John Palumbo Leads Franchise Development at Celebree School

Celebree School, a Maryland-based early childhood education franchise, has named John Palumbo vice president of franchise development. Palumbo has more than 20 years of experience in franchise development with brands including A&W Restaurants, H&R Block and Primrose Schools. He also is the founder of Palumbo Consulting Group. In his new role, Palumbo leads Celebree School’s national development strategy, builds non-traditional growth programs and manages multi-brand pipelines.

“As a father of four children, early education has always been important to me,” Palumbo said. “I’ve seen firsthand the difference it can make in a child’s life when it’s done right. Celebree does it right and has been doing so for over 30 years. Having built and operated more than two dozen corporate Celebree Schools beginning in 1994 and continuing to today gives us a unique perspective — we understand a day in the life of a franchisee. It is an exciting opportunity to add value and help scale this brand through the lens of responsible growth.”

He said responsible growth includes strong support in real estate, construction, design and pre-opening marketing, along with ongoing marketing and operational support. “We’re also continuously improving in these areas,” he said.

Palumbo joins the leadership team following a milestone 2025 for the company, which included 16 new franchise agreements and 15 school openings. Looking ahead, future development is planned in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Texas markets, including Dallas, Houston and Austin.

Richard Huffman, founder and CEO of Celebree School, said Palumbo has the expertise required to take the franchise to the next level. “Not only does he understand the early childhood education landscape, but his innate understanding for franchising combined with his consulting experience provides a new perspective on scaling sustainably,” Huffman said.

Palumbo said he believes success at Celebree, and in franchising more broadly, begins and ends with franchisees. “The success of the franchisee community, both new and tenured, is simple: I serve at the pleasure of our leadership team and exist because of the success of our franchisee family. It all begins and ends with them. Listen to your franchisees. If you do, they will tell you what’s working, what’s not, share great new ideas, and most importantly, remind you why we do what we do.”

Founded in 1994 and franchised since 2019, Celebree School provides infant and toddler care, preschool, before and aftercare, and summer camp programs. Each school employs a customized program that addresses the physical, social, emotional and academic needs of its students.