St. Luke's Preschool

What St. Luke's Preschool does

St. Luke's Preschool is a private, nonprofit early childhood education center established in 1985 and operated as a ministry of St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. The school serves families with children from 8 weeks of age through completion of pre-K4, drawing primarily from the Fondren neighborhood and the broader Jackson metro area. With approximately 40 employees, the center delivers a play-based, "Learn by Doing" curriculum framed within a Christian environment that emphasizes spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental development, and the school has prepared students for kindergarten for over 30 years.

The core offering is segmented into three age-based programs: an Infant Program (8 weeks), a Toddler Program (12-23 months), and a Preschool program covering K2 through K4. Each program runs mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon with flexible 2-5 mornings-per-week scheduling. The school layers an Extended Hours module (Early Room, midday extensions, and Late Room until 5:30 p.m.), seasonal Summer Sessions in June and July, and a recent new playground facility. Third-party extracurricular partnerships with Mississippi Metropolitan Dance Academy, Soccer Shots, and KiddyKeys extend the on-site bundle into dance, soccer, and music.

The business model is recurring tuition billed monthly from August through May, supplemented by non-refundable registration fees ($200 per child) and annual supply fees ($100-$200 depending on program). Enrollment is managed through a structured waitlist with priority registration for current students, siblings, staff children, and St. Luke's UMC members of at least one year. Director Emily Newton handles prospective-family inquiries via email and tours, with marketing concentrated through the parent church's website, Instagram (@stlukesumcjxn), and Facebook channels. The school also accepts tax-deductible donations, including specific fundraising for playground improvements.

Name

St. Luke's Preschool

Legal name

St. Luke's United Methodist Church

Website

https://stlukesjackson.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Luke's Preschool is a nonprofit early childhood center in Jackson, MS, founded 1985 and operated by St. Luke's United Methodist Church, serving families with children ages 8 weeks through pre-K4 via play-based, faith-based programs with extended hours and extracurriculars.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Early Childhood Education Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441), Child Care Services (6244), Educational Services (61)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based Preschools (EDACABAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Academic/School-Readiness Preschools (EDACABAB), Extended Day Programs at Preschools & Childcare Centers (EDACAHAB), General Preschools (Play-Based) (EDACABAA)

Keywords

• Early childhood education
• Preschool programs
• Childcare services
• Infant toddler care
• Kindergarten preparation

Headquarters

HQ city

Jackson

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Tuition: Monthly tuition payments for preschool programs (Infant, Toddler, and Preschool K2-K4) based on number of days per week attended. Tuition is due on the 5th of each month, August through May.
2. Registration Fees: Non-refundable registration fees due at enrollment: $200 for all programs.
3. Supply Fees: Annual non-refundable supply fees: $100 for Infant, $180 for Toddler (12-23 months), $200 for Preschool.
4. Extended Hours: Additional fees for extended care including Early Room (7:30-8:20), midday extensions (12:00-2:00, 12:00-4:00), and Late Room (12:00-5:30).
5. Donations: Tax-deductible donations accepted for the preschool, including specific fundraising for playground improvements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

St. Luke's Preschool provides early childhood education for children ages 8 weeks through pre-K4, operating half-day morning programs (8:30 a.m.–12:00 noon) with a play-based "Learn by Doing" curriculum. The school offers three age-based core programs (Infant, Toddler, Preschool K2-K4), optional extended hours care, and supplementary extracurriculars (dance, soccer, music) and summer sessions, all delivered within a Christian environment.

Product overview

St. Luke's Preschool is an early childhood education center established in 1985, serving children ages 8 weeks through pre-K4 completion. The program consists of three core age-based programs (Infant, Toddler, and Preschool K2-K4) that follow a play-based, 'Learn By Doing' curriculum delivered mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Extended Hours care is available as an add-on service providing before-school and after-school supervision. The preschool also partners with external providers to offer extracurricular programs including dance (Mississippi Metropolitan Dance Academy), soccer (Soccer Shots), and music instruction (KiddyKeys). Seasonal offerings include summer sessions for school-age children.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Infant Program

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Mississippi Metropolitan Dance AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party dance program offered as an extracurricular activity at St. Luke's Preschool, providing ballet instruction for enrolled children.
• Soccer ShotsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party soccer program offered as an extracurricular activity at St. Luke's Preschool, providing youth soccer instruction.
• KiddyKeysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThird-party music program offered as an extracurricular activity at St. Luke's Preschool, providing piano-based music education for young children.
• Mark Hinkle PhotographyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhotography services for individual fall photos of K2, K3, and K4 students.
• United Methodist Church of HondurasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerChurch mission partnership spanning over 10 years, involving building stoves, churches, and a mission and conference center in Tegucigalpa. Annual mission trips conducted each June.
• Habitat for HumanityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnnual partnership with other Methodist churches in Jackson and Habitat for Humanity to help make affordable housing possible for deserving families.
• Methodist Children's HomeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term commitment providing gifts such as school supplies, summer pool toys, and bedding throughout the year. Christmas stockings packed annually for residents.
• United Methodist Church Early Response Team NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrained team equipped to deploy immediately in response to destructive events. Team has secured roofs after tornadoes, cleaned houses after floods, and rehabbed walls after hurricanes.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Children's Lighthouse Learning Centers: Franchised private preschool network offering infant care through pre-K with a values-based curriculum. Comparable as a smaller-scale, values-driven private preschool brand, though faith-based programming differs from St. Luke's explicitly Christian environment.
• Guidepost Montessori: Growing national Montessori preschool and elementary network. Comparable as a private, tuition-driven early childhood provider with extended-hours options, differentiated by a Montessori (vs. faith-based play-based) pedagogy.

Regional players

• Mississippi United Methodist Early Learning Centers: Network of United Methodist-affiliated preschools and child development centers across Mississippi. Closest peer on operating model: faith-based, church-administered early childhood programs serving local families in Mississippi communities.
• Jackson Academy (Early Childhood / Preschool): Independent private K–12 school in Jackson, MS operating an early childhood program. Comparable as a tuition-based, academically oriented preschool serving the same Jackson MSA market, though attached to a secular private school rather than a church.

Broad incumbents

• Cadence Education: Large private-equity-backed operator of more than 200 preschools and early childhood education centers across the U.S. Comparable tuition-based infant-through-pre-K model; relevant as a scaled consolidator benchmark for any future roll-up of independent preschools.
• The Goddard School: Franchised private preschool system focused on early childhood education for infants through pre-K. Comparable tuition-based preschool model and curriculum-led positioning, but operating through a national franchise rather than a single faith-based site.
• Primrose Schools: Franchised private preschool network offering infant-through-after-school programs with a proprietary Balanced Learning curriculum. Comparable as a tuition-driven private preschool operator, though delivered via franchise vs. a church-operated nonprofit.
• La Petite Academy: National child care and preschool chain offering infant care, preschool, and before/after-school programs. Comparable full-day, age-banded early childhood model that competes for the same working-parent segment in many U.S. markets.
• KinderCare Learning Companies: National for-profit operator of infant care, preschool, and before/after-school programs. Comparable in core offering (age-banded early childhood education with extended hours), though operating at chain scale versus St. Luke's single-site, faith-based model.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Largest U.S. operator of employer-sponsored early childhood education and care centers. Comparable as a provider of tuition-based, full-day infant-through-preschool programs, though at much larger scale and with a corporate (vs. faith-based) model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/stlukesumcjxn
• Instagraminstagram.com/stlukesumcjxn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st-luke-s-preschool-umc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 St. Luke's Preschool