Feedback on Goddard School Bethesda

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not a belief for me; my kid actually goes to a Goddard School and we love it. It's literally my experience.

It's not fair to generalize about an entire company based on a sock puppet who represents one franchise, but if that's what you're committed to doing, I can't stop you.

Your post sounds real. It is not 20 over the top very formal sentences. My kids went to Goddard School King Farm for a while. It was fine. There were things we liked and things we didn't. We moved on but would not dissuade others from sending their kids. It was reliable. I laughed when I read the sentences about the ratios. Yes, KF was always in ratio. As soon as a kid left, they quickly combined available classrooms and sent staff home. It was definitely a business. Our next center was more homey and would never cut a staff's hours/pluck kids into a different classroom just because Billy got picked up early. Please know my info is dated KF might have different policies now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not a belief for me; my kid actually goes to a Goddard School and we love it. It's literally my experience.

It's not fair to generalize about an entire company based on a sock puppet who represents one franchise, but if that's what you're committed to doing, I can't stop you.

Your post sounds real. It is not 20 over the top very formal sentences. My kids went to Goddard School King Farm for a while. It was fine. There were things we liked and things we didn't. We moved on but would not dissuade others from sending their kids. It was reliable. I laughed when I read the sentences about the ratios. Yes, KF was always in ratio. As soon as a kid left, they quickly combined available classrooms and sent staff home. It was definitely a business. Our next center was more homey and would never cut a staff's hours/pluck kids into a different classroom just because Billy got picked up early. Please know my info is dated KF might have different policies now.

PP here. Sure, makes sense.

We haven’t had turnover so far at Goddard Gaithersburg or had the staffing practices you mentioned. Of course classrooms are combined when kids leave, but I think that’s standard for a center.

Anyway, it’s a franchise business model, so I think people’s experiences likely really vary by franchise. We are lucky that our franchise is well run. Perhaps the Bethesda one isn’t — I don’t know.

[Anonymous]

What’s a sock puppet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s a sock puppet?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)

[Anonymous]

I was an original family at Goddard Bethesda. We stuck it out after all our friends but finally left and I am so glad we did.

The good: nice clean facilities, other nice families. We have made many, many close friends at Goddard. Occasionally you get a great teacher. The care in the infant rooms is much better than the care in the 12+ month rooms. The summer camp has good activities and enrichment.

The bad: I could go on and on about tons of specific and concerning incidents, but I don’t want to out myself (sadly, saying we were a long time family who finally left after trying really hard to make it work applies to many families). I will say that I would never recommended Goddard to a friend. Everyone I know who left is much happier at their new school. For those who have stayed, they all complain about the same shit (As those who left): an owner who is only focused on profit, constant staff turnover (much more than is typical in this part of Bethesda), uneven quality of teachers(some quite poor), poor curriculum, and drama with the staff who are there.

I have some minor stuff which I think might matter to some folks: even thought the ratios are the same for all schools, the larger class sizes really mean one teacher is leading the group while the other teachers are peripherally involved. So 1:6 ratio in a class of 12 ends up being more like 1:12. Also while the playground is nice, it too much too small for the number of kids who use it at one time. The curriculum is mostly arts and crafts, and much less academic than my friends and I have found at other preschools for pre-K level. Baby rooms were sometime out of ratio during drop off as I think management was trying to tightly manage staff time. But if I dropped my kid off 20 min early then they didn’t have enough staff to cover in the mornings.

There have been multiple complaints by multiple families to the Goddard franchise, which I don’t think is typical. There have been nasty rumors about the owner and staff (which I hope are not true), there have been rumors about staff being let go for being physical with the kids (which I believe to be true). The owner is petty and vindictive and so were the directors when I was there (not sure if they are still there).

I know there are happy families at Goddard, but there are many, many more unhappy families and many, many families like mine who left but just stay quiet because the owner and staff are nasty, and frankly, i don’t really want to think about them anymore.

