Smarty Pants: Top Early Learning Franchise

Winner: The Goddard School

Finalists: Celebree School, Kiddie Academy

A passion for early childhood education is nonnegotiable. So said Shalini Dhiman, and it’s the advice she shares with prospective franchisees considering The Goddard School.

“You just can’t feel like, hey, I’m going to put in money, open a business and let it run itself. No. You need to be passionate about the field, about being in a business that provides education for children,” said Dhiman, a former human resources leader. “You can’t want to be just a boss. You need to be a team player and you need to trust the brand.”

A Goddard School franchisee since 2013, Dhiman opened her location in Carlsbad, California, after three “horrible experiences” of her own as she sought childcare for her daughter. While living in Virginia, where there are about 30 Goddards, she deeply researched the brand, its operational standards and what she described as its “teaching the whole child” approach. When it was time to relocate back to the West Coast, she said, “This is what we’re going to bring to our community.”

This year’s Zor Awards winner in the Smarty Pants category, which examined top early learning franchises, The Goddard School stood out for its strong return on investment potential, detailed and informative Item 19, and consistent pace of unit openings.

The robust financial performance information disclosed is notable, with gross revenue, payroll, occupancy and total expense data provided for nearly 600 of its mature franchise schools, those open more than 18 months, and its new franchises. Average revenue for mature schools was $2.28 million in 2023, while 37 new schools reported an average of $1.1 million.

A separate chart depicts average revenue and EBITDA, or operating profit, for mature schools based on the number of full-time students. Mature schools with an average student occupancy of 85.8 percent had an average EBITDA of $498,016, or 21.8 percent.

For a leased facility, the cost to open a Goddard School ranges from $902,500 to $1.3 million, while franchisees who purchase land and build a school can expect to invest between $5 million and $8.5 million. It’s not a small investment, franchisees noted, and those considering the concept need to make sure they understand the full financial picture.

Goddard provides clear cost information, said franchisee Leisa Byars, and securing appropriate funding is crucial.

“Make sure that you have enough capital to get going, because it can take a while to fill up,” continued Byars, who opened her first school, a ground-up build, in 2010. “And I think it’s important to understand and value marketing and advertising, and knowing that’s an investment. I’m a firm believer in that. But I think it’s important to realize those dollars are an investment.”

Byars spent nearly a decade at Ford Motor Company and was the global marketing manager, then led marketing and artist development for what’s now Capitol Records before she “finally had the nerve to do my own thing.” She researched numerous franchise segments before zeroing in on education.

Goddard’s curriculum—it uses an exclusive inquiry-based education program called Wonder of Learning—and professional standards across its classrooms were among its impressive attributes, said Byars.

She introduced the brand in the greater Nashville, Tennessee, area and today has four locations with a fifth set to open this year as part of the Nashville Yards development. Most of her schools are at capacity with about 200 students each, and the demand for high-quality childcare is only growing, she added.

“It’s the teachers and also the enrichment. There’s foreign language, there’s yoga, there’s all these other things that we offer, which parents are looking for,” said Byars. “Even more than that, they’re looking for someone they can trust. And that’s what we strive to do, be a trusted resource for families.”

Attracting and retaining strong educators is critical to the success of her schools, she pointed out. They’re professionals, and need to be compensated well. Byars provides paid time off, a 401(k) retirement plan and other benefits, along with new career opportunities such as advancing from teacher to school director.

Byars leaned heavily on her franchisor in her first years as a franchisee and said she’s been glad to see the brand evolve its level of support for and embracement of multi-unit owners after decades of a single-unit development focus. Other franchisees are likewise supportive, she said, willing to share advice and collaborate. Unannounced quality assurance checks, meanwhile, ensure franchisees are adhering to operational standards.

The financial performance of her schools is surpassing expectations. “The only reason I’m able to keep growing is because we have exceeded financial goals,” said Byars. “It’s been a great investment for my family.”

Dhiman’s school is among the top performers in the system and was a Circle of Excellence award winner in 2023 and 2024. Those accolades came, she said, as a result of rigorous adherence to brand standards and the cultivation of a strong community where teachers feel respected and parents see the value in everything from the clean facility to the curriculum and Goddard’s emphasis on social-emotional development.

“I have parents coming and saying, we don’t mind paying a higher end of the tuition because we know our child is getting the best education possible for that age and we know our child is taken care of because we have very stringent health and safety policies,” said Dhiman.

She has an active license to open a second school, but said the real estate market in Southern California had made it tough to find the right site.

The Goddard School

Positives

• With its curiosity-driven curriculum, specially designed playgrounds and other amenities such as art studios and yoga classes, Goddard aims to stand out in the childcare space.
• Franchisees describe a supportive environment where the franchisor provides robust resources from site selection and training to ongoing operational development.

Use Caution

• With its higher cost of investment—$5 million-plus to build and open a new school—prospective franchisees need to ensure they have enough upfront capital and a long-term funding plan in place.

The Goddard School, based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, has more than 640 franchised locations—corporate doesn’t operate any units—offering childcare and early childhood education for infants and kids up to age 6. It’s been owned by private equity firm Sycamore Partners since 2022.