The Goddard School, a national early childhood education and day care franchise, plans to open a new location in Cheshire this summer, becoming its 17th site in Connecticut.
The Goddard School of Cheshire will be located at 104 Stonebridge Court in a new 12,000-square-foot facility designed to serve approximately 160 children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 6 years old.
A groundbreaking event was held this week for the new site.
The facility will include 13 classrooms, an indoor gym and multiple outdoor playgrounds, the company said.
The school is owned by Lauren Smallwood, a franchisee who also owns The Goddard School of South Windsor. Smallwood is partnering with Sydney Banks, a former preschool teacher at the South Windsor location, who will serve as the on-site operator in Cheshire.
Banks said her experience as an educator and a parent influenced her decision to help bring the school’s approach to early childhood education to the area.
The Cheshire location is expected to create more than 40 teaching and staff positions.
The school will offer a range of programs, including music, dance and martial arts. It will also be equipped with hospital-grade sanitization systems, a feature the company says is designed to promote a healthy learning environment.
In addition to the Cheshire and South Windsor locations, The Goddard School also has facilities in Brookfield, Danbury, Darien, Fairfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Monroe, Newington, Orange, Rocky Hill, Shelton, Simsbury, Stamford, Westport and Wilton.
The Goddard School serves almost 100,000 students in 37 states and Washington, D.C.
