Naperville · Licensed center

The Gardner School Of Naperville South

Large center, licensed for 243 children.
A Gardner School center. The chain is owned by Quad Partners and The Vistria Group, private-equity firms.
Shortlist has found no website for it yet.

What the state has found

The state cited rules at 5 of its 6 licensing inspections since September 2022.

Of the 133 Chicago-area centers with 6 licensing inspections, 29% had rules cited at 5 of them, as this center did. 38% had rules cited at all 6.

Licensing inspections

Apr 20, 2026No rules cited

Jul 23, 202511 citations

Napping and Sleeping
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(a)(1)
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(1)(g)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(r)(3)

7 more from this inspection

Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2)
Medications
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(b)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Equipment and Materials
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(g)
Outdoor Play Area
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.390(l)(9)(c)

Aug 30, 20244 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(1)(h)

Aug 23, 20233 citations

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

Jan 25, 20231 citation

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)

Sep 21, 20222 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit: April 20, 2026
On file: 6 visits since September 2022 — 1 cited nothing
Fixed?: The latest correction deadline was August 4, 2025. Illinois DCFS does not publish whether it was made.
Most serious: Illinois DCFS does not publish a severity level for a citation, so there is no most-serious to name.

Illinois DCFS cites each subsection of a rule separately, so one audit of a filing cabinet can produce ten citations. It publishes the rule’s title and a correction deadline, but no description of what was observed.

Apr 2026 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Jul 2025 Monitoring visit 11 findings

Monitoring visit · July 23, 2025

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e) through (r)(3) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e) · 407.370(r)(3)

Organization and Administration

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i) · Violation corrected

Staffing Structure

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2) · Violation corrected

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d) · Rule cited again

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) · Rule cited again

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(1)(g) · Violation substantiated

Napping and Sleeping

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(a)(1) · Violation corrected

Medications

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(b) · Violation corrected

Equipment and Materials

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(g) · Violation corrected

Outdoor Play Area

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.390(l)(9)(c) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 612282 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2024 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · August 30, 2024

Personnel Records

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) through (4) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1) · 407.120(a)(4)

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d) · Violation corrected

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(1)(h) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 612282 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2023 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · August 23, 2023

General Requirements for Personnel

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) through (f) · Violation corrected on site · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1) · 407.100(f)

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

0 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code · Violation corrected on site

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 612282 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Jan 2023 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · January 25, 2023

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 612282 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Sep 2022 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · September 21, 2022

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d) · Violation corrected

Personnel Records

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 612282 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies aren’t on this page.

Details

6308481122

Address: 3040 Reflection Dr
License: license issued (il)

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Sources and dates

Where every fact on this page came from, and when Shortlist last checked it against that source. Anything Shortlist could not source is named here rather than left blank.

State record

From Illinois DCFS’s published reports, last checked October 10, 2026.

Details

Phone, Address, License — Checked August 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov/…/ProviderLookup.aspx. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "THE GARDNER SCHOOL OF NAPERVILLE SOUTH" under Provider Name and 60564 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 612282).
Who runs it — Checked October 2026 thegardnerschool.com
Who runs it — Checked October 2026 vistria.com

The private-equity firms Quad Partners and The Vistria Group recapitalized The Gardner School in 2023 through a fund set up for that one company, according to their adviser, Lincoln International. Vistria still lists the school among its companies. The school's own site says it is not a franchise. vistria.com

Large means the biggest quarter of Chicago-area’s 1,949 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 119 to 487 children. Small is 8 to 48; medium is 49 to 118.