Free To Be Me

What Free To Be Me does

Free To Be Me Preschool is an independent, privately held child care and early education center headquartered at 63 Woodstown Rd., Mullica Hill, NJ. Founded in 1975 and owned since 2008 by John Crescenzi, the center provides age-appropriate care and instruction for children ranging from six weeks old through fifth grade, operating Monday through Friday from 6:30 AM to 6:00 PM year-round. Its core offering is a portfolio of six age-segregated programs — the Infant Room, Toddler Room, Beginner's Room, Preschooler's Room, Pre-K Room, and a Before/After School Program for K-5 students — plus a Summer Camp add-on.

The underlying product is a child-centered learning program built around hands-on, sensory-based activities, interest and learning centers, educational games, arts and crafts, and structured play. Core subjects (math, science, beginning sounds, writing readiness) are layered with creative subjects (art, music, simple Spanish, sign language), and Head Teachers are required to be New Jersey State Certified Teachers or hold a minimum Bachelor's degree. The teaching staff collectively has over 100 years of combined classroom experience, and senior staff members have served the center for 10+ years.

The business operates a tuition-based, subscription-recurring revenue model billed monthly to parents, with fees not publicly disclosed. Distribution is single-site physical, supplemented by bus-service partnerships with Harrison Township School and Pleasant Valley School for the before/after school program. Go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct parent outreach via phone and in-person visits, the center's website, Google reviews, and word-of-mouth within Mullica Hill and surrounding Gloucester County communities. The company has no recorded funding rounds, no parent entity, no public financial disclosures, and no AI, app, or API surface.

Name

Free To Be Me

Legal name

Free To Be Me Preschool

Website

https://freetobeme.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Free To Be Me is an independent preschool and child care center in Mullica Hill, NJ serving children ages six weeks through fifth grade through age-segregated programs, a before/after school program, and summer camp on a tuition-based model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Childcare and Preschool Services

NAICS

Child Care Services (62441)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

General Preschools (Play-Based) (EDACABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Full-Day Nursery Programs (EDACACAD), Preschool Programs within Childcare Centers (EDACABAL)

Keywords

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

Headquarters

HQ city

Mullica Hill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Childcare and Preschool Tuition: Tuition-based revenue model for full-day and half-day childcare programs for children ages 6 weeks through Pre-Kindergarten, as well as before and after school programs for Kindergarten through 5th grade students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Free To Be Me Preschool is a single-location, independent preschool and childcare center that provides age-appropriate care and instruction for children ages 6 weeks through 5th grade. Core offerings include tiered classroom programs (Infant, Toddler, Beginner, Preschooler, Pre-K), a before/after school program for K-5 students, and a summer camp, delivered through a child-centered, play-based, hands-on curriculum combining academic and creative subjects.

Product overview

Free To Be Me Preschool and Childcare Center is an independent preschool and daycare providing age-appropriate care and education for children ages 6 weeks to 5th grade. The center operates a comprehensive portfolio of programs including the Infant Room, Toddler Room, Beginner's Room, Preschooler's Room, Pre-K Room, Before and After School Program, and Summer Camp. The center focuses on early childhood education and academic readiness through a child-centered learning program using play-based, hands-on activities, arts & crafts, music, and structured learning to prepare students for elementary school success.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Infant Room Infant care program for children as young as 6 weeks old, providing daily reports on feedings, diaper changes, napping schedules, and developmental activities including rolling over, crawling, and walking. Designed for working parents needing close parent-teacher communication and individualized attention.
• Toddler Room Toddler program focused on play and educational development, covering fine and gross motor skills, flash cards, problem solving, and sharing/taking turns with structured daily activities and outside playtime.
• Beginner's Room Beginner program combining fun and creativity with structured learning, covering constructing projects (cutting, gluing, coloring), puzzles, games, enrichment activities, counting, ABCs, colors, shapes, and simple Spanish.
• Preschooler's Room Preschool program focusing on academic learning including exploring beginning sounds, math concepts, complex projects, interactive Circle Time, shapes, social skills, and language and literacy development.
• Pre-K Room Pre-K preparation program focused on Kindergarten readiness through daily Circle Time, academic papers, writing reinforcement, reading readiness, math concepts, science activities, and social skill development.
• Before and After School Program Before and after school care for children in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade, providing reinforcement activities, homework help, outdoor time, games, and relaxation activities with bus service to Harrison Township and Pleasant Valley schools.
• Summer Camp Summer camp programs with optional field trips for children in Kindergarten through Fifth Grade, providing full-day summer care with educational and recreational activities during school breaks.

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Harrison Township SchoolcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSchool bus partnership where Harrison Township provides transportation for children attending the before and after school program. Children are picked up from and dropped back to Free To Be Me Preschool.
• Pleasant Valley SchoolcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSchool bus partnership where Pleasant Valley School provides transportation for children attending the before and after school program. Children are picked up from and dropped back to Free To Be Me Preschool.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Lightbridge Academy: Regional preschool and child care chain headquartered in New Jersey with a strong Mid-Atlantic presence. Directly comparable as a family-focused, multi-age preschool operating in similar suburban New Jersey markets to Free To Be Me.
• Chesterbrook Academy: Mid-Atlantic preschool chain offering infant, toddler, preschool and pre-kindergarten programs with before/after-school care. Comparable age range, curriculum structure, and school-partnership model for elementary-aged children.
• Apple Montessori Schools: New Jersey-based chain of Montessori schools serving infants through elementary. Directly comparable as a New Jersey-headquartered preschool operator serving the same suburban family demographic.
• Montessori Kids Academy: Regional Montessori and play-based preschool operator in the Northeast. Comparable in suburban single-site preschool format, age-tiered curriculum, and parent-driven enrollment model.

Broad incumbents

• KinderCare Learning Companies: Largest national provider of early childhood education and before/after-school programs. Overlaps in age range and program offering but operates at vastly greater scale with employer-sponsored partnerships and digital enrollment infrastructure.
• Cadence Education: Large operator of early childhood education centers across multiple proprietary brands. Overlaps with Free To Be Me in age range and full-day programming, though operates a multi-brand portfolio across many states.
• Bright Horizons Family Solutions: Global provider of high-quality early education and child care with both employer-sponsored and family-served centers. Comparable in curriculum quality and age range but operates a corporate-backed portfolio model rather than single-site independents.

Direct peers

• Primrose Schools: National franchise of accredited early childhood education schools offering infant care through Pre-K and after-school programs. Directly comparable in full-day care model, age-spanning curriculum, and tuition-based recurring revenue.
• The Goddard School: National franchise system of play-based preschools for infants through Pre-K. Closely comparable to Free To Be Me in pedagogy (hands-on, child-centered learning) and age range served, though operating at much larger scale through franchising.
• The Learning Experience: National early childhood education franchise serving infants through Pre-K with proprietary curriculum and enrichment programs. Comparable in age range, full-day model, and parent-facing brand positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/free-to-be-me-preschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Free To Be Me