KinderCare Learning Centers
KinderCare Learning Centers, LLC[2] is an American operator of for-profit child care and early childhood education[3] facilities founded in 1969 and currently owned by KinderCare Education based in Portland, Oregon.[4][5] The company provides educational programs for children from six weeks to 12 years old. KinderCare is the third-largest privately held company headquartered in Oregon.[5] In 39 states and the District of Columbia, some 200,000 children are enrolled in more than 1,250 (as of 2023)[6] early childhood education community centers,[3] over 600 before-and-after school programs,[7] and over 100 employer-sponsored centers. In 2021, revenue was US$7.8B (2021).[8] In 2022, it acquired Crème de la Crème, a former competitor that provided complementary services.[9]
Company type
Incorporated, Private
New York Stock Exchange Ticker KLC
July 14, 1969
Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Perry Mendel
Portland, Oregon, U.S.
1,250 locations (2023)
Tom Wyatt, CEO[1]
US$7.8 billion (2021)
36,000[1]
Company history[edit]
Founding[edit]
Perry Mendel, a real estate developer, founded KinderCare Nursery Schools after speculating that increasing numbers of women entering the workforce would increase demand for preschool child care. The first facility was opened on July 14, 1969 on Sunshine Drive in Montgomery, Alabama[10] accommodating 70 children. A second facility was opened in 1970, and the company changed its name to Kinder-Care Learning Centers, Inc. By 1971, 19 centers were in operation and the first infant care was offered.[10]
Accreditation[edit]
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and other associations have accredited over 700 KLC centers.[22]
Criticism and legal challenges[edit]
The company has been criticized as being part of the "McDonaldization of society".[24] George Ritzer criticizes the company for "hir[ing] short-term employees with little or no experience in child care".[24]
The company has been the subject of legal challenges. In Roberts v. KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc. the judgment was found for KinderCare.[25][26] In Jesi Stuthard and ADA v. Kindercare Learning Centers, Inc. judgment was against KinderCare.[27][28]