The Goddard School of Apex (Green Level West), Apex | Fees, Rankings, Address, Admission, Vacancies, Reviews & More

Edited for full details:
Poor communication from the office staff/owners:
When my son transitioned from formula to whole milk, which the school provides, we discussed with the teacher that we would no longer be packing milk. The next day the teacher was absent so the stand-in’s weren’t sure if he should be having whole milk; They asked the office and the office staff said they would call us for clarification. Instead of calling, they just gave my son water that day, when milk is his main source of calories. They said to us at pick up “We gave him water because we didn’t want him to starve”.

When I spoke to the owners they said they were not aware this ever happened. I asked who would be in charge of notifying them of these incidents and they said the office staff. I asked why the office staff would ever tell the owners if they made this kind of mistake and they said ‘We have great communication with our office’, yet they remained unaware of this incident until I brought it up.

My son has been bitten 4 times by the same child. When he was bit the first time we were not notified in any way. He came home with deep red marks on his arm. After sending photos and asking what happened we received information days later. When I spoke to the owners they tried to excuse the poor communication by stating they had fired the teacher for not filling out incident reports. However, the teacher did fill out an incident report for this and the office signed off on it. We were told that when a bite occurs the child will be shadowed, but my son was bitten two days in a row from the same child. They said teachers don’t have time to shadow the child enough (which to me implies they are short staffed).

When I mentioned how we have no insight into the classrooms because there are no cameras for viewing, they mention that teachers take pictures through the day and update the app with the children’s activities. So I am to believe the teachers don’t have the bandwidth to shadow a repeat biter, but have time to take photos of every child and get on a tablet to update parents on each child’s activities through the day?

Which brings me to the next point: The office/owners do not appear to communicate clearly with the teachers and seem to treat them very poorly. The teacher in my son’s room was well liked by my son and we often saw her alone in the full classroom. After firing her its unfortunate they would try to blame poor communication on her when it was the office that failed to call us on two major incidents.
Another teacher in my son’s previous classroom was also fired due to an administrative error around vacation.

The teachers were the only good thing about this school and they seem to be either thrown under the bus or fired instead of addressing the core issue, which is communication from the office.

This is an exceptional daycare highlighted by the incredible people who care for and teach the kids. We’ve had kids in 3 different daycares in the West Cary area and this is the best by far, even with the other 2 being impressively run and staffed as well. Facilities are sharply maintained, kid-centered, and allow for an easy flow of parents and students throughout dropoff and pickup. Communication is crystal clear and not overwhelmingly frequent while teachers take time whenever possible to provide in-person updates, ask questions and share what they’re seeing from your child, and most of all manage their classrooms well. Snacks are provided, classrooms are clean, play area equipment is engaging and the administrative team are sharp and on top of things. The true test? When your kid is ill or hurt (my kid had an accident) and you see (a) how they treat them immediately, (b) how they communicate + document what happened, and (c) how they follow up. Great daycare, wonderful people (barely any turnover observed in the nearly year we’ve attended, which is unheard of in the daycare industry given hiring competition from other industries). The Goddard app (Family Hub) is effective and reliable too- a plus given other schools’ struggles with bad software/apps.

Warning: We registered our child and were told that we had to pay registration fee ($200) and first month ($1700). We were verbally told if we chose to withdraw before the school year, the registration fee is non refundable but the first month will be. When we unregistered afterwards, they refused to refund both payments and claimed “it was in the paperwork” but they specifically told us only the registration fee would not be refundable. We are very upset about being lied to by the owners of this preschool and for their refusal to admit their wrongdoings. Our child did not attend a single day and they kept $1900.