I would also strongly caution anyone who believes positive reviews which are glowing. No one I know at Goddard doesn’t realize it has some major problems, they just think the balance is worth it.

Happy to provide evidence to Jeff we were a longtime family there.

[Anonymous]

When did you leave? Recently? We’re looking there now if my SO doesn’t get laid off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was an original family at Goddard Bethesda. We stuck it out after all our friends but finally left and I am so glad we did.

The good: nice clean facilities, other nice families. We have made many, many close friends at Goddard. Occasionally you get a great teacher. The care in the infant rooms is much better than the care in the 12+ month rooms. The summer camp has good activities and enrichment.

The bad: I could go on and on about tons of specific and concerning incidents, but I don’t want to out myself (sadly, saying we were a long time family who finally left after trying really hard to make it work applies to many families). I will say that I would never recommended Goddard to a friend. Everyone I know who left is much happier at their new school. For those who have stayed, they all complain about the same shit (As those who left): an owner who is only focused on profit, constant staff turnover (much more than is typical in this part of Bethesda), uneven quality of teachers(some quite poor), poor curriculum, and drama with the staff who are there.

I have some minor stuff which I think might matter to some folks: even thought the ratios are the same for all schools, the larger class sizes really mean one teacher is leading the group while the other teachers are peripherally involved. So 1:6 ratio in a class of 12 ends up being more like 1:12. Also while the playground is nice, it too much too small for the number of kids who use it at one time. The curriculum is mostly arts and crafts, and much less academic than my friends and I have found at other preschools for pre-K level. Baby rooms were sometime out of ratio during drop off as I think management was trying to tightly manage staff time. But if I dropped my kid off 20 min early then they didn’t have enough staff to cover in the mornings.

There have been multiple complaints by multiple families to the Goddard franchise, which I don’t think is typical. There have been nasty rumors about the owner and staff (which I hope are not true), there have been rumors about staff being let go for being physical with the kids (which I believe to be true). The owner is petty and vindictive and so were the directors when I was there (not sure if they are still there).

I know there are happy families at Goddard, but there are many, many more unhappy families and many, many families like mine who left but just stay quiet because the owner and staff are nasty, and frankly, i don’t really want to think about them anymore.

I would also strongly caution anyone who believes positive reviews which are glowing. No one I know at Goddard doesn’t realize it has some major problems, they just think the balance is worth it.

Happy to provide evidence to Jeff we were a longtime family there.

Goddard Parent here. This is such a bunch of BS I can’t believe it. Just an FYI the school is full with like 180 kids! And full of happy parents ( like us )and children with outstanding, professional and certified staff. We were at a non profit down the street and left due to concerns over academic programming as we wanted our child to go to private K. We came to Goddard and were blown away by the warm, professional, warm teachers snd outstanding, caring leadership. Spanish, Chinese, Music and Movement, Piano, Literacy and all of the developmental activities that we needed to reach our high academic goals. Even now, our kids are learning in Daily Zoom classes, videos, lesson plans and this center also gave a responsible discount to offset the financial burden on families.

This is obviously a competitor who seemed to bring this thread back based on the time stamp or a parent that can’t get over themselves and is trying to do some negative PR for this school. You should always do your own research and I think you will find this school is top notch. Stop spreading lies and work with your child during the time it takes to write such BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an original family at Goddard Bethesda. We stuck it out after all our friends but finally left and I am so glad we did.

The good: nice clean facilities, other nice families. We have made many, many close friends at Goddard. Occasionally you get a great teacher. The care in the infant rooms is much better than the care in the 12+ month rooms. The summer camp has good activities and enrichment.

The bad: I could go on and on about tons of specific and concerning incidents, but I don’t want to out myself (sadly, saying we were a long time family who finally left after trying really hard to make it work applies to many families). I will say that I would never recommended Goddard to a friend. Everyone I know who left is much happier at their new school. For those who have stayed, they all complain about the same shit (As those who left): an owner who is only focused on profit, constant staff turnover (much more than is typical in this part of Bethesda), uneven quality of teachers(some quite poor), poor curriculum, and drama with the staff who are there.

