Celebree School Plans to Bring Its Unique Blend of Fun and Learning to Northern Virginia

Since 1994, Celebree School has prided itself on creating a family-focused concept and supportive community through the core values of “Protect, Educate and Nurture.” The leading childcare franchise encourages confidence in an atmosphere where children feel safe to explore and take developmentally appropriate risks.

In the past two decades, Celebree School has opened 26 corporate-owned locations. Since starting to franchise in 2018, the brand has signed seven franchisees, with two more coming aboard in February 2020. Now, Celebree School is looking to expand past its origins in Lutherville, Maryland to the Mid-Atlantic, with sights set specifically on Northern Virginia.

“Our development team has identified Northern Virginia as a key target market for growth,” said Jim DiRugeris, Chief Development Officer. “Particularly, we are looking to expand throughout Arlington County, Loudoun County, Fairfax County and Woodbridge County.”

Growth Strategy

Celebree School separates itself from the competition through a purposeful growth strategy. “We’ve been able to dominate the Maryland market because we’ve grown organically, community by community,” said DiRugeris. “We make sure to focus on areas that are near other Celebree Schools, meet our primary demographic and feature a strong population of families. The Mid-Atlantic region holds 15% of the country’s total population and some of the highest median wages.”

Nationally, the childcare and education segment is on the rise, with 12.5 million children in child care every week and an estimated annual industry revenue of $53.1 billion by 2023. According to 2019 FranData, the early education segment is the second-fastest-growing franchise category in the U.S., and the third most profitable.

“60% of parents prefer center-based child care,” said DiRugeris. “Our business model serves children 6 weeks to 12 years old and the Northern Virginia market contains a high population of children in our primary age range. While most of our competitors only serve children up to the age of 5, we offer after school programs to care for older kids as well.”

Business Model

In addition to this strong consumer offering, Celebree School positions franchisees for success by focusing on three key business pillars—Talent, Brand and Operations. Since the leading early childhood education business model is founded on the concept of being part of a neighborhood, it is also central to the Celebree School brand identity that franchisees maintain the local connections that make the childcare franchise opportunity unique.

“We want our franchise owners to have roots in the community where they will open their doors,” said DiRugeris. “Having a core concentration makes us stronger as an enterprise. Instead of randomly awarding franchises throughout the country, our business model focuses on a thoughtful expansion that does not compromise the integrity of our brand.”

According to DiRugeris, the ideal Celebree School franchisee is an active owner-operator. “A franchise partner needs to be able to manage a world-class team, be willing to work within our system, and, most importantly, be eager to leverage a local sphere of influence,” said DiRugeris. “We are establishing villages where people passionate about early childhood education can protect, educate and nurture, so we want our franchise owners to have roots in their community.”

Celebree School franchisees are given access to a strong support infrastructure, which includes help with site selection, construction, financing, training, Grand Opening, staffing recommendations, accreditation, marketing efforts to bring in leads and much more.

“With the success of our corporate-owned school in Germantown, Maryland, we are confident that the surrounding area of Northern Virginia is ready for Celebree School,” said DiRugeris. “We are looking to partner with qualified franchisees in order to give people the opportunity to grow as entrepreneurs and professionals and to make a difference in the lives of children and families.”