The Goddard School opens in Downtown Pittsburgh
Parents who live or work in Downtown Pittsburgh now have a new choice for child care. The Goddard School recently opened its first inner-city location at Piatt Place on Fifth Avenue.
The new 13,000-square-foot educational child care facility is currently enrolling children from six weeks to six years old. Open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., The Goddard School will offer infant, toddler, preschool and pre-K programs, with part-time and summer options available for certain age groups.
Each of the location’s 10 classrooms is staffed by bachelor’s level teachers–with a staff-to-child ratio varying from 1:4 in infant rooms to 1:10 in pre-K rooms. The facility also boasts an 1,800-square-foot indoor play space with a retractable glass garage door, “bringing the outdoors in” for children who need a breath of fresh air.
The Downtown franchise fully integrates The Goddard School’s philosophy, focusing on “hands-on, interactive learning for the whole child,” according to Matt Speranza, owner and managing partner of the new location. Special emphasis is placed on age-appropriate STEAM and technology integration, language acquisition and yoga and other wellness practices.
“Our two-year-olds might be exploring STEAM through stacking cups to build things,” says Speranza. “But as they grow, we integrate the same concepts in more mature, age-appropriate ways.” Dina Speranza, his wife and co-owner, alludes to an upcoming project where pre-K classes will utilize SMART boards to communicate with military personnel in Bahrain–and then create handmade art projects to send to their pen pals the old-fashioned way.
The Goddard School has locations in over 40 states with seven in the Pittsburgh region, including centers in Cranberry and Moon Township–both of which are also franchised by the Speranzas. “We were hearing from parents who live in Cranberry that it was difficult for them to drop off their children at child care in the suburbs, and make it Downtown to work on time,” says Speranza. “We wanted to make it more convenient for these parents to find quality child care near where they work.”
Meeting the needs of individual families is of paramount importance to the Speranzas, who welcome parents to stop in for lunch, nurse their babies or check in with teachers, who are also required to send email updates to parents each day. “There is a renaissance happening in Pittsburgh right now,” says Speranza. “We want to support the young families who are increasingly choosing to live and work in this city.”
Curious about cost? So were we. Unfortunately, The Goddard School does not publicly release pricing information; however, the Speranzas were able to disclose that “our tuition rates begin as low as $445 with multiple schedule options to choose from.”
Interested in checking out The Goddard School’s new Downtown location? There will be an Open House from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5 where families can explore classrooms, meet teachers, enjoy refreshments, take photos with The Ice Queen and more. The Best of the Batch Foundation will also award a $10,000 scholarship to one pre-kindergarten student facing financial hardship.
Featured photo: The Goddard School in Downtown Pittsburgh, Photo courtesy of The Goddard School
