A Home Away from Home: Brendaly’s Story

For over 30 years now, Good Shepherd School and Day Care has provided parents in our community with a place where they can feel safe leaving their children while they go to work. Our students can feel secure as well as they spend their day with teachers who love them. And for those families who spend an extended amount of time with us, Good Shepherd feels like home! Recently, Brendaly Santiago shared her story and her son‘s experience with us. He has been a student at our Neff Avenue location for three years. When the time came for Brandon to go to public school, Brendan made the decision that he would still come to Good Shepherd after school. She spoke about his connection with his friends and teachers, and the priority she put on continuing those relationships. In fact, even with her hectic schedule working two jobs, she takes time every day to transport Brandon herself to us after school. She also utilizes us for full days of care when the public schools are closed.

What would make a parent go to these lengths? Brendaly shares that their time at Good Shepherd has been so positive that she wanted to make sure Brandon had the opportunity to stay in a place he loved. She says that he calls the school “home,“ and loves to come every day. She also speaks about the level of trust that she has for the staff. She knows that Brandon is able to have fun in a structured environment while surrounded by people he loves.

Brendaly also talked about how prepared Brandon was for public school. He had a strong foundation because of the instruction he received a Good Shepherd, which has been a place that taught him to love learning. Brandon started in our toddler class, and she was able to watch his development moved from class to class.

We are thankful for the opportunity to serve parents like Brendaly. Every parent needs to be able to feel confident that their child is in the right place while they are working every day. We are also thankful for the opportunity to develop relationships with families like the Santiagos, and to be a blessing to them in every phase of their child’s life. We are glad they feel at home!