Big Blue Marble Academy

What Big Blue Marble Academy does

Big Blue Marble Academy (BBMA) is a private, for-profit operator of preschool and childcare centers founded in 2012 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. As of March 2025 the company operated 92 physical centers across nine U.S. states (southeastern concentration plus a new Virginia entry), serving children from six weeks old through pre-kindergarten, as well as school-age children in before-/after-school and summer camp programs. The company also participates in state-funded pre-K initiatives including Georgia Pre-K, Florida VPK, and South Carolina First Steps.

BBMA's product surface is organized by age band — Infants, Toddlers, Twos, Threes, Fours, Summer Camp, Spanish Immersion Preschool, and Before-/After-School Care — unified by a proprietary play-based curriculum framework called "Passport to Learning." The curriculum integrates five sub-products (Global Perspective, Service Learning, STEAM, Language Skills, and Kindergarten Readiness) and includes a developmental milestone tracking system used to monitor language, motor, social-emotional, and cognitive progress. The company's stated differentiator is global awareness and citizenship education starting in early childhood, operationalized through student-led community fundraising (more than $275,000 raised across nine states in 2025 for causes including maternal health in Sierra Leone).

BBMA's business model is recurring tuition and childcare fees paid by individual families, supplemented by state-funded pre-K subsidies and seasonal summer camp revenue. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; parents contact local centers or submit online enrollment inquiry forms handled by an enrollment advisor team. The go-to-market is sales-led at the local level, with a "Find a School" website locator and campus tours. The company expands both organically and through acquisitions, brokered by a formal relationship with HINGE Early Education Advisors, and is institutionally backed by Sterling Partners (2018 funding round). Revenue is not disclosed, and headcount is in the 1,001-5,000 range.

Name

Big Blue Marble Academy

Legal name

Big Blue Marble Academy

Website

https://bbmacademy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Big Blue Marble Academy operates 92 preschool and childcare centers across nine U.S. states, serving infants through pre-kindergarten children with a proprietary play-based curriculum and participating in state-funded pre-K programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Services

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

General Preschools (Play-Based) (EDACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Infant-Focused Childcare Centers (EDACAAAF), Toddler-Focused Childcare Centers (EDACAAAG), Full-Day Nursery Programs (EDACACAD), Infant & Toddler Classrooms within Childcare Centers (EDACAGAC)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Preschool childcare
• Before after school care
• Private preschool network
• Infant daycare programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Gilbert

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Childcare Fees: Revenue is generated through tuition fees for childcare and preschool programs covering infants, toddlers, twos, threes, fours, and before/after-school care. Programs also include state-funded options such as Georgia Pre-K, Florida VPK, and SC First Steps.
2. Summer Camp Programs: Seasonal revenue from summer camp programs offered during school breaks.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Big Blue Marble Academy operates a network of 80+ physical early-education and childcare centers across multiple U.S. states, delivering age-based programs (infants, toddlers, twos, threes, fours) plus before/after-school care, summer camp, Spanish immersion, and state-funded Pre-K (Georgia Pre-K, Florida VPK, SC First Steps). Its proprietary "Passport to Learning" curriculum integrates global perspective, service learning, STEAM, language development, and kindergarten readiness across all programs.

