Shawn and Pam King, Owners - Pam and Shawn have over ten years experience in the operations of four local Goddard Schools®. They are the proud parents of three children at the School. Pam is a registered nurse and worked for Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital for eight years prior to opening the School. She has taken many of the health and safety practices from the hospital and have implemented them in the School. Shawn has an MBA and worked as a consultant helping many of the world’s largest companies and government agencies. Both owners are actively involved in the classrooms, field trips and festivals. In addition, they are actively involved in coaching their children’s organized sports teams. When they are not at School, they enjoy spending time with their family, wakeboarding, traveling, and dining.

Jean Croft, Executive Director - Jean has been in the early childcare industry for over 35 years. She has been a teacher, Director, National Association for the Education Young Children validator, National Child Care Association (NCCA) verifier and Child Care Professional field counselor for the NCCA. Jean is a graduate of Dekalb College in Child Development and Management and she also holds a Child Development Associates degree. She believes that "each child is their own person and they learn best through play and modeling. I believe that the most important years are birth to five years. It is my responsibility to lay a good foundation for each child to learn their way." Jean enjoys collecting carousel horse memorabilia, spending time with her family and friends, and volunteering for the Department of Family and Child Services. And Jean has three grandchildren that attend the School.

Courtney Banister, Director - Courtney is a Cumming, Georgia native who grew up in Forsyth County. Courtney has over 16 years of experience teaching in a classroom as well as experience managing and leading in a private preschool setting. Courtney enjoys playing softball, reading children's books, arts and crafts, photography, poetry, and writing. Her godson attends Goddard in the After-School program at our school.

Jeanne C., Director of Quality Assurance She is a seasoned Goddard veteran. Jeanne worked at The Goddard School® located in John's Creek for three years before transferring to The Goddard School located in Cumming.  Among other things, she ensures that we are meeting and exceeding the Quality Assurance standards set forth by Goddard Systems.  She has helped us lose less than 2 points on our last 2 Quality Assurance reviews combined. Jeanne earned her Child Development Associate's degree through The Goddard School located in John's Creek. She believes that "teaching does not take patience, but understanding." Jeanne has worked with young children for over eight years. In her free time, Jeanne enjoys riding and training horses as well as singing in her church choir.

Melissa - Assistant Director, Teacher  Melissa is now our Assistant Director and continues to help teach in our Pre-Kindergarten and After School programs or help wherever else her experience is needed.  This is Melissa's third year teaching at our School. In all, she has been teaching for over 10 years and has a CDA. In her spare time, Melissa enjoys reading, cooking and spending time with her family. She has coached softball and basketball as well as volunteered with the Special Olympics.

David Ewell, Business Manager David is one of our newer members in the office.  He started with us in February 2011.  He comes to us with over eight years of business experience and has a degree with honors in business administration from Azusa Pacific University (Southern California) in 2003.   While there, David was also the pianist for the world renowned University Choir and Orchestra for three years.  He has taught private piano lessons since 2006 and is heading up The Goddard School's new piano lesson program.  He and his wife (a special education teacher) welcomed their first child in the spring.  

Jessica L., Get Set Teacher - Jessica is currently completing her Child Development Associate's Degree through Goddard Systems University (GSU). She also holds an Associate's Degree from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Jessica loves teaching young children and believes children learn best in a hands on environment of exploration.

Ms. Tina, Lead Infant Teacher Ms. Tina is originally from Mississippi, where she attended Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College taking classes in Elementary Education.  She has 15+ years of early childhood education experience, and 9 of those years are with infants.  She has 3 children of her own, ranging from 9 to 14 years old.

Ms. Pam, Assistant Infant Teacher Originally from St. Louis, MO, Ms. Pam has worked in early childhood for over 18 years and is working on completing her CDA degree.  She has been with The Goddard School for over a year and loves those babies!

Ms. Chris, Assistant Infant Teacher Ms. Chris is a mother and grandmother and is from right here in Cumming.  She will be with us 5 years as of February 2012.  No one cares for and spoils those little ones like Ms. Chris!

