Company Profile

Company Overview

Knowledge Universe® in the United States: Our Brands
At Knowledge Universe, our vision of creating a world of learners drives everything we do. Case in point, although we base our U.S. operations in beautiful Portland, Oregon, our brands deliver high-quality care and education to children across the nation.

Our vision has fostered our growth to become the largest private provider of early childhood education in the U.S. We take the responsibility of being an industry leader seriously. We’re committed to creating lifelong learners, enriching teacher development, and enhancing center quality. But we realize our vