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2010 Knowledge Universe Report

www.kueducation.com/us

©2011 Knowledge Universe.® All rights reserved.

Knowledge Universe® congratulates NAEYC on the 25th Anniversary of Program Accreditation

The hisToryFor 25 years, Knowledge Universe® has proudly supported the standards and advocacy of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). By pursuing excellence through NAEYC Program Accreditation, Knowledge Universe has attracted both employees and parents who share our values.

KU stays at the forefront of NAEYC activity via active involvement in accreditation facilitation as well as by presenting and exhibiting at NAEYC conferences. As a result, our NAEYC-accredited early childhood programs reflect the highest level of quality.

All Knowledge Universe centers and programs meet or exceed our company guidelines for education, health, and safety. Additionally, many of our centers have achieved NAEYC accreditation.

The CenTersWe believe accreditation offers important assurance to parents who choose a KU center or program for their child. As of April 2011, KU has 319 NAEYC-accredited centers:

• 261 KinderCare® Learning Centers

• 54 CCLC® employer partnership programs

• 4 Champions® programs

As of April 2011, KU hAs 319 NAEYC-ACCrEditEd CENtErs. oUr

KinderCAre brAnd hAs 261 NAEYC-ACCrEditEd EArlY Childhood EduCAtioN CENtErs—more thAn Any other privAte

CAre provider in the CoUntry.

w w w . K U e d U c a t i o n . c o m / U S113517-KU-GEN ©2010 Knowledge Universe.® All Rights Reserved.

KU in the United StateS: OUr BrandSOur wide-ranging expertise in early childhood care and education results in practical, effective strategies and solutions designed to create lifelong learners, enrich teacher development, and enhance center quality. As of April 2011, KU has 585 nationally accredited childhood education centers—more than any other private education provider in the U.S.

KinderCare® • Knowledge Beginnings® • Cambridge SchoolstM the Grove School® • CCLC® Combined, these brands operate in 39 states and have more than 1,700 community-based early learning centers and employer partnerships. Centers provide care and education for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and school-age children.

Champions® A nationwide brand, Champions programs provide K-12 educational solutions via supplemental and enrichment programs. More than 400 programs across the nation meet learners’ needs through educational offerings that include before- and after-school academic enrichment programs and summer camps.

w w w . K U e d U c a t i o n . c o m / U S

At Knowledge Universe® (KU), we’re creating a world of learners. Our more than 2,000 locations serve a wide range of students across the country.

In the U.S., oUr teacherS cUrrently nUrtUre, InSpIre,

and delIght more than 200,000 students each day.

Together, we can extend the gift of early literacy to today’s infants, toddlers, and preschoolers—because every child deserves a chance to be tomorrow’s leader.

Every day, we see how reading expands a child’s horizons. Our belief that all children should have access to books—both at school and at home—leads us to participate in literacy initiatives across the nation. To show our support for early learners, we’ve:

• Sponsored early literacy programs in Boston, Chicago, and Denver

• Supported organizations such as The Children’s Book Bank, Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), and Schoolhouse Supplies

• Retrofitted six Los Angeles Public Libraries to better serve infants and toddlers

• Partnered with Oregon’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital to deliver literacy and educational programs for patients

• Brought books and mobile book carts to schools in over 30 states

In 2010, we further expanded the scope of our early literacy outreach efforts by creating two new resources:

• TodayIWillGetLostinaBook, a free guide that encourages parents to read to their children

• The KinderCare® Book Station, a small mobile library geared toward individuals and communities who support young readers

• As of October 2010, we’ve donated 40 of our Book Stations—and we’ll continue to find ways to contribute to local and national groups who share our dedication to early literacy.

being introduced to books and being read to at home prior to beginning

school is the single most significant factor influencing a child’s early

educational success. —the national commission on reading

w w w . K U e d U c a t i o n . c o m / U S113520-KU-GEN ©2010 Knowledge Universe.® All Rights Reserved.

w w w . K U e d U c a t i o n . c o m / U S

KU COMMUnity LeaderShipWe support organizations that give children access to quality education experiences. Working with our community partners, we deliver parent and mentor education, provide access to books, and support interventions for at-risk families. Our literacy initiatives include:

• Supplying backpacks to nearly 10,000 Portland, Oregon children in need as title sponsor of Schoolhouse Supplies’ “Tools for Schools” program

• Developing Today I Will Get Lost in a Book, a free guide that encourages parents to read to their children

• Creating and donating the KinderCare® Book Station, a small mobile library geared toward individuals and community organizations who support early readers

• Supporting organizations such as: The Children’s Book Bank; Start Making a Reader Today (SMART); Los Angeles Public Library’s infants and toddlers program; and the library development and patient education programs of Oregon’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital

• Providing College of Education scholarships and School of Law Oregon Child Advocacy Project fellowships at the University of Oregon

KU edUCatiOnaL LeaderShipAt KU, we recognize excellence in education through direct awards and sponsorship.

