close

Goddard School opens second location in Upper St. Clair

By Suzanne Elliott 3 min read
article image -

When Bob and Lori Santo moved back to the region in 2003, they took a leap of faith.

The company Bob worked for wanted him to move to the Philadelphia area. Lori, who is from Washington, had moved a number of times because of Bob’s job transfers and wanted to stay put. She and Bob, who hails from Ellwood City, were back home in Western Pennsylvania and she wanted to keep it that way.

Lori said Bob had a friend tell him about the Goddard School, a King of Prussia-based company that franchises preschool learning centers across the country.

“We did some research and found the closest one was in Harrisburg,” Lori said. “There were none at the time in Pittsburgh. We thought that was kind of weird.”

The Santos, who live in Peters Township, were comfortable with what they found out about the company and opened a Goddard School franchise in McMurray eight years ago. That preschool now has 200 children enrolled and 26 teachers, all of whom have four-year degrees.

“We are completely full at Peters,” Lori said. “I feel very blessed.”

And in demand. That was when the Santos knew it might be time to expand.

During the time the Santos opened the school in Peters, other franchisees opened Goddard Schools in Wexford and Downtown Pittsburgh. But the Santos held the franchise rights in the South Hills and opened their second location, in Upper St. Clair, in late August. That location already has 90 children enrolled and 14 teachers, Lori said.

The Santos have arranged their schedule so one of them is at Peters one day, while the other is at their Upper St. Clair location. Lori handles most of the marketing duties and meets with the parents. Bob, meanwhile, oversees the financial end of the school and orders supplies. He is also Mr. Fix-It if something breaks down. Their son, Jake, 24, is in charge of technology at both locations. The Santos also have another son, Tyler, 22, who is studying accounting and finance at Penn State. A daughter, Madison, 18, is studying exercise science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Their two younger children have not indicated an interest in joining the family business as of yet, the Santos said.

Tuition at Goddard varies. For example, at the low end, Goddard charges $108 a week for two half days for its preschool, up to $340 a week for infants who spend the entire day at the school.

Right now, the Santos say they have no more plans for another school.

“Two is enough,” laughed Lori.

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today