Early Care and Education

What Early Care and Education does

Early Care and Education is a private, for-profit early-childhood-education operator running six physical school campuses across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex: Arlington, Coppell, two Flower Mound campuses (Justin Road and Forest Vista), North Richland Hills, and Southlake/Keller. Founded circa 2014 and reportedly serving families for 11+ years, the company delivers a full age-band program from infant care (six weeks) through Pre-Kindergarten, plus two extension offerings, the STEM Station before-and-after-school program and a summer camp for children ages 5-12. Headcount is approximately 112 dedicated teachers, with cited enrollment of 112+ students, supported by school directors whose tenures in early-childhood education range from roughly 11 to 28 years and who carry state director credentials, Child Development Associate Credentials, and CPR/First Aid certifications. Distribution is exclusively through owned, in-person facilities; there is no online-only or remote service delivery.

The platform is built on three standardized, externally developed curricula: Frog Street (used across infant through Pre-K and integrating STEAM learning with dual-language strategies), The Creative Curriculum (Pre-K Today program for three-year-olds), and Conscious Discipline as the unifying social-emotional-learning methodology. Programs are bundled with value-adds that include diapers and wipes for infants, breakfast/lunch/snack, and transportation to and from local elementary schools. Marketing and customer acquisition rely on a direct-to-consumer mix of website content, Google reviews, scheduled school tours, and word-of-mouth referrals, with no paid-advertising or partner-channel spend disclosed. Customer relationships are long-tenured, with testimonials reporting families enrolled 12+ years across multiple children, supporting high implied retention at the local level.

The business model is a recurring tuition subscription paid weekly or monthly by parents for the relevant age-band program, with pricing handled through individual enrollment forms and tuition agreements (rates are not publicly listed). The company is an approved participant in the Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) program, which enables qualifying families to apply state funds toward private Pre-K tuition. Revenue concentration is the standard long-tail of a consumer service business (one parent = one enrollment) with no large institutional customers, and the company has no disclosed funding events, M&A, or parent-company affiliation in the source data.

Name

Early Care and Education

Legal name

Early Care & Education

Website

https://earlycareandeducation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Early Care and Education is a private operator of six preschools and childcare campuses in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, serving families with children from infancy through Pre-K via the Frog Street and Conscious Discipline curricula, plus before/after-school and summer-camp programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education & Childcare Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Educational Services (61)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Infant & Toddler Classrooms within Childcare Centers (EDACAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Center-Based Infant Care (0–18 months) (EDACAGAA), Center-Based Toddler Care (18–36 months) (EDACAGAB)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Childcare services
• Preschool programs
• Before and after school care
• Summer camp programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Coppell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Childcare and Preschool Tuition: The primary revenue stream comes from tuition payments for childcare and preschool services. Programs include infant care, toddler programs, preschool, Pre-K, before/after school care, and summer camp. Tuition is typically paid on a recurring basis (weekly or monthly). The company provides enrollment forms, tuition agreements, and Tuition Express authorization for payment processing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Early Care & Education operates a network of six licensed preschool and childcare schools across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, providing full-day early childhood education and care from infancy through Pre-Kindergarten. Core offerings include infant care, toddler programs, preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, before/after-school care (STEM Station), and summer camp, all delivered at physical school campuses using research-based Frog Street curriculum and Conscious Discipline methodology.

Product overview

Early Care & Education operates a network of 6 preschool and childcare schools across the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas. The company offers a unified early childhood education platform serving children from infancy through Pre-Kindergarten, with age-appropriate programs including Infant, Toddler, Preschool, and Pre-K programs. Supporting the core programs are add-on modules including STEM Station (before/after-school care) and Summer Camp. All programs use research-based curricula including Frog Street (for infants through Pre-K) and The Creative Curriculum (for Pre-K Today), unified by the Conscious Discipline social-emotional methodology. The company also participates in Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) for private Pre-K funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STEM Station: After-school and summer camp program offering hands-on STEAM learning activities for school-age children, including science, technology, engineering, art, and math enrichment.

Products and services

• Infant Program Full-day care program for babies from birth to 18 months that supports physical, emotional, and cognitive development through the Frog Street Infant curriculum in a safe, nurturing environment.
• Toddler Program Program for children ages 18-36 months focused on nurturing curiosity, independence, and growth through the Frog Street Toddler curriculum with 52 weeks of developmentally appropriate activities.
• Preschool Program Academic foundation program for preschoolers focusing on early literacy, math, science, and social-emotional growth using the Frog Street Preschool curriculum with STEAM activities.
• Pre-Kindergarten Program Kindergarten preparation program with a comprehensive, research-based Frog Street Pre-K curriculum featuring a dual-language approach and STEAM exploration.
• STEM Station Before-and-after-school program and summer camp offering hands-on STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) for school-age children, with role-model instructors trained in Conscious Discipline.
• Summer Camp Full-day summer camp for children ages 5-12 featuring STEM learning, weekly themed activities, field trips, creative projects, and meals included.
• Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA) Private Pre-K Funding State program participation enabling qualifying families to apply state funds toward approved education expenses including private Pre-K tuition at participating Early Care & Education campuses.

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Texas Education Freedom Accounts (TEFA)coreOthersState program administered by the Texas Education Agency that provides qualifying families with state funds for approved education expenses including private Pre-K and kindergarten tuition. Early Care & Education participates at approved locations across all 6 DFW schools, allowing eligible families to offset private school tuition costs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Primrose Schools: Premier private preschool franchise operator with research-based curriculum and accredited programs, closely matching ECE's premium, curriculum-led, multi-age (infant through Pre-K) service model.
• The Goddard School: Premium private preschool franchise using a proprietary curriculum (Goddard School Education Framework), serving infants through Pre-K with all-inclusive tuition — directly comparable to ECE's positioning and bundled offering.
• Crème de la Crème: Premium private early learning and care operator with proprietary curriculum and all-inclusive tuition, directly comparable to ECE on premium positioning, bundled services, and center-based infant-Pre-K programming.
• Guidepost Montessori: Premium early childhood education operator running center-based Montessori programs from infant through kindergarten, comparable to ECE as a multi-site, curriculum-driven, tuition-based preschool platform.
• Kids R Kids: Private franchised childcare and preschool operator offering infant care through after-school programs with accredited curriculum, comparable to ECE in program breadth and premium private positioning.

Broad incumbents

• KinderCare Learning Centers: Largest U.S. early childhood education provider with center-based infant through Pre-K programs; broader incumbent offering overlapping services but at scale and across many more geographies than ECE.
• Learning Care Group: Multi-brand early childhood operator (Childtime, Tutor Time, La Petite Academy) serving infant through school-age; broader incumbent with overlapping center-based programs but a multi-brand, national footprint versus ECE's regional single-brand model.
• Cadence Education: Large U.S. early childhood education platform with 200+ centers across multiple brands; broader incumbent offering comparable infant-through-Pre-K center-based programs at national scale.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: National early education and care operator with strong employer-sponsored center footprint; broader incumbent offering overlapping infant/Pre-K services but with a different go-to-market and national scale.

Regional players

• New Horizon Academy: Privately held, multi-site early childhood education operator primarily in the Upper Midwest, comparable to ECE as a regional, multi-center, curriculum-driven preschool operator with bundled tuition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Early-Care-and-Education-203582403015103
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smith-early-care-and-education

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Early Care and Education