KinderCare Education, LLC

The story of KinderCare began in 1969 in Montgomery, Alabama, when Perry Mendel, a real estate developer, noticed a growing trend: more women were entering the workforce, creating a significant need for high-quality child care. Inspired by this shift in the American family dynamic, Mendel founded what was then known as Kinder-Care Nursery Schools. The first facility opened its doors with a distinctive red bell tower—a feature that would soon become an iconic symbol of the brand across the country. From that single center, the company embarked on a rapid expansion, opening hundreds of centers throughout the 1970s and 1980s, fundamentally changing how early childhood education was delivered in the United States.

Over the ensuing decades, the organization evolved through various ownership changes and strategic acquisitions, including a significant era under Knowledge Universe. This period marked a deepened commitment to educational quality, moving beyond simple supervision to providing accredited, curriculum-based early learning. In 2016, the parent company rebranded to KinderCare Education, and later to KinderCare Learning Companies, to better reflect its comprehensive family of brands, which includes KinderCare Learning Centers, Champions, and Crème de la Crème. Today, headquartered in Lake Oswego, Oregon, the company stands as the largest private provider of early childhood education in the nation, serving hundreds of thousands of children and employing over 35,000 staff members. Their mission has remained steadfast throughout their journey: to build confidence for life in every child they serve.