I have some minor stuff which I think might matter to some folks: even thought the ratios are the same for all schools, the larger class sizes really mean one teacher is leading the group while the other teachers are peripherally involved. So 1:6 ratio in a class of 12 ends up being more like 1:12. Also while the playground is nice, it too much too small for the number of kids who use it at one time. The curriculum is mostly arts and crafts, and much less academic than my friends and I have found at other preschools for pre-K level. Baby rooms were sometime out of ratio during drop off as I think management was trying to tightly manage staff time. But if I dropped my kid off 20 min early then they didn’t have enough staff to cover in the mornings.

There have been multiple complaints by multiple families to the Goddard franchise, which I don’t think is typical. There have been nasty rumors about the owner and staff (which I hope are not true), there have been rumors about staff being let go for being physical with the kids (which I believe to be true). The owner is petty and vindictive and so were the directors when I was there (not sure if they are still there).

I know there are happy families at Goddard, but there are many, many more unhappy families and many, many families like mine who left but just stay quiet because the owner and staff are nasty, and frankly, i don’t really want to think about them anymore.

I would also strongly caution anyone who believes positive reviews which are glowing. No one I know at Goddard doesn’t realize it has some major problems, they just think the balance is worth it.

Happy to provide evidence to Jeff we were a longtime family there.

Goddard Parent here. This is such a bunch of BS I can’t believe it. Just an FYI the school is full with like 180 kids! And full of happy parents ( like us )and children with outstanding, professional and certified staff. We were at a non profit down the street and left due to concerns over academic programming as we wanted our child to go to private K. We came to Goddard and were blown away by the warm, professional, warm teachers snd outstanding, caring leadership. Spanish, Chinese, Music and Movement, Piano, Literacy and all of the developmental activities that we needed to reach our high academic goals. Even now, our kids are learning in Daily Zoom classes, videos, lesson plans and this center also gave a responsible discount to offset the financial burden on families.

This is obviously a competitor who seemed to bring this thread back based on the time stamp or a parent that can’t get over themselves and is trying to do some negative PR for this school. You should always do your own research and I think you will find this school is top notch. Stop spreading lies and work with your child during the time it takes to write such BS.

You seem more like an ad then the PP seems like a competitor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an original family at Goddard Bethesda. We stuck it out after all our friends but finally left and I am so glad we did.

The good: nice clean facilities, other nice families. We have made many, many close friends at Goddard. Occasionally you get a great teacher. The care in the infant rooms is much better than the care in the 12+ month rooms. The summer camp has good activities and enrichment.

The bad: I could go on and on about tons of specific and concerning incidents, but I don’t want to out myself (sadly, saying we were a long time family who finally left after trying really hard to make it work applies to many families). I will say that I would never recommended Goddard to a friend. Everyone I know who left is much happier at their new school. For those who have stayed, they all complain about the same shit (As those who left): an owner who is only focused on profit, constant staff turnover (much more than is typical in this part of Bethesda), uneven quality of teachers(some quite poor), poor curriculum, and drama with the staff who are there.

I have some minor stuff which I think might matter to some folks: even thought the ratios are the same for all schools, the larger class sizes really mean one teacher is leading the group while the other teachers are peripherally involved. So 1:6 ratio in a class of 12 ends up being more like 1:12. Also while the playground is nice, it too much too small for the number of kids who use it at one time. The curriculum is mostly arts and crafts, and much less academic than my friends and I have found at other preschools for pre-K level. Baby rooms were sometime out of ratio during drop off as I think management was trying to tightly manage staff time. But if I dropped my kid off 20 min early then they didn’t have enough staff to cover in the mornings.

