Our Goddard School Teachers

My name is Kelly Van Syckle. I am the proud operator of The Goddard School in Grove City. My sister, Samantha Elliott is the owner of the Grove City and Worthington Goddard locations. I have been involved throughout the community and the Grove City Rotary. I am excited to work with my families and teachers to provide a commitment to furthering the education of our children.

My name is Samantha Elliott. I am the proud owner of the Grove City and Worthington locations. My sister, Kelly Van Syckle is the onsite operator of the Grove City location. My husband, Rex and I have three lovely daughters who have attended my schools. I am proud to be a part of The Goddard School and I am committed to providing the highest quality preschool experience for the children in our community.

Ms. Heather has a Bachelor Degree in Art Education. She has worked for a Goddard School since 1999 but joined our Grove City school in 2008. She is married and has numerous dogs at home. Her favorite children's book is "Rooting for You" by Susan Hood.

Ms. Victoria has worked in early childhood care since 2013 and has joined The Goddard School in April 2024. Victoria has an Associate of Applied Science degree focusing on early childhood. I primarily work with infants and toddlers. Her favorite part of working with infants is seeing them experience "firsts". Ms. Victoria knew she wanted to work with children when she was just a child herself doing volunteer work with her church. Ms. Victoria lives with her husband and they have their own balloon art business.

Ms. Erica has been with The Goddard School since 2020. Ms. Erica has always enjoyed working with the babies and the younger children. Ms. Erica's favorite part of working here is seeing all the children learn and grow. She is engaged to her fiance, Hunter and is also a Goddard mom to Hunter, Jr.

Ms. Bailey has been with Goddard since August 2022. Ms. Bailey has worked in childcare for over 9 years and even worked as a nanny for 2 1/2 years. She has always loved caring for infants and younger children. Bailey has always wanted to work with children and enjoys celebrating each new milestone they achieve. Ms. Bailey is extremely close to her niece and has 6 cats and 1 dog.

Ms. Mirranda joined the Goddard team in April 2024. She has an Assicate in Arts Degree in Early Childhood. Ms. Mirranda has always wanted to work with children and loves teaching new skills and watching children succeed. She loves getting to see the children learn and grow. Ms. Mirranda lives with her boyfriend and her cat named Winnie.

Ms. Veronica joined The Goddard School in 2012. Ms. Veronica has worked with children in the early childhood setting since 2007. Ms. Veronica went into the childcare field because she finds joy in seeing children learn and develop. She enjoys building meaningful relationships with the children and the families. Ms. Veronica lives with her husband and has two children, Ashlynn and Levi, who also attend The Goddard School.

Ms. Jamison has been with The Goddard School since 2022. She loves helping to create a fun, safe environment for students to learn.

Ms. Teshay joined The Goddard School in August 2024 and has had previous early childhood experience. She hails from a small town in Georgia, where she took some early childhood courses while in high school. She moved to Ohio in 2021. Besides, helping the children learn, Ms. Teshay loves seeing their smiling faces every time they get excited. Ms. Teshay is a mother of soon-to-be 4 children of her own.

Mr. Charlie joined Goddard in April 2024. He has been working in early childhood since 2022. He also worked for more than 6 years as youth leader. His favorite part of working with children is seeing students develop new skills and becoming independent. Mr. Charlie used to voice act and do storyboards for cartoons, and participated in theatre from the age of 5 to 17. One of his hobbies is he paints miniatures for tabletop games.

Ms. Monika joined The Goddard School in Grove City in 2023. Ms. Monika has over 8 years of childcare experience. Ms. Monika has an Associate of Arts degree from Columbus State. She also has certificates in Photography and Photoshop. Teaching runs in the family as her grandmother was also an educator and Ms. Monika wanted to teach like her grandmother. She enjoys seeing children she has taught grow and excel. Ms. Monika prefers working with the 3-5 year age group because she likes seeing them develop into their own person. Ms. Monika is also a Goddard mom!

