Aurora City Council approves plans for new Goddard School, Aurora Dental facilities

Aurora City Council on March 11 approved Greens of Aurora’s plan to build a 10,600 square foot Goddard School and a 7,300 square foot dental clinic on the east side of North Chillicothe Road, across from Barrington Plaza. The project footprint is 8.9 acres.

Headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, The Goddard School is a year-round early childhood educational franchise that provides services for infants to pre-K and offers before and after-school programming, as well. The Aurora facility will also offer summer camp programs for elementary school children.

The franchisees are Kim DiMuzio of Aurora and Karen Rinas of Macedonia. DiMuzio also owns and operates a Goddard School in Chagrin Falls. She and her husband Scott DiMuzio are also part owners of Goddard Schools in Hudson, as well as in Pittsburgh and Spring House in Pennsylvania.

The Aurora facility will be state-licensed, and its teachers will meet all state regulations, as well as having access to continuous professional development offered by the state and Goddard University.

With groundbreaking set for March 20, Kim DiMuzio said she hopes to open this fall.

“Growing up in the area, I knew Aurora desperately needed another preschool,” she said. “The one thing they were always lacking was a premier preschool for their children to grow and learn. Goddard offers inquiry-based learning, honing in on social-emotional skills, as well as being confident, prepared future kindergarteners.”

The other building on the site will be occupied by Aurora Dental, which will be moving from its current facility at 258 Route 82.

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People don’t think much about what equipment their city’s first responders have until it’s their turn to place that 9-1-1 call. City Council on March 11 approved $196,729 for an ambulance cot, an automatic loading system for the cot, a Lifepak 15 cardiac monitor/defibrillator, four LUCAS chest compression systems, associated batteries and accessories and 48 months of preventive maintenance service contracts on the devices.

City leaders also approved mutual aid agreements with surrounding communities.

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Council continued to postpone action on the proposed $4.5 million purchase of about 40 acres of the former SeaWorld amusement park, all of Geauga Lake itself and an easement around the lake. The measure has been on hold for months while city leaders negotiate sale details.