Chicago · Licensed center

The Goddard School-Chicago

Large center, licensed for 155 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

Routine visits: 7 of 8 cited something

Chicago-area centers: the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits.

Read every record and the state’s reports

State record — Illinois DCFS

Last visit: April 28, 2026
On file: 8 visits since May 2013 — 1 cited nothing
Fixed?: The latest correction deadline was May 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.

Apr 2026 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · April 28, 2026

Physical Plant/Indoor Space

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

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

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(7) · Violation corrected

Qualifications for Child Care Director

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.130(i)(3) · Violation corrected

Diapering and Toileting Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.340(a)(2) · Violation corrected

Cited: CCASEC7

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Aug 2021 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · August 5, 2021

Background Checks for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.110 · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Apr 2019 Monitoring visit 1 finding

Monitoring visit · April 26, 2019

Qualifications for Child Care Director

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.130(l)(1) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Mar 2018 Monitoring visit 2 findings

Monitoring visit · March 13, 2018

Personnel Records

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

Health Requirements for Children

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2016 Monitoring visit 6 findings

Monitoring visit · May 11, 2016

Daily Arrival and Departure of Children

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260 through (e)(3) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.260 · 407.260(e)(3)

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected

Personnel Records

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

Hand Washing

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.320(a)(5) · Violation corrected

Diapering and Toileting Procedures

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.340(a)(4) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

Apr 2015 Monitoring visit 8 findings

Monitoring visit · April 30, 2015

Personnel Records

5 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) through (e)(5) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.120(a)(2) · 407.120(a)(3) · 407.120(a)(4) · 407.120(b) · 407.120(e)(5)

Health Requirements for Children

2 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) through (5) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) · 407.310(a)(5)

General Requirements for Personnel

1 citation · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.100(c)(5) · Violation corrected

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

May 2014 Compliance monitoring visit nothing cited

May 2013 Monitoring visit 4 findings

Monitoring visit · May 1, 2013

Health Requirements for Children

3 citations · 89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) through (6) · Violation corrected

89 Ill. Adm. Code 407.310(a)(4) · 407.310(a)(5) · 407.310(a)(6)

Personnel Records

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

DCFS compliance lookup On that page, enter provider number 503956 in the Provider box and choose Search; the compliance report downloads from the button on the result row.

How the comparison is built

Routine visits: across Chicago-area centers, the state cites something at about 5 in 6 routine visits (19,088 visits).

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

7738683011

Address: 1127 W Armitage Ave
License: pending renewal application (rn)

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

Add what is missing

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 September 25, 2026.

Details

Phone, Address, License — Checked July 2026 sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov. To check it, open sunshine.dcfs.illinois.gov's Licensed Provider Lookup, enter "THE GODDARD SCHOOL-CHICAGO" under Provider Name and 60614 under Zip, and press Search (DCFS provider 503956).
Who runs it — Checked September 2026 goddardschool.com
Who runs it — Checked September 2026 sycamorepartners.com
Who runs it — Checked September 2026 goddardschool.com

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.