Ms. Halimo joined The Goddard School in Grove City in 2023. Ms. "H" as she called by her students also has a medical assistant degree, but seems to enjoy working with children more as she has been in the early childhood field since 2022. Ms. Halimo is always focused on her students' needs and helping them reach her goals. Early childhood is that first step. Ms. H has 13 siblings and enjoys playing tennis and volleyball.

Ms. Sydney has returned to The Goddard School as of November 2021. Ms. Sydney is actively working on completing her CDA credential. She has worked with children for 8 years. Ms. Sydney loves watching and helping children reach developmental milestones from infants crawling to walking to potty training to getting their first math problems correct. She thinks that fun and learning should go hand in hand. Ms. Sydney lives with her husband and son, who is also a Goddard student. Ms. Sydney has 3 cats and 1 dog.

Ms. Sophia joined The Goddard School in Grove City in 2023. Ms. Sophia started worked in childcare her senior year of high school while doing an internship.Ms. Sophia loves teaching them and watching them learn and grow. Ms. Sophia enjoys introducing music and dance to the classroom in any classroom she works. She lives with her best friend and her cat named Wyatt.

Ms. Jazdyn joined The Goddard School in 2025. Ms. Jazdyn is currently working in our toddler classroom. She loves watching children learn and try different things along with learning things from them as well. She has a daughter, 2 dogs, 1 cat, and a leopard gecko.

Ms. Kris has worked for The Goddard Schools since 1999 starting out as a Get Set teacher in our Pickerington location. She advanced to become the director at our Pickerington location prior to moving to become the director at our Grove City location. Ms. Kris has a Master's in Early Childhood Education. Ms. Kris now works as an executive director between our Worthington and Grove City locations. She loves interacting with the children, especially exploring science experiments, puzzles, cooking, and board games. She lives with her husband, (also a Chris), and two dogs, Bandit and Bullet.

Ms. Olesia joined The Goddard School in 2025. She has worked in the early childhood field since 2023. Ms. Olesia loves working with the children and being able to forms bonds with them. She wants to be able to help them with their "firsts" and be able to guide them in the right direction. She lives with her boyfriend, their many fish, and their chameleon, Pascala.

Ms. Chase joined The Goddard School in 2025. She has worked within the early childhood field since 2015. She aspires to become a pediatrician. Ms. Chase works on instilling trust between the families and herself. She is engaged and has a step-daughter named Ryann. Ms. Chase also has a dog named Oakley Louise.

Mr. Oreoluwa (Mr. Ore) joined The Goddard School in 2025. He has an Associate's degree in Psychology and has experience working with a tutoring club for grades K-12. Mr. Ore feels that, at this stage of life, good role models and teachers are important, and he wants to be able to provide them for future generations. Mr. Ore has two brothers.

Ms. Hannah has joined The Goddard School in September 2025. She participated in the Career Academy program for Health Science. Ms. Hannah wants to make a significant and positive impact on a child's future. She wants to help build a strong foundation for a child's learning and development during their most critical early years. Hannah lives with her boyfriend and two dogs, Stormy and Apollo. Her hobbies include reading and doing crafts.

Ms. Madeline joined The Goddard School in 2025. She has been working in childcare since 2022, starting with toddlers through school age, then becoming a lead infant teacher. Ms. Madeline plans to start working towards a degree in early childhood because she has always wanted to be a teacher. Ms. Madeline moved to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 2024 and lives here with her mother, brother, and 4 dogs: Maggie, Duke, Leo and Luna.

Ms. Racquel graduated with a degree in Human Development and Family Science. Her goal while working with some of our youngest children is to create a positive learning environment that promotes growth. She loves speaking Spanish. Ms. Racquel is very positive, upbeat, and hard-working.

Ms. Paris joined The Goddard School in 2025 and is the sister of Ms. Sydney. She has experience working with children's programs at a local community center and assisting with childcare there. Ms. Paris has always loved working with children; getting to help them learn and grow is one of the most rewarding things. She lives with her boyfriend and 3 cats: Ponyo, Souske, and Cookie, and our dog, Bella.