However, I am trying to pay my bill and, even though they took my card for the downpayment, and I was told just yesterday that I could pay online, they refuse to take cards. My husband and I both have a significant amount taken out of our pay for our dependent care flexible spending accounts. They come with these convenient little cards that everyone else takes… except Goddard. I was just told they are prohibited from taking payments from FSA’s. I’m feeling more than a little frustrated. I hate having unpaid bills, but do not have the amount of cash laying around to pay double this month and then wait around for goodness knows how long for a refund.
It seems to me like they don’t want to pay costs associated with taking cards and were feeding me a line thinking I am uninformed. Most places would just charge a few dollars extra as an administrative fee, which would be perfectly reasonable. Being lied to about 1– accepting cards and 2– FSA cards not being a viable form of payment is absurd.
If you’re considering this location, just be informed of their payment limitations.

«We found the curriculum to be rigorous yet playful and developmentally appropriate, the teachers to be warm and loving and inspiring, and the administration to be extremely proactive and accommodating to ensure that this school experience was the best possible opportunity for our child. I would HIGHLY recommend this school to everyone, and are sad we had to leave.»

This school is as good as it gets. My grandson spent two years at Goddard before going to Elementary School, trust me if Goddard went through Junior High he would still be there. He learned so much while attending those two years and is excelling in regular school because of the hard work from the teachers and staff at the school. They have a truly high standard when it comes to educating our children and my grandson was so blessed to be able to spend the time that he did at this school. He has just finished Summer Camp 2015 at Goddard and he thoroughly enjoyed it, he got up positive about going every day and hopefully will return in 2016.
If you are considering sending your child (ren) to this school don’t consider any more do it trust me you won’t regret it, your child (ren) will thrive in this environment.
Good luck in all your future endeavours Goddard! Look forward to seeing you next year.
Joan

Moved from Emerson to Goddard and we LOVE Goddard. We already see a huge difference and my daughter has only advanced with the change in schools! So happy with our change to Goddard and wish we would had done it sooner!

I am very happy that my son goes to this school. Some of my favorite parts about this is it is a school, not a daycare. I love how my son comes home singing new songs, learning yoga poses, how he is writing his name. He is with Ms. Melissa and Ms. Iris. They have taught him so much. I am looking forward to other years at The Goddard school in Round Rock with the owner Mr. Ryan, all the wonderful staff.

My husband and I enrolled our daughter into the Goddard School on Gattis at the beginning of April 2014. We are very excited for her, as she is meeting new friends and enjoys very much «going to school». We were worried at first that she may be too difficult or «stubborn» for the new caretakers in her life as she stayed at home with Daddy for 17 months. It took her about a week and a half to get used to the transition. She never cries as I leave her in the morning, in fact she waved at a woman who takes care of her in the morning «before» hours. She is so happy!!! She feels like a big girl and I feel she is truly thriving already and it’s only been three weeks. I am excited to see her grow and learn. I do not trust very easily, and this environment was a no-​brainer for me. This place is very very strict and secure with picking up and dropping off your child, they have a very clean facility. I appreciate all the lighting they have available, it’s nice to walk in a building and be able to see everyone, and everything. I could go on and on about what I like regarding the people we have chosen to care for our child. I do not have anything bad to say or even think about The Goddard School. I will recommend the institution to everyone I know having a child soon. If you are anything like me I have a ton of questions ALL the time, so I have found that the three times I have called two of the times was for the teacher checking on my daughter and she was super helpful and encouraging. The last time I called was an admin question. Ryan was very helpful and friendly and I feel even better about having my child here.

We LOVE the Round Rock Goddard! Ever since our daughter Olivia joined almost 2 years ago, she has progressed so much in her language, communication skills and general knowledge! We are happy we gave her the right start from the beginning. The Goddard school is not cheap, but it is totally worth it! I have been raving about the Round Rock Goddard and will always recommend it to our friends and family. The staff, including Mr. Ryan and Ms. Lauren, as well as the teachers, are very friendly, accessible and easy to talk to.

Researching my reviews, you will see we have been at a Goddard for almost five years. We started at the Goddard in Pflugerville, which we loved, and moved to the Goddard on Gattis because it was very close to our house. We reviewed and talked with the staff of Goddard on Gattis and were a little put off by the business nature (meaning our kids were seen as money, not kids to teach and play with) but we felt it was not an issue as the teachers were what we wanted, approachable, considerate, educated. After all, they would be teaching our kids, not the admin staff.
After almost two years, we are no longer interested in dealing with the admin staff, including the owner. We have always asked questions and wanted to know what the school was doing because we want to be on the same page. If our children are doing something well, we want to know what the school is doing to encourage it so we can do the same. If our children are doing poorly, same thing, let’s be on the same page so we can encourage good choices.
A few months ago, our four year old came home talking about having to hide and be quiet at school and that strangers are now scary. We were alarmed and asked more questions until we realized it must have been an intruder drill. This was the first we heard about it. The next day we asked the admin staff about the drill and they provided details (including security procedure which I thought was a bad choice of sharing). I asked why it was not announced to the parents as we would want to encourage and prepare the kids as well. Their response was «Well, public schools don’t announce drills». Goddard is not a public school. They are a highly rated (and expensive) early childhood development school. When I explained this was not good enough, they just blankly looked at me and did not understand why I would be concerned. I approached the teachers and they seem to have different details about the procedure than was explained to me by the admin staff. There is a disconnect.
About a month ago, my four year old was having trouble in class. The teachers explained my child was not listening to instructions and having some trouble getting along with other kids. A discussion with the teacher revealed that my child was bored and asked us to bring in school books. We liked the suggestion and brought in pre-​k, First and Second grade school books which provided immediate relief. My four year old’s reports were more positive. The teachers explained that my child might be a better fit for the next level pre-​k class so I approached the admin staff. It was explained to me that all the pre-​k classes are the same and that moving classes would not resolve anything. I was dissatisfied with this answer so again I approached the teachers for their point of view. It is definitely believed that there is a different skill level in each class and that my four year old should be moved up. Another disconnect between admin and teachers.
Just yesterday, my four year old was telling me that friends are no longer in class. Turns out they have been moved up. The teachers were confused why other children were being moved up and not ours.
I will put more stock into what I am told by teachers rather than what I am told by the admins because the teachers are in the trenches, they see the children every day. Also, my experience with the admin staff including the owner has not been positive which is why this review is low. I really want to rate this Goddard two stars however the admins have changed communication policies after our discussions and I really do like the teachers.
Teachers: 4 stars
Admin: 2 stars
I am thrilled other parents and children have such a positive experience. It is great when you find a fit. However, if you are like us, this Goddard will not be a good fit.

