Our Goddard School Teachers

Joe Stickel is the owner of The Goddard School of Newark and has led the school for the past nine years. As a father, and with a background in military leadership, technology innovation, and business ownership, Joe brings a disciplined, thoughtful approach to building a school where children feel safe, supported, and challenged to grow. Throughout his career, Joe has been recognized for excellence and innovation, including national and international awards for leadership and service. Since owning the school, The Goddard School of Newark has received multiple awards recognizing its customer service, educational quality, and community impact. Joe is deeply committed to early childhood development and believes young children learn best through warm relationships, intentional teaching, positive behavior guidance, and meaningful experiences. He continues to study child development and neuroscience to ensure the school’s environment, curriculum, and approach support long-term growth.

Lisa is the school Director and has been working in early childhood education for over sixteen years. Prior to her role as Director, Lisa was the Assistant Director, Curriculum Coordinator and Pre-K teacher. Lisa graduated from Hiram College with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Lisa loves watching the children grow and develop from babies to big kids with unique personalities and opinions. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys hiking and camping with her son.

Ms. Ivory is the Assistant Director, Curriculum Coordinator. She has a Bachelor's degree in English and a Masters degree in Education from Wilmington University. She started at The Goddard School in February, 2013 as an Assistant in our Older Toddler Class and was promoted to the Infant Lead Teacher. Miss Ivory has two children, a daughter in middle school (who is a Goddard School grad) and a toddler son.

As a teacher, May believes that each child is an individual. She values and develops each child's strengths, interest, skills and abilities. Her favorite children's book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?". She also loves the Llama Llama series. In her down time, she enjoys spending time with family and listening to music.

Maddie enjoys working with our younger two year olds and supporting Lindsay as they work to help the children grow in their social skills and learn how to play with each other. In the classroom, she enjoys talking with the children and hearing their stories. Outside of work, Maddie loves spending time with her family and friends and can often be found at the bowling alley.