All of our 35,000 early childhood educators at KinderCare Learning Centers, Knowledge Beginnings, and CCLC offer children fun and exciting learning experiences. Each year, however, we select those teachers who’ve demonstrated exceptional skills in teaching young children to receive the Knowledge Universe Early Childhood Educator Award.

Each recipient gets $10,000 and public acknowledgement during a reception held at the annual National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) conference.

In an additional show of support for quality education in the United States, Knowledge Universe joined Change the Equation (CTEq) in Fall 2010. This CEO-led initiative seeks to cultivate widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). With research pointing to the importance of exposing children to math and science at an early age, KU believes its high-quality infant, preschool, and school-age programs will serve as a model for other programs.

SInce 2000, KU—together wIth oUr 35,000 employeeS and the chIldren and famIlIeS we Serve—haS raised

more than $13 million for oUr commUnIty partnerS.

113518-KU-GEN ©2010 Knowledge Universe.® All Rights Reserved.

KNOWLEDGE UNIVERSE reaches $1.6 billion in revenue

STORY BY LINDA BAKER // PHOTOS BY LEAH NASH

On the second floor of a KinderCare center in downtown Portland, eight

preschoolers are coloring pictures of Chinese characters while listening to

their teacher speak in Mandarin. On the other side of the room, which is

decorated with parasols and Chinese lanterns, another group is interacting

with a different teacher — who is speaking in English. Eventually the groups

will switch, with the entire class spending half the day learning in Chinese,

the other half in English.

! 13517-KU-GEN ©2010 Knowledge Universe.® All Rights Reserved.!! ! ! ! ! ! ! WWW . K U E D U C A T I O N . C O M / U S

Now in its third year, the Mandarin immersion program got its start when

Knowledge Universe, KinderCare’s parent company, came across a model

program while scouting acquisitions in Singapore. “We thought this was a

really innovative and important way to deliver dual language, which is

something the United States is particularly remiss in,” says Elanna Yalow,

executive vice president at Knowledge Universe. “It is much easier to

develop second-language competency at a young age,” Yalow says. “So we

brought that program over and implemented it in several locations.”

KinderCare’s Mandarin immersion program is a window on the world of

Knowledge Universe, a global education services conglomerate that has its

U.S. headquarters in Portland. The company, which employs 40,000 people

on three continents, is the largest single private provider of early childhood

education services in the country. It also has the biggest market share in the

United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore, where the company’s global

headquarters are located.


Felicia Thornton is Knowledge Universe's Portland-based CEO for U.S. operations. KU is the leading player in a market expected to be worth $39 billion by 2015.

Founded by former junk bond king Michael Milken and his brother, Lowell

Milken, in 1996, Knowledge Universe, which earned $1.6 billion in revenue

last year, targets early childhood learning programs. But the company also

oversees or has a stake in business units in K-12, online and post-

secondary education. “We are cradle to as-long-as you-are-a-lifelong-

learner,” says Felicia Thornton, Knowledge Universe’s Portland-based chief

executive officer for U.S. operations. Like the Mandarin program, the

broader corporate mission is based on global best practices, Thornton says.

“When you look at Singapore, you realize they don’t differentiate early

childhood from K-12 or university,” says Thornton. “They look at that entire

continuum as critically important.” Singapore’s growth rate is 20%, she


adds. “It’s not by natural resources, not by anything other than investment in

human capital. It’s just staggering.”

Knowledge Universe isn’t alone in touting the benefits of high-quality

education, especially early childhood education, as the key to a nation’s

economic success. As concerns about U.S. educational performance and

lack of competitiveness mount, state and national leaders — from Kitzhaber

to Obama — are calling for universal preschool as a centerpiece of

education reform. These initiatives would build on existing state-funded

preschool programs, which already serve more than 1 million 3- to 4-year-

olds around the country.

In this environment, private sector innovation is only one part of the

company’s business. One quarter of the 200,000 children Knowledge

Universe serves in the U.S. receive a child care subsidy for low-income

families, a reflection of the changing nature of for-profit care in this country,

and the public-private partnerships that may become the signature of early

childhood education initiatives.

Such alliances are vulnerable to the recession. They also spotlight the role of

the for-profit sector, not always a welcome participant in the K-12 arena, in

shaping the public preschool agenda. But with its global footprint, lofty

rhetoric and socioeconomically diverse client base, KU is plowing ahead,

carving out a niche in a market that by 2015 is expected to exceed $39

billion a year, according to Global Industry Analysts.


Few people in Portland might realize that Knowledge Universe is one of the

city’s largest employers, with about 1,400 employees working in its Lloyd

District headquarters and in 29 centers around the state operating under the

KinderCare, Knowledge Beginnings and Children's Creative Learning

Center (CCLC) brands; the latter is the company’s employer-based child

care division. In a boost to the local economy, Knowledge Universe opened

a new Portland customer service center last August, employing 120 people.

A few months later, CCLC opened the new “Healthy Starts” center in

partnership with OHSU in the emerging South Waterfront district.

Nationwide, Knowledge Universe oversees six brands including KinderCare,

the company’s largest division, which operates 1,636 centers serving infants

through school age; “Champions,” an afterschool science enrichment

program and summer camp; and two small preschool providers: Cambridge

Schools in Florida, and the Grove School in Texas and North Carolina. The


Child Care Marketplace, a one-stop shopping consortium for child care

providers, is one of the company’s few noninstruction-based business units.

The vision doesn’t stop at the border. In KU’s grand scheme, the

conglomerate isn’t just a collection of disparate brands, but a kind of

vertically integrated corporation with global companies working toward a

common goal. “What makes us fortunate is the breadth and diversity we

have to reach out to educators,” says Yalow, adding that the U.S. program

“is constantly being refreshed and upgraded as we are integrating what’s

new in research or seeing from our international partners.”

Yalow ticks off a few examples of Knowledge Universe cross-pollination.

Some Knowledge Beginnings and CCLC centers are using “smart boards,”

an interactive white board, to deliver online content developed by K-12, an

online school Knowledge Universe oversees as a majority shareholder. The

Grove School and Odyssey, a Singapore based preschool, share an interest

in environmental sustainability. Then there is KinderCare’s language

immersion program, which started in Pat’s Schoolhouse, a Singapore-based

preschool acquired in 2007.

The trans-Pacific currents flow both ways. A study group from Singapore

and Malaysia recently toured Knowledge Universe programs in Southern

California, and plans to adopt some of the core curriculum developed by the

company’s education team in Portland, Yalow says.

A privately held company, Knowledge Universe does not disclose financial

information beyond its gross revenues and it is often difficult to get past the

company’s ubiquitous corporate messaging, which repeats themes such as


“talent, innovation and quality” but leaves out crucial details such as

companywide teacher pay and turnover rates. Nevertheless, early childhood

education experts familiar with the brands say in many cases the company’s

centers live up to the hype.

For-profit child care has come a long way since the 1980s when KinderCare,

then a pioneering company, was derided for making profits off kids and

branded with the tagline “Kentucky Fried Children.” In its early days,

KinderCare quality “was at various levels,” says Roger Neugebauer,

publisher of the Child Care Information Exchange, a management magazine

for childcare providers. Not today, says Neugebauer, “KinderCare has great

staff training and a drive to make their centers the best in the community.”

Will Parnell, a professor of early childhood education at Portland State

University, says KinderCare isn’t typically considered one of the city’s top-

ranked practitioners, a category often reserved for well-funded employers or

university-sponsored centers such as PSU’s Helen Gordon Center or Nike’s

Joe Paterno child development center. But “maybe we could” include

KinderCare in those ranks, Parnell says. He noted that many of KinderCare’s

centers are certified by the National Association for the Education for Young

Children. That’s “a tough thing to accomplish,” he says. The company “is

really diving into child development and best practices.”

Knowledge Universe’s CCLC division operates precisely the kind of

employer-sponsored centers Parnell lauds, including facilities for Stanford

University, and in Portland, Fred Meyer and Oregon Health & Science

University. The latter features a state-of-the-art indoor playground connected


to the outside by sliding doors, smart-board technology and like all CCLC

centers, an eco-healthy certification from the Oregon Environmental Council.

With its focus on technology, sustainability and foreign language

(KinderCare even offers an anti-obesity enrichment program, Active

Adventures) Knowledge Universe is positioning itself as a solution to the

myriad woes facing U.S education. The company lobbies state and national

governments to strengthen child care standards and last year joined

Change the Equation, a collaboration between the White House and CEOs

of 100 companies to cultivate widespread literacy in science, math and

technology. “We strongly support setting quality expectations,” Thornton

says. “It’s not just for us —but for states and industry.”

But if what’s good for Knowledge Universe is good for the country, KU has

its challenges — namely, while corporate operations may be seamless, the

market they are operating in is anything but. Unlike K-12 programs, child

care providers are a mixed group, ranging from grandmothers, churches

and small family providers to independent nonprofit and for-profit day care

centers. And while Knowledge Universe may be a big fish it’s swimming in

an even bigger ocean. Consider, for example, that after KinderCare,

Learning Care Group, based in Michigan, is the country’s second-largest

provider, with 1,136 sites. Massachusetts-based Bright Horizons, the third-

largest, operates 730. In total, the big three comprise only 3% of the market.

In an already fragmented market, public schools are also starting to provide

preschool programs, a move that has “inhibited growth” of for-profits in

recent years, Neugebauer says. Between 2005 and 2009, state funding for

prekindergarten increased from $2.9 billion to $5.2 billion, and pre-K is now


the fastest-growing sector in public education, according to a 2009 report

by the Pew Center for the States.

The recession has also left its mark on private-sector providers. Although

Knowledge Universe went through a period of major acquisitions mid

decade, company growth has remained flat over the past few years,

Thornton says.

As the child care sector becomes more competitive, companies such as

KinderCare, which used to serve only fee-paying parents, now aim to serve

a broader demographic, Neugebauer says. “It’s a survival strategy,” he

says. In Oregon, for example, most Knowledge Universe centers enroll

families participating in the Employment Related Day Care program, a state

child care subsidy. KinderCare also partners with the Mt. Hood Community

College Head Start program to operate a classroom for low-income kids. “If

you walked in the door, there would be no way for you to know,” says

Thornton. “It’s about quality education and the socioeconomic piece should

be irrelevant.”

Most policy experts agree that such collaborations provide more kids with

high-quality child care options. But these public private partnerships are

also “very different” from the public K-12 education model, says Steve

Barnett, co-director for the National Institute for Early Education Research.

Despite the growth of charter and online schools, K-12 districts rarely

subcontract core services to the private sector. And in the K-12 arena,

corporate resumes are not always met with enthusiasm. Witness the outcry

over New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recent appointment of Catherine


Black, a corporate executive with no education or public sector background,

as chancellor of New York City schools.

A former chief financial officer of Albertsons, a grocery story chain, Thornton

does not have a background in education, nor does CEO for global

operations Peter Maslen, the former president of Starbucks Coffee

International. Other members of the executive team, such as Yalow, do have

a background in early childhood pedagogy and research. Nevertheless, the

company’s financial management roots date back to its controversial

founder Milken, who served two years in federal prison for illegal trading and

other market manipulations in the early 1990s. Since then he has focused on

charitable and educational endeavors, among them the Milken Family

Foundation, known for its annual public educator awards.

Today Milken is chairman of Knowledge Universe, but he has no day-to-day

responsibilities, Thornton says. “He’s absolutely passionate about

education,” she says.


FACT SHEET

Headquarters Portland, OregonEmployees 35,000 nationwideWebsites www.kueducation.com/usCompany ProfileKnowledge Universe® - US (KU) is one of the nation’s largest private providers of early childhood and school-age education and care, serving more than 200,000 children in the United States. Knowledge Learning Corporation (KLC) is a division of Knowledge Universe.Our History• KinderCare Learning Centers, Inc. was founded in 1969 and operated over 1,250 centers. • Knowledge Learning Corporation (KLC) began as Children's Discovery Centers in 1983 • KLC acquires Children’s World Learning Centers in 2003. • In 2005, KLC acquires KinderCare Learning Centers• The KinderCare merger made KLC the nation’s largest private provider of early childhood education and care.• In 2007, CCLC joined KLC.• In 2008, KU Technologies is formed.• In 2009, KLC School Partnerships rebrands to Champions. • In January 2010, KU opens The Grove School in Cary, North Carolina and Plano, Texas.• In July 2010, KC Distance Learning is acquired by K12, Inc.Our Brands• KinderCare Learning Centers®/Knowledge Beginnings®, Cambridge SchoolsTM, The Grove School® and CCLC® brands are early learning and care experts, guiding more than 1,700 community‐based centers and employer partnerships for children six weeks through pre-K in 39 states.• Champions® provides K‐8 supplemental and enrichment educational solutions, operating morethan 400 programs nationwide which include before‐ and after‐school programs, and academic tutoring programs.• KU is affiliated with K12, Inc., the nation’s largest provider of online education programs for students in kindergarten through high school, to provide online learning solutions to school administrators and online high school courses directly to families through iQ Academies, Aventa Learning and The Keystone School

Commitment to Quality• 600 Nationally Accredited Centers – more than any other private education providerSupporting Our Communities• We support organizations that give children access to quality educational experiences. Working with our community partners, we deliver parent and mentor education, provide access to books, and support at‐risk family intervention.• Our employees and the children and families we serve have raised more than $13 million for our community partners across the country since 2000.Recognizing Excellence In EducationKnowledge Universe Annual Early Childhood Educator Award Program:

• Recognizes five teachers who demonstrate exceptional skills in teaching young children with a $10,000 award and a reception at NAEYC. • Recipients are chosen from more than 30,000 early childhood educators from KinderCare Learning Centers, Knowledge Beginnings and CCLC. In addition, our Champions division sponsors the Excellence In Education Awards.

Key Business ExecutivesFelicia ThorntonChief Executive OfficerDr. Elanna Yalow, Ph.D., M.B.A.Vice Chair, Knowledge Learning CorporationExecutive Vice President, Knowledge UniverseWendy ColliePresident, KinderCare and ChampionsTy DurekasCEO, CCLCAdrian DownesChief Financial OfficerAnne SaundersEVP, Chief Marketing OfficerElizabeth LargeEVP, General CounselDonna LeschEVP, Human Resources

NEW $140 MILLION CAMPUS FOR

THE CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AT JURONG

Singapore, 16 March, 2010 – Singapore based Knowledge Universe and the Canadian International School announced today a proposed joint venture that will facilitate and finance a new world-class $140 million Canadian International School campus at Jurong in Singapore. The new 43,000 sq.m (463,000 sq. ft) “Lakeside campus” at Jurong West is estimated to be completed by August 2011. The campus will provide state-of-the-art classrooms, academic facilities, spacious sporting, outdoor and playground facilities, as well as a Performing Arts and Fine Arts centre, Auditorium and Media Centre, and will reach its full capacity of 3,300 students over the next 10 years. The Canadian International School is currently housed on four sites spread across Singapore. On completion of the new Lakeside campus, three of the school’s existing campuses and their communities will be consolidated into the new campus. The existing and recently renovated East Coast campus at Tanjong Katong will remain and be further developed. When asked about the significance of this proposed joint venture, Peter Maslen, Chief Executive Officer of Knowledge Universe said, “We are delighted to facilitate this large and important project for the Canadian International School. The new world-class integrated state-of-the-art campus will complement their well-deserved excellent academic record and reputation. We are also pleased that the current administrative and academic leadership team will remain in place”.

The Canadian International School’s founder and Managing Director, Thomas Tang, said “As one of the world’s largest and most respected private educational organisations, Knowledge Universe opens a whole new range of opportunities and resources to us. Knowledge Universe intends to acquire a majority stake in the school and fund our expansion, and we as founders will continue to manage the school while retaining a significant equity stake. We had delayed our building project to finalise this collaboration, and both parties have been very thoughtful and prudent in considering how it would best be structured to ensure that it brings maximum benefits to our students”. Peter Maslen, Knowledge Universe CEO, commented “In contemplating this significant investment in the school and its future in Singapore, we are particularly focused on maintaining the academic quality of the school, as well as the quality and capability of the existing management team, which we found to be outstanding”. Head of School, Dr. Glenn Odland remarked, “This announcement indicates a strong synergy between Knowledge Universe’s educational philosophy, their expertise in online

learning, and our existing strength in developing the whole student through a wide range of experiential learning opportunities. With the help of Knowledge Universe, we are even better equipped to prepare our students for their futures.” Knowledge Universe moved its global headquarters to Singapore in 2007. “We are proud to be Singaporean,” said chief executive Peter Maslen. “Singapore’s reputation as a centre of excellence in education, its development as an educational hub and its transparent and open government were decisive factors in our decision to locate our global headquarters in Singapore”. Parents at the Canadian International School will have the opportunity to hear more about both the new Lakeside campus and the school’s relationship with Knowledge Universe over the coming weeks at Information evenings.

- END –

About Knowledge Universe Knowledge Universe, a Singapore based company, is one of the world’s leading private education providers, with over 40,000 professional staff and more than 350,000 students enrolled in its institutions and schools worldwide. URL: www.kueducation.com Media Contact for Knowledge Universe: Sally May Tan (HP +65-9739-7070 /[email protected]) About the Canadian International School The Canadian International School (CIS) was founded in 1990 and offers the International Baccalaureate Programmes – Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme to students from 3 to 18 years of age. CIS also offers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Students from over 50 countries pursue excellence in the mastery of creative problem solving, effective communication, leadership, international understanding, and responsible citizenship. URL: www.cis.edu.sg Media Contact for Canadian International School: Asia PR Werkz, Ms Cho Pei Lin (HP: +65-9684-2563 / [email protected])

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