Dennis R Maple On The 5 Things Parents Can Do To Help Their Children Thrive and Excel In School

Let Kids Play. Social-emotional development is a critical need for kids during the ongoing pandemic. As parents place more of an emphasis on this, they are also making it a priority for their kids to be able to spend time with other kids this school year. Face-to-face and play-based interactions for young kids are crucially important for social-emotional development. A great example is the social and leadership lessons kids can learn through a game, like Follow the Leader. At face value, it’s a simple fun activity. But Follow the Leader teaches important skills like listening, comradery, and teamwork.

School is really not easy these days. Many students have been out of school for a long time because of the pandemic, and the continued disruptions and anxieties are still breaking the flow of normal learning. What can parents do to help their children thrive and excel in school, particularly during these challenging and anxiety-provoking times?

To address this, we started a new series called ‘5 Things Parents Can Do To Help Their Children Thrive and Excel In School.” In this interview series, we are talking to teachers, principals, education experts, and successful parents to learn from their insights and experience.

As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure to interview Dennis R. Maple, Chairman and CEO of Goddard Systems, Inc. (GSI), the franchisor of The Goddard School, the leading premium childcare provider in the U.S.

In his role, Dennis provides leadership to the GSI executive team and guides the broader vision of The Goddard School system, which represents more than 560 franchises serving over 70,000 students aged six weeks to six years old in 38 states.

He has a 39-year professional career that includes executive leadership and general management…