There have been multiple complaints by multiple families to the Goddard franchise, which I don’t think is typical. There have been nasty rumors about the owner and staff (which I hope are not true), there have been rumors about staff being let go for being physical with the kids (which I believe to be true). The owner is petty and vindictive and so were the directors when I was there (not sure if they are still there).

I know there are happy families at Goddard, but there are many, many more unhappy families and many, many families like mine who left but just stay quiet because the owner and staff are nasty, and frankly, i don’t really want to think about them anymore.

I would also strongly caution anyone who believes positive reviews which are glowing. No one I know at Goddard doesn’t realize it has some major problems, they just think the balance is worth it.

Happy to provide evidence to Jeff we were a longtime family there.

Goddard Parent here. This is such a bunch of BS I can’t believe it. Just an FYI the school is full with like 180 kids! And full of happy parents ( like us )and children with outstanding, professional and certified staff. We were at a non profit down the street and left due to concerns over academic programming as we wanted our child to go to private K. We came to Goddard and were blown away by the warm, professional, warm teachers snd outstanding, caring leadership. Spanish, Chinese, Music and Movement, Piano, Literacy and all of the developmental activities that we needed to reach our high academic goals. Even now, our kids are learning in Daily Zoom classes, videos, lesson plans and this center also gave a responsible discount to offset the financial burden on families.

This is obviously a competitor who seemed to bring this thread back based on the time stamp or a parent that can’t get over themselves and is trying to do some negative PR for this school. You should always do your own research and I think you will find this school is top notch. Stop spreading lies and work with your child during the time it takes to write such BS.

You seem more like an ad then the PP seems like a competitor.

+1. The PP acknowledged some good with the bad. The last post was nothing but rainbows and puppy dogs.

I live very close to this Goddard and know a number of families who are or were there. I would say they aren’t quite as negative as the PP (although some of them have left, so that says something), but they certainly aren’t as positive as the last poster. Most seem to think it is ok, but they have had complaints about the owner specifically.

As for Goddard being full, that may be true. But we fairly regularly get flyers advertising the center and open houses it holds. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, of course. But this is an area where care is very hard to find and most places have overflowing waitlists. If that were their situation, I doubt they would take the expense to print and mail these flyers.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was an original family at Goddard Bethesda. We stuck it out after all our friends but finally left and I am so glad we did.

The good: nice clean facilities, other nice families. We have made many, many close friends at Goddard. Occasionally you get a great teacher. The care in the infant rooms is much better than the care in the 12+ month rooms. The summer camp has good activities and enrichment.

The bad: I could go on and on about tons of specific and concerning incidents, but I don’t want to out myself (sadly, saying we were a long time family who finally left after trying really hard to make it work applies to many families). I will say that I would never recommended Goddard to a friend. Everyone I know who left is much happier at their new school. For those who have stayed, they all complain about the same shit (As those who left): an owner who is only focused on profit, constant staff turnover (much more than is typical in this part of Bethesda), uneven quality of teachers(some quite poor), poor curriculum, and drama with the staff who are there.

I have some minor stuff which I think might matter to some folks: even thought the ratios are the same for all schools, the larger class sizes really mean one teacher is leading the group while the other teachers are peripherally involved. So 1:6 ratio in a class of 12 ends up being more like 1:12. Also while the playground is nice, it too much too small for the number of kids who use it at one time. The curriculum is mostly arts and crafts, and much less academic than my friends and I have found at other preschools for pre-K level. Baby rooms were sometime out of ratio during drop off as I think management was trying to tightly manage staff time. But if I dropped my kid off 20 min early then they didn’t have enough staff to cover in the mornings.

There have been multiple complaints by multiple families to the Goddard franchise, which I don’t think is typical. There have been nasty rumors about the owner and staff (which I hope are not true), there have been rumors about staff being let go for being physical with the kids (which I believe to be true). The owner is petty and vindictive and so were the directors when I was there (not sure if they are still there).

