Naperville · Licensed center
The Gardner School Of Naperville South
At a glance
- Large center, licensed for 243 children.
- The Gardner School: owned by Quad Partners and The Vistria Group (private equity).
What to know
The license is the range the state allows. It does not say which ages have openings.
What the state has found
The state cited rules at 5 of its 6 licensing inspections since September 2022.
See each inspection
Licensing inspections
- Apr 20, 2026Nothing cited
Jul 23, 202511 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(1)(g)
Napping and Sleeping
Napping and Sleeping
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.350(a)(1)
Organization and Administration
Organization and Administration
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.70(i)
Medications
Medications
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.360(b)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(e)
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
Physical Plant/Indoor Space
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.370(r)(3)
Equipment and Materials
Equipment and Materials
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.380(g)
Outdoor Play Area
Outdoor Play Area
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.390(l)(9)(c)
Staffing Structure
Staffing Structure
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.90(a)(2)
Aug 30, 20244 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(1)
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
Enrollment and Discharge Procedures
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.250(i)(1)(h)
Aug 23, 20233 citations
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(1)
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(f)
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
A citation the state’s report lists only by its code, CCASEC4.
Jan 25, 20231 citation
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(3)
Sep 21, 20222 citations
Personnel Records
Personnel Records
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(4)
General Requirements for Personnel
General Requirements for Personnel
89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(d)
The state cited rules at 5 of this center's 6 inspections. Chicago-area centers inspected 6 times split about evenly: about a third had fewer, a third the same, and a third more (139 centers).
How all 139 Chicago-area centers inspected 6 times compare
Of the 139 Chicago-area centers the state inspected 6 times, how many of those inspections cited a rule:
- 1 of 62%
- 2 of 64%
- 3 of 612%
- 4 of 614%
- 5 of 631%This center
- All 637%
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.
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.
Details
- Phone
- (630) 848-1122
- Address
- 3040 Reflection Dr, Naperville, 60564
We couldn’t find some information that may matter to your decision: openings, child care subsidies, cost, hours and late pickup, teaching approach, ratios and staff, a typical day, and sick and biting policies. We can ask the program for you and copy you in.
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 November 8, 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).
- Website, Who runs it — Checked October 2026 thegardnerschool.com
- Ages on the license — Checked November 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 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 1,948 licensed centers by state-licensed capacity: 119 to 487 children. Small is 8 to 48; medium is 49 to 118.
The ages on the license are what the state licenses it to care for, which can be wider than the ages it takes.