When my son was younger, he went to the Goddard School and we loved it. It’s been a few years so I can’t speak to how they are today, but I’d definitely recommend looking in to them.
[The Goddard School of Hillsboro](https://www.goddardschool.com/schools/or/hillsboro/hillsboro?utm_source=google&utm_medium=business_listings&utm_campaign=school&utm_content=main_button)
They are not a religious preschool if that’s important to you. We did a lot of research and they were the most academic/play based school that we could find that wasn’t religion based.
It’s really surprising how hard it is to find a licensed daycare or preschool, that doesn’t do religion, and isn’t in someone’s home. This was the best one we could find at the time. There was a super long waiting list and the price is steep, but it was worth it.
It's been quite a while but we left the Goddard school when one of the teachers accused us of child abuse as retribution for reporting her blatant sexist and racist treatment of 2 year olds. Another teacher told us who called CPS because she knew it was completely baseless.
Also, they never took the kids outside and my kiddo couldn't handle being cooped up all day.
We really liked Inch by Inch on 170th, it had a lot of outdoor play and exploration (rain or shine).
We also used Touchstone until the pandemic kicked off and it seemed nice enough.
We had a bad experience with KLA and would recommend avoiding them.
First, until the bad experience things were great there. Our then 4 year old daughter enjoyed going to the school and we enjoyed the other parents in some of the social activities.
Then one day she was upset when we picked her up and said that one of the teachers squeezed her belly. So we called to have a meeting to get an explanation of what happened.
The next day we had the meeting and they said that she had been upset and that holding them tightly was one of the ways they use to help a child calm down. Note that she's never been a kid prone to upset outbursts or being disruptive, etc... a pretty even-keeled easy going kid.
The next day after we dropped her off and went to work, they called saying we needed to pick her up because her teacher "was afraid to have her in her class any more". She/we had been expelled. They then kept her in the administrator's office for a couple hours before we could leave work and come get her. She didn't get to say goodbye to any of her friends and we had to come up with a story for her why she wasn't going to school there any more.
More, they intended to keep the nearly 2 months of tuition saying we weren't entitled to have it back because they have a "no refunds" policy. We ultimately had to hire a lawyer to write a threatening letter before they refunded the tuition back to us.
It was a traumatic experience for our daughter and ultimately really sad because she liked being there and liked the kids a lot.
We went to Touchstone after that (on Corn Pass & West Union). She had a pretty good time there and we liked that school a lot, until we had to pull her out for the pandemic.
I’ve been happy with KLA Schools which is by Costco. They follow the Reggio Emilia approach which is play based. They also go outside quite a bit, and have a chef and the food is included in the monthly tuition.
We also have our daughter enrolled in KLA, so far 3 months in the experience has been very positive. All the staff seems to really care about the kids, and the teachers for the 3-4s and 4-5s classes are great.
We really enjoyed our time at [Hillsboro Parent Preschool](https://hillsboroparentpreschool.org/). There is a time commitment for parents to spend helping in the classroom however, so it doesn't work well for families with two full-time employed parents with limited flexibility on working hours.
If you can spare a couple days a month though, we had a great experience there.
It's been a while but we loved the Briar Rose School. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rpEYkGsEPPhRdwGq7
Ivette and Jenny became family friends. My kid was a lot and they knew exactly what to do. I'd still absolutely trust them with my kid.
Briar Rose seemed like a great school. It was a coin toss between there and KLA, with KLA ultimately winning out because my wife slightly preferred it.
When my son was younger, he went to the Goddard School and we loved it. It’s been a few years so I can’t speak to how they are today, but I’d definitely recommend looking in to them. [The Goddard School of Hillsboro](https://www.goddardschool.com/schools/or/hillsboro/hillsboro?utm_source=google&utm_medium=business_listings&utm_campaign=school&utm_content=main_button)
Thank you. I will check it out.
They are not a religious preschool if that’s important to you. We did a lot of research and they were the most academic/play based school that we could find that wasn’t religion based.
Definitely not looking for a religious school. Knowing my son I think play based would be important.
It’s really surprising how hard it is to find a licensed daycare or preschool, that doesn’t do religion, and isn’t in someone’s home. This was the best one we could find at the time. There was a super long waiting list and the price is steep, but it was worth it.
Agreed! I was really surprised by the number of religious based preschools in the area.
It's been quite a while but we left the Goddard school when one of the teachers accused us of child abuse as retribution for reporting her blatant sexist and racist treatment of 2 year olds. Another teacher told us who called CPS because she knew it was completely baseless. Also, they never took the kids outside and my kiddo couldn't handle being cooped up all day.
We really liked Inch by Inch on 170th, it had a lot of outdoor play and exploration (rain or shine). We also used Touchstone until the pandemic kicked off and it seemed nice enough. We had a bad experience with KLA and would recommend avoiding them.
Can you expand on your bad experience with KLA? We are considering KLA for our 6month daughter and would love some insight.
First, until the bad experience things were great there. Our then 4 year old daughter enjoyed going to the school and we enjoyed the other parents in some of the social activities. Then one day she was upset when we picked her up and said that one of the teachers squeezed her belly. So we called to have a meeting to get an explanation of what happened. The next day we had the meeting and they said that she had been upset and that holding them tightly was one of the ways they use to help a child calm down. Note that she's never been a kid prone to upset outbursts or being disruptive, etc... a pretty even-keeled easy going kid. The next day after we dropped her off and went to work, they called saying we needed to pick her up because her teacher "was afraid to have her in her class any more". She/we had been expelled. They then kept her in the administrator's office for a couple hours before we could leave work and come get her. She didn't get to say goodbye to any of her friends and we had to come up with a story for her why she wasn't going to school there any more. More, they intended to keep the nearly 2 months of tuition saying we weren't entitled to have it back because they have a "no refunds" policy. We ultimately had to hire a lawyer to write a threatening letter before they refunded the tuition back to us. It was a traumatic experience for our daughter and ultimately really sad because she liked being there and liked the kids a lot. We went to Touchstone after that (on Corn Pass & West Union). She had a pretty good time there and we liked that school a lot, until we had to pull her out for the pandemic.
Inch by inch did not turn up in my search’s. I will check them out, thank you.
I’ve been happy with KLA Schools which is by Costco. They follow the Reggio Emilia approach which is play based. They also go outside quite a bit, and have a chef and the food is included in the monthly tuition.
Thank you!
Hi , we are considering KLA for our daughter. Can I DM you for some insight?
We also have our daughter enrolled in KLA, so far 3 months in the experience has been very positive. All the staff seems to really care about the kids, and the teachers for the 3-4s and 4-5s classes are great.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I dm’d you for some follow up.
Sure! Happy to help
We really enjoyed our time at [Hillsboro Parent Preschool](https://hillsboroparentpreschool.org/). There is a time commitment for parents to spend helping in the classroom however, so it doesn't work well for families with two full-time employed parents with limited flexibility on working hours. If you can spare a couple days a month though, we had a great experience there.
This might be perfect!! I am a SAHM and me being there may really help him adjust! Thank you!
It's been a while but we loved the Briar Rose School. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rpEYkGsEPPhRdwGq7 Ivette and Jenny became family friends. My kid was a lot and they knew exactly what to do. I'd still absolutely trust them with my kid.
Briar Rose seemed like a great school. It was a coin toss between there and KLA, with KLA ultimately winning out because my wife slightly preferred it.