Goddard School breaks ground on Mars location
ADAMS TWP — A new early learning center will soon open along Route 228 across from Mars Area schools.
The Goddard School, which is quickly growing in Pennsylvania, held an official groundbreaking ceremony on a new Mars area location Tuesday, Nov. 26. It will be built at 1000 Winston Way.
Giovanni and Caterina Cuzzocrea, residents of Mars, are the co-owners the Goddard School’s new Mars location. Giovanni said his background with Goddard School involvement dates back to 2008, when they first moved to Mars.
They met Matt and Dina Speranza around this time, when both of their children got involved in the local youth football organization. Cuzzocrea said he was a commercial banker for Matt Speranza.
Speranza, who is currently on the Goddard School system’s advisory council, is the owner of numerous Goddard School locations, including one in Cranberry. The Mars area location with be Speranza’s 15th school.
Speranza said the system has been planning this project since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuzzocrea said as a local Mars guy, he wants to give back to the community, emphasizing providing quality education for the young people of the Mars area.
“My vision for the Mars school is to truly create a loving, safe environment for these kids, for their social, emotional and academic development,” Cuzzocrea said. “I’m excited to bring Goddard and its Wonder of Learning curriculum to the Mars area; that’s going to allow these kids to explore their interests and love of learning.”
The effort to see this project through has been tight-knit. Among the attendees of the groundbreaking were multiple site owners of other Goddard School locations in Western Pennsylvania. Speranza said his daughter will be the first kindergarten teacher at the Mars location following her graduation this spring.
“Really seeing what they’re all about, the early education, the curriculum they provide, through the growth of the Speranzas, they have locations all throughout Pittsburgh, Wexford, Moon, North Huntingdon, out toward Philadelphia; we’re breaking ground on locations in Cleveland, down in Florida,” Cuzzocrea said. “Since I was his banker, I understood the ins and outs of the industry; that’s when I decided to get involved.”
Goddard leaders expect the school to be ready to open by July or August.
Cuzzocrea said enrollment is now open, and the school is currently formulating a waitlist. The school will hold about 160 full-time students. It will be available for children from as early as six weeks all the way up through kindergarten, and will provide after-school programs as well.
Cuzzocrea said the Goddard School will partner with the Mars Area School District for bus transportation and will cooperate to enable children who attend a half-day at Mars to also do a half-day at Goddard.
Matt Zaia, Goddard School’s senior vice president and chief development officer, said the Goddard School currently has locations in 38 states. Emphasizing the school’s strong presence in the northeast, particularly in both eastern and Western Pennsylvania, he said it is “good to grow in the home base,” with the new local site being the 52nd location in Pennsylvania.
According to its website, the Goddard School serves more than 75,000 children in all its locations.