Product overview

Big Blue Marble Academy operates a network of 80+ childcare and early education centers across nine states as a unified platform offering age-specific programs for children from infancy through school age. The portfolio includes Infants, Toddlers, Twos, Threes, Fours, Summer Camp, Spanish Immersion Preschool, and Before-/After-School Care programs, supplemented by state-funded initiatives (Georgia Pre-K, Florida VPK, SC First Steps). The core differentiator is the Passport to Learning Curriculum—a proprietary framework integrating Global Perspective, Service Learning, Language Skills, STEAM, and Kindergarten Readiness sub-products—that unifies all programs with a consistent global-aware, play-based approach. BBMA also grows through strategic acquisitions, having recently expanded into Virginia with The Cedarhouse School.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Infants Program Early childhood care program for infants from 6 weeks to 12 months, providing developmentally appropriate activities and responsive caregiving in a safe environment.
• Toddlers Program Early education program for children aged 12-24 months, focusing on developmental milestones, language acquisition, and social-emotional growth.
• Twos Program Early education program for two-year-old children, emphasizing language development, motor skills, and social interaction through play-based activities.
• Threes Program Preschool program for three-year-olds focused on cooperative play, early literacy, and developing social skills in group settings.
• Fours Program Pre-kindergarten program for four- to five-year-olds emphasizing school readiness, early literacy, and pre-math skills.
• Summer Camp Seasonal summer program for school-age children featuring enrichment activities, field trips, and continued learning opportunities.
• Spanish Immersion Preschool Bilingual early education program introducing Spanish language through immersive teaching methods alongside the core curriculum.
• SC First Steps South Carolina state-funded early childhood program supporting children's development from birth through age four.
• Georgia Pre-K Georgia state-funded pre-kindergarten program preparing children for kindergarten through research-based curriculum.
• Florida VPK Florida Voluntary Prekindergarten program offering free educational instruction for four- and five-year-olds before kindergarten.
• Before-/After-School Care Extended care program for school-age children before and after regular school hours, providing homework help and enrichment activities.
• Passport to Learning Curriculum BBMA's proprietary play-based curriculum framework integrating global awareness, service learning, language development, STEAM education, and kindergarten readiness across all programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Students raised more than $275,000 in donations in 2025 through service learning projects

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• HINGE Early Education AdvisorscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 11 March 2025HINGE Early Education Advisors brokered the acquisition of The Cedarhouse School in Midlothian, Virginia, marking BBMA's first school in Virginia and 92nd nationwide. HINGE serves as a specialized advisor facilitating mergers and acquisitions in the early childhood education sector.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• New Horizon Academy: Privately held ECE operator with schools across the Midwest and Southeast, offering infant through pre-K programs with proprietary curriculum. Comparable to BBMA in operating model and curriculum-led differentiation, though primarily Northern in origin.
• Childcare Network: Private ECE operator with a strong Southeastern US footprint, offering infant through pre-K and before/after-school care. Closely comparable to BBMA in geography, age range, and working-family positioning.

Direct peers

• KinderCare Learning Companies: Largest private early childhood education provider in the US with over 1,500 centers, offering infant through pre-K programs plus before/after-school care. Directly comparable to BBMA on product mix, age range, and parent-facing operating model.
• The Goddard School: Franchised private preschool system with 500+ schools using a play-based, STEAM-enriched curriculum. Directly comparable to BBMA on private-pay preschool model, curriculum differentiation, and multi-state franchise-style expansion.
• Primrose Schools: Franchised private preschool network with ~500+ schools offering an early learning curriculum for infants through pre-K. Comparable to BBMA on curriculum-led positioning and franchise/company-owned hybrid growth.
• Learning Care Group: Operates multiple ECE brands (Childtime, Tutor Time, La Petite Academy) with ~1,000+ schools nationwide. Comparable to BBMA as a multi-brand private early childhood platform serving working families.
• Cadence Education: One of the largest private early childhood education platforms in the US, operating ~300 schools across 30+ states. BBMA's COO Lynn Albright Daniels ran Cadence's operations, and the two compete directly for multi-state scale and acquisition targets.
• The Learning Experience: TPG-backed private operator of ~300+ preschools nationwide with a branded curriculum focused on philanthropy, character development, and enrichment. Directly comparable to BBMA on private-pay preschool model and PE-backed multi-state growth.

Emerging players

• Guidepost Montessori: Fast-growing private Montessori-focused ECE operator with 100+ schools across the US. Comparable to BBMA as a curriculum-led, multi-state private preschool platform pursuing similar parent demographics, though differentiated by Montessori pedagogy.

Broad incumbents

• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Public, large-scale provider of early education and child care, with significant corporate-sponsored center business. Comparable in core offering (infant through pre-K, full-day care) but operates at much greater scale and with a heavier employer-sponsored model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-blue-marble-academy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Big Blue Marble Academy