Ms. Pam, Assistant Infant Teacher
Yes, we have two Ms. Pams in our Infant Class.  Pam is our newest infant teacher, originally from Albany, GA.  She is a mother of 5 and grandmother of 8 and has extensive experience with children in a church setting.  She has also taken many early childhood classes.

Ms. Nauzer, Assistant Teacher, First Steps Ms. Nauzer has her CDA.  She is originally from India and has a son at Whitlow Elementary here in Cumming.  She has experience in early childhood including Pre-K and now with the younger children at The Goddard School.

Ms. Jordan, Lead Teacher, Toddlers Ms. Jordan is finishing her CDA at Lanier Tech and has experience as a nanny and in the private school setting with young children. 

Ms. Haleigh, Assistant Teacher, Toddlers Ms. Haleigh is a graduate of Forsyth High School and has taken many early childhood courses.  She came on board with us earlier this year and has been an awesome addition to The Goddard School family!

Ms. Karen, Lead Teacher, Get Set I Ms. Karen has her Bachelor's degree from Georgia Southern and has been a lead teacher in several different classrooms with us at The Goddard School.  She also was recently married in the fall of 2011!  We're so glad she has stayed on with us here at The Goddard School.

Ms. Amanda, Assistant Teacher, Get Set II Ms. Amanda has taken many early childhood courses through Bright from the Start and Goddard University.  She has experience with children in the private school setting and has taught in several classrooms with us here at The Goddard School.

Ms. Chase, Assistant Teacher, Preschool Ms. Chase is a recent 2011 addition to The Goddard School and has been awesome with all the children!  She has helped out in numerous classrooms.  Originally from Jasper, GA, she has experience as a nanny and in other private schools.

Ms. Lockman, Kindergarten Teacher Ms. Lockman started with us for the 2011-2012 school year teaching our Kindergarten class. She has been an energetic and terrific addition to our School.  The Kindergarten class has thrived under her teaching.  Ms. Lockman has a degree in Childhood Education and is from Forest Park, GA.  She has both public and private school experience.

Ms. Hutto, Lead Teacher, Pre-K Blue Ms. Hutto started with us during the summer of 2011.  She has her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and is also certified in Special Education. She has done an amazing job working with our Pre-K students and we hope she stays with us for years to come!

Ms. Cathy, Lead Teacher, Preschool Blue Ms. Cathy has been with us for several years and is originally from Panama, Oklahoma.  She has her CDA degree and over 12 years of experience with young children.  She has 3 beautiful daughters of her own and treats all her students here as if they were own.

Ms. Karen, Assistant Teacher, Preschool Blue Ms. Karen is from Saddlebrook, NJ and has several years of private school experience.  She has taken many courses in Early Childhood Education and is also a mother.  She has been a great part of our Goddard School family since 2008.

Ms. Marcela, Lead Teacher, Preschool Red Ms. Marcela is originally from Costa Rica and has a degree in Early Childhood Education from Kennesaw State University.  She has more the 3 years of teaching experience and has a beautiful daughter.

Ms. Peretti, Lead Teacher, Pre K Red Ms. Peretti is originally from Queens, NY and has more than 3 years of experience teaching.  She also worked extensively with many NY youth programs during her 20 years as an officer with the NYPD.  She has two awesome sons of her own.

Ms. Tiffany, Assistant Teacher, Pre-K Red, After School Ms. Tiffany is originally from Gwinett county and is now attending college at Gainesville State.  Tiffany helps out in many classrooms each day, including our after-school program.  She has been with us since she was in high school and is an invaluable member of our faculty here.

Ms. Channing, Lead Teacher, Young Preschool Ms. Channing has a bachelor's degree in sociology with a minor in criminal justice.  She has been in childhood development since 2006 and started at The Goddard School in 2011.  She's has worked with children of all ages in childhood centers and the church setting.