I know there are happy families at Goddard, but there are many, many more unhappy families and many, many families like mine who left but just stay quiet because the owner and staff are nasty, and frankly, i don’t really want to think about them anymore.

I would also strongly caution anyone who believes positive reviews which are glowing. No one I know at Goddard doesn’t realize it has some major problems, they just think the balance is worth it.

Happy to provide evidence to Jeff we were a longtime family there.

Goddard Parent here. This is such a bunch of BS I can’t believe it. Just an FYI the school is full with like 180 kids! And full of happy parents ( like us )and children with outstanding, professional and certified staff. We were at a non profit down the street and left due to concerns over academic programming as we wanted our child to go to private K. We came to Goddard and were blown away by the warm, professional, warm teachers snd outstanding, caring leadership. Spanish, Chinese, Music and Movement, Piano, Literacy and all of the developmental activities that we needed to reach our high academic goals. Even now, our kids are learning in Daily Zoom classes, videos, lesson plans and this center also gave a responsible discount to offset the financial burden on families.

This is obviously a competitor who seemed to bring this thread back based on the time stamp or a parent that can’t get over themselves and is trying to do some negative PR for this school. You should always do your own research and I think you will find this school is top notch. Stop spreading lies and work with your child during the time it takes to write such BS.

As the posters above have suggested, this post is more than likely from a Goddard shill. Just like the earlier post in this thread that I flagged, the poster pretty much made a beeline for this thread. The poster has no visible history of posting here other than this post and one other in which the poster stated that many parents on this site are "unappreciative jerks". That post was in response to posts critical of preschools charging full tuition while holding zoom sessions (in other words, criticisms that likely apply to Goddard).

[Anonymous]

"That post was in response to posts critical of preschools charging full tuition while holding zoom sessions (in other words, criticisms that likely apply to Goddard)."

Jeff, I am a parent at Goddard Gaithersburg. While I don't doubt you're right that there are schills here, please don't make assumptions.

Goddard King Farm is offering 50% off tuition.

Our location is offering 30% off and is charging nothing to essential personnel who are sending their children (as the location is an approved EPCC center).

So please don't spread misinformation.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:"That post was in response to posts critical of preschools charging full tuition while holding zoom sessions (in other words, criticisms that likely apply to Goddard)."

Jeff, I am a parent at Goddard Gaithersburg. While I don't doubt you're right that there are schills here, please don't make assumptions.

Goddard King Farm is offering 50% off tuition.

Our location is offering 30% off and is charging nothing to essential personnel who are sending their children (as the location is an approved EPCC center).

So please don't spread misinformation.

Do you know if such discounts are being offered by the Bethesda location? That is the one being discussed here.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"That post was in response to posts critical of preschools charging full tuition while holding zoom sessions (in other words, criticisms that likely apply to Goddard)."

Jeff, I am a parent at Goddard Gaithersburg. While I don't doubt you're right that there are schills here, please don't make assumptions.

Goddard King Farm is offering 50% off tuition.

Our location is offering 30% off and is charging nothing to essential personnel who are sending their children (as the location is an approved EPCC center).

So please don't spread misinformation.

Do you know if such discounts are being offered by the Bethesda location? That is the one being discussed here.

I don't, but you referenced "Goddard," so it was unclear if you were referring to just the Bethesda location, or all of them.

[Anonymous]

Can the Goddard Bethesda poster, whether it is a parent or the owner, shed light on how they are treating tuition during the pandemic?

[Anonymous]

They are full, and I’m sure the Open Houses are to fill their upcoming spots for summer and next year. And before anyone starts policing me, I am a parent just looking to find care for my son. I know for a fact that competing schools give incentives for shit-talking other schools, Goddard Bethesda being one of them because my neighbor told me that she was offered an incentive and all she had to do was post on Facebook about goddard and two other schools. That’s some pretty shitty marketing ploys right there. Anonymity is fun because you can’t get caught but if you want the truth, ask to speak to some of their families no matter where you go.