Lk In The Hls · Licensed center

The Goddard School

Large center, licensed for 140 children.
A Goddard School franchise. The brand is owned by Sycamore Partners, a private-equity firm.
Shortlist has found no website for it yet.

What the state has found

The state cited rules at 6 of its 8 licensing inspections since March 2021.

Of the 127 Chicago-area centers with 8 licensing inspections, 17% had rules cited at 6 of them, as this center did. 36% had rules cited at all 8.

Licensing inspections

Jan 29, 20266 citations

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1)
Guidance and Discipline
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a)

2 more from this inspection

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

Feb 25, 20253 citations

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.

May 30, 2024No rules cited

Mar 28, 20242 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Napping and Sleeping
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(b)(1)

Mar 21, 20231 citation

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)

Feb 28, 20225 citations

Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2)
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)

1 more from this inspection

General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(7)

May 19, 2021No rules cited

Mar 23, 20211 citation

Health Requirements for Children
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3)

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit: January 29, 2026
On file: 8 visits since March 2021 — 2 cited nothing
Fixed?: The latest correction deadline was February 28, 2026. 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.

Jan 2026 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · January 29, 2026

General Requirements for Personnel

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

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

Enrollment and Discharge Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(4)(a) · Violation corrected

Guidance and Discipline

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.270(a) · Violation corrected

A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, FHSEC305.

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576546 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2025 Monitoring visit 3 findings

Monitoring visit · February 25, 2025

General Requirements for Personnel

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

Personnel Records

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

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

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576546 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2024 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Mar 2024 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · March 28, 2024

Personnel Records

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

Napping and Sleeping

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576546 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Mar 2023 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · March 21, 2023

General Requirements for Personnel

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576546 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Feb 2022 Monitoring visit 5 findings

Monitoring visit · February 28, 2022

Personnel Records

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

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4)

General Requirements for Personnel

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6) through (7) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(6) · 407.100(c)(7)

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576546 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2021 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

Mar 2021 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · March 23, 2021

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(3) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 576546 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

8476696390

Address: 4561 Princeton Ln
License: license issued (il)

Run The Goddard School? Correct or add anything here, free.

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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 GODDARD SCHOOL" under Provider Name and 60156 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 576546).
Who runs it — Checked October 2026 goddardschool.com/…/lake-in-the-hills/lake-in-the-hills
Who runs it — Checked October 2026 sycamorepartners.com
Who runs it — Checked September 2026 goddardschool.com/about

The private-equity firm Sycamore Partners lists Goddard Systems as a current investment. sycamorepartners.com

Goddard’s own site says “All Goddard Schools are independently owned and operated.” goddardschool.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.