It’s a great school to start of the little ones all the way to probably fourth grade they are expanding with the we need to be probably finished by the end of this the spring of 2013 this could have been great my son has been here since the age of what is a half and he is now in kindergarden.

LOVE LOVE LOVE The Round Rock Goddard school!!! Ryan and the staff have been outstanding. My son looks forward to going to school every morning and to me when your child WANTS to go to school and ALWAYS talks about how much he loves his teachers and friends that should tell you something. The curriculum is by far the best I have seen in a daycare setting. I used in work in a few daycares for about 10 years and I would highly recommend The Round Rock Goddard School to parents with children of any age!!!

My two children attended Goddard for the last few years and our experience has been incredibly positive. The school is clean, with covered play areas (so great for those hot Texas summer days) and an awesome gym for indoor play. We experienced minimal staff turn over, an important element and is so rare for preschool, daycare centers. The teachers stayed long enough where my kids, who are 18mos apart, had the same teachers, as one graduates and the other enters. It was great that we were able to have a long term relationship with the teachers and they got to know us as family. Ryan, who is the owner, is incredibly professional, supportive and easy to work with. He is responsive to my email and phone calls and knows all the children by their name. Both my children started when they were 3 years old. My daughter has been at home, so Goddard was her first school experience. I was really dreading that first week. She joined Ms. Laura’s class and she was incredible. She held my daughter and walked her around the class each morning that first week until my daughter stopped crying and eased her in the class routine. Knowing I was anxious, Ms. Laura gave me a thorough report each day on my daughter’s progress. After 2 years, my daughter still talks about her first teacher, Ms. Laura. and how much she loves her. My son had attended another preschool so didn’t have an issue with the transition. Both my kids love it at Goddard.
Overall, the school has been terrific and my family is grateful for the care they provided for our children. I have recommended Goddard to my closest friends and will continue to do so.

From the first moment that i contacted Goddard to the first time I dropped my little man off for school, i have had nothing but great communication from the owners and staff. I had viewed many schools/daycare’s leading up to our decision to put our child in Goddard and the main reason we chose them would be comfort in leaving our first child with them, cleanliness of the facility, and the challenging curriculum. Miss Liz called us on our child’s first day in school, which was very hard for us as first time parents, to let us know what our son was doing and how he was acclimating to his new environment. These are the kinds of personal touches that we have grown used to over the months our son has been with the Goddard school. Being around the other children has encouraged our child to excel much further than we could have expected in crawling sooner, walking early and being noticeably further ahead than other children from other schools that we spend time with. All around great school with nothing but great things to say.

We moved to Goddard from Primrose over 2 years ago and we are very happy with our choice and do not have any regrets. We have 2 children in the school and both ask to go and sometimes are even upset if we pick them up prior to gym time (which is so nice to have during hot TX summers). We have seen some staff turn over, as you do in any daycare setting of this type, especially with all the new schools popping up. But the key difference is my children always know their caretakers, and are comfortable. The turn over is at an acceptable/​below avg rate compared to others and I believe a lot of this has to do with happy and well compensated lead teachers and ongoing evaluations. Also, I have seen the management even step up to recruit some of their teachers back when they can. We are pleased with the feedback and time any teacher, director, owner will give us to address our concerns. Icing on the cake would be if they included lunches but they do have the option through a paid 3^rd party.

I totally agree with the above reviewer (Jen). Sadly I had the same experience when I was looking for daycare for my twins early last year. I initially sent a query through the email and Ryan (the owner) called me back that day. When I asked him about the rates, he avoided the subject by telling me how great the school program is then he asked me to set up a time to visit the school in which he believed I will be blown away and whatever it is, it will worth the cost. I declined because to me, what’s the point to visit if it’s going to be over my budget. He seemed very pushy to me and sorry, I was trying to look for daycare for my twins, not buying a car!

Wow, what RUDE people!
I need to put my little on in daycare so I called over to the school to check the tuition rates as well as some information about their program. Those people were INCREDIBLY RUDE on the phone. They said «we encourage people to come in and discuss our tuition with us as we are competitive with the others». I’m sorry but if I can’t get simple information on the phone and be treated nicely, I will NOT be bringing my child there to be treated the same way.
Beware, if you call them, you will leave the conversation feeling like they were trying to stomp on you and hide information from you. I don’t recommend it at all.

Simply wonderful! Our 2 children went to Goddard and adored everything about it. Before joining Goddard, our son spent a year at Primrose and we were totally disappointed by that experience. As soon as Goddard opened its doors we enrolled our son and he immediately blossomed. The teachers are wonderful, friendly, nurturing and come with a lot of experience. Their classes are structured but they also remember that children need to play and have fun too. The environment is beautiful and always very clean. Our family has always been treated with kindness and respect and our children will keep fond memories of their preschool years. I would recommend Goddard to anyone who wants their children to start school with a positive experience