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Type | School (Private) |
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Industry | Franchise: Childhood Care and Education |
Founded | 1988 in King of Prussia, PA, USA |
Key people | Joe Schumacher, Chairman of the Board; Dennis Maple President & CEO; Bob Scopinich, CFO |
Owner | Wind River Holdings |
Website | www |
The Goddard School is an early childhood education provider with more than 500 franchised Schools in 37 states and hundreds of markets, including the Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, and St. Louis markets. Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI) franchises The Goddard School from its headquarters in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
The Goddard School was founded in 1983 with an opening date of September 1984 by Lois Goddard Haines. The logo used by later owners features the original carousel horse, which Ms. Haines had installed in the entrance hall of the original school. The school was located at 250 Paoli Pike, Malvern, Pennsylvania.
The Goddard School was the first childcare center to obtain licenses from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Department of Public Welfare to serve as a model to elevate the standard of care and early childhood education.
The original Goddard School augmented the daily curriculum with art, theater, music, garden to table, and made use of traveling programs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Please Touch Museum, and the Franklin Institute.
The school served children from two years and seven months through kindergarten with a student-to-teacher ratio of 3:1.
The Goddard School was sold to Joseph Scandone et al. in 1988.
In 1988, Anthony A. Martino, founder of the AAMCO Transmissions and MAACO Auto Painting and Bodyworks franchises, established Carousel Systems, Inc. to offer Goddard Early Learning Center childcare and preschool franchises. Goddard Early Learning Centers became the Goddard School in 1993. In 1996, Philip Schumacher became president of Carousel Systems. [1] In 1999, the 100th Goddard School opened in Pickerington, Ohio.
Wind River Holdings, LP, acquired the franchise assets of Carousel Systems in 2002 and continued franchising Carousel Systems as Goddard Systems, Inc. [2] The first West Coast Goddard School opened the same year in Portland, Oregon. The 200th Goddard School opened in Vancouver, Washington, in 2005. In 2007, Joe Schumacher, who had represented the company as outside counsel for 20 years, joined GSI as the chief operating officer. The following year, the 300th Goddard School opened in Centennial, Colorado. Joe Schumacher became president and CEO in 2010. In 2013, the 400th Goddard School opened in Highland Heights, Ohio, and the Goddard School celebrated its 25th anniversary by raising more than $188,000 for Ronald McDonald House Charities in one month. [3] In June 2019, the 500th Goddard School opened in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. In September of the same year, Dennis R. Maple became president and CEO, and Joe Schumacher became chairman of GSI’s board of directors.
GSI was named the number one childcare franchise in the United States by Entrepreneur magazine for the fifteenth consecutive year (January 2016) [4] and one of the Top 200 Franchise Systems (in worldwide sales) by Franchise Times for the tenth consecutive year (October 2016). [5]
GSI received AdvancED Corporation Accreditation in January 2009 and Middle States Corporate Accreditation in 2012. Many schools have achieved or are pursuing individual school accreditation with AdvancED, the Middle States Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and/or individual state accreditation programs.
The Goddard School Quality Assurance (QA) program measures each Goddard School against internal standards. The Goddard QA team makes unannounced visits and provides guidance.
In 2011, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national organization that advocates for 21st century readiness for students, named GSI a Strategic Council Member. [6]
The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) approved Goddard Systems University (GSU), which provides ongoing training for Goddard School teachers, as an Authorized Provider.
Each Goddard School is independently owned and operated by franchisees. These franchisees receive training at GSI’s corporate office in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania before opening their Schools. GSI provides franchisees with ongoing support in real estate, site development, operations, IT, marketing, advertising, quality assurance and training.
The Goddard School has opened metro or downtown locations in several cities, including Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; Wilmington, Delaware; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and New York, New York.
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