Our Teachers

As the on-site owner, I spent 15+ years in the Human Resource field after graduating from Old Dominion University with a B.S. in Education. However, it wasn’t until after the birth of our son, Connor we decided to open The Goddard School in Chesapeake, VA. My husband and I were struggling to find a quality school for our infant son so I could go back to work. We were looking for somewhere we would feel comfortable leaving him everyday and know that he was well cared for and in a safe learning environment. After an exhausting search we couldn’t find anywhere that met our standards so we began looking into opening our own school and came across The Goddard School franchise and we opened in Chesapeake in March 2005. We are now excited to be working with your children in Virginia Beach!

Director of The Year - SE Region 2023 Ms. Aimee is our Operations Director. She has been with The Goddard School since the beginning. She is happily married to her husband Shaun, has four beautiful children Sadie, Gregory, Autumn and Zoe! Ms. Aimee has an Associates in Early Childhood Education and has had over 9 years of Childhood experience. She is eager to continue to be a part of the amazing family at The Goddard School and enjoys every minute!

Teacher of The Year Nomination - 2023 Ms. Courtney is the Assistant Director, Director of Education and Behavior Specialist. She is from Indiana and moved to Virginia Beach with her husband who is in the military. She has worked with Goddard for 8 years now. She has her Bachelors of Science in Behavioral Health Science with a focus in childhood and adolescent disorders. She has three children, Stella, Beau & Maverick. She strives for being an advocate for children and their families.

Ms. Tiffany is the Office Assistant and has been working for Goddard since May of 2018. She was born and raised in Virginia Beach. She has her Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Tidewater Community College. Ms. Tiffany has been working with children since right out of high school in 2013 and enjoys every moment of it! Fun fact her and Ms. Rachael are cousins!

Ms. Saf'Fire is our kitchen manager and resource teacher! She has been with Goddard since April of 2024. She was born and raised in Elizabeth City, NC. She graduated with her Bachelor's Degree in Media Arts and Animation. She enjoys drawing, writing and overall being creative!

Teacher of the Year - 2022 Ms. Katlin is our lead teacher in Guppies! She was born in New York, She graduated from Kempsville high school and is in school for her CDA in childhood education, she loves teaching because she loves seeing the kids grow and change over the years! She has been with our Goddard family since 2019!

Ms. Ahleayah is our assistant teacher in Guppies!

Ms. Madison is our Guppies resource teacher!

Ms. Brittni is our Lead teacher in the Dolphins class! She has been with us since January of 2023. She was born and raised in Virginia Beach. Happily married to her husband Ben since 2013. She has 3 children Haley, Caleb and Cody. Ms. Brittni has her Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education!

Hi! My name is McKenzie Thompson and my husband and I recently moved here from Maine on military orders as he is a Marine. I love working in the education field and have almost 4 years of experience with it! I have worked with infants/toddlers and have also worked as BHP and an Educational Technician for grades 9-12. I also have been a cheer coach for 6 years with age groups ranging from K-12th grade!. I am very excited to be working at The Goddard School!.

Ms. Tiffany is one of our assistant teacher in the Dolphins room!

Ms. Hannah is our lead teacher in the Starfish class!

Ms. Kaitlyn is the Co-Lead teacher in the Starfish classroom. She is from Pennsylvania. She is a proud navy wife and a mother of two, her son Cameron and daughter Harper. She has her Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Pennsylvania College of Technology. She has over 12 years+ of experience working with children. She loves teaching children and enjoys seeing them grow and learn new skills!

Ms. Alexis is one of our resource teachers! She helps out in the starfish classroom alongside the other wonderful teachers! As a newcomer to early childhood development field, Alexis is extremely passionate about working with kids. She hopes to have a positive impact on all the students at The Goddard School.

Teacher of the year - 2024 Ms. Kiara is the lead teacher in our Turtles classroom! She has been with Goddard since January of 2021. She has her CDA and has over 10+ years experience working with infants and toddlers. She enjoys helping the two with their speech, watching them learn and overall working with the age group!

Ms. Meegan is our assistant teacher in the Turtles classroom! She was born and raised in Virginia Beach. She has been in the Early Childhood Field for 12+ years. She plans on going back to college to get her Associate's Degree in Early Childhood Education. Fun fact she has been doing Equestrian for 15 years! She has 4 cats and 3 dogs!

Teacher of the Year - 2021, 2022, 2023 Ms. Tina is the lead teacher in the Jellyfish classroom. She has been in the field of Early Childhood Education for the last 30+ years. She is dedicated to the social and emotional development of each child and makes it her goal to make sure that each child receives the best care and love that they all deserve. She has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Montessori training in Infants, Toddlers and Twos.

Ms. Kenna is our assistant teacher in the Jellyfish class!

Ms. Naima is our two's resource teacher!

Ms. Caitlin is our lead teacher in The Herons class! She has been with Goddard since March 2023. She is a military spouse from Ohio. She is a dog mom to an Australian shepherd and a Pitbull. What she enjoys most about being an educator is seeing the spark when a child learns new topics and seeing them succeed!

Ms. Sarah is our assistant teacher in the Herons Class! She has worked at Goddard since July of 2023. Growing up in Virginia Beach with her dad, mom and 4 sisters. She graduated from Bayside High School in 1999. Ms. Sarah is a mom of two girls and a Gram to 2 grandkids. She has worked with children since 2011 and loves watching them learn new things!

Ms. Victoria is our lead teacher in our Crabs classroom. She is currently in school completing her CDA in Early Childhood Education!

Ms. Kamalei is our assistant teacher in our Crabs class.

Teacher of the Year - 2022, 2023 Ms. Angela is the lead teacher in the Pelicans classroom. She was born and raised in Michigan. She is retired from the Navy and then began her teaching career in 2012. She finished her Associate's Degree in Early Childhood in 2015. She has 3 beautiful children and two fantastic grandchildren. She loves watching the kids in her class learn and grow!

Ms. Andrea is our assistant teacher in the Pelicans class! She moved from Ohio in 2022 to Virginia Beach. She has 3 children 2 of whom are fraternal twins and a dog named Buckeye in honor of her love of football and The Ohio State. She has been with Goddard since 2023! Fun fact her daughter works here at Goddard as the lead teacher in Herons!

Teacher of the Year - 2021, 2022, 2023 Ms. Chandra is our Co-Lead Kindergarten teacher along with being our Education Specialist! She has been married to her husband Adam for 18 years and has two daughters Mackenzie and RyLee. Ms. Chandra has a Master's Degree is Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Studies. She has worked with children for almost 20 years, some of which were with K-3 in the Virginia Beach Public School system participating in PALS intervention. She is excited to be apart of our Goddard family.

Teacher of the Year - 2021 Ms. Valentina is the Co-Lead Teacher in the Rockfish's Kindergarten classroom here at The Goddard School. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics. She has always had a great passion for working with children and has been doing it for the last 5 years. Ms. Valentina also is an exhibiting artist and an Art instructor at the Artists Gallery. She is a native Russian, but she has relocated to Chesapeake with her husband and beautiful daughter.

Ms. Paula is one of our assistant teachers in the Rockfish classroom! She was born in Rural Virginia and moved to Virginia Beach after receiving her Bachelor's Degree in Marketing Education. She has been working with children since 2011 and has been with Goddard since September of 2022. She has 1 son, 3 orange cats and worked for the Disney company for 12 years prior to entering a career in childcare!

Ms. Jada is our resource teacher.

Ms. Kyla is our resource teacher! She has been with Goddard since April of 2023. She was born in Bakersfield, California. Ms. Kyla has been taking care of her siblings and other children for many years! A fun fact is that she loves arts and crafts!

Ms. Rachael is our resource teacher! She has been with Goddard since July of 2023. She was born and raised in Virginia. She is happily married to her husband Sean and they have two beautiful children Easton and Cora! Ms. Rachael has been working with children since she was young. Fun fact that her and Ms. Tiffany are cousins!

Ms. Tia is our resource teacher!

Ms. Kathryn is our resource and STEAM teacher!

Ms. Makayla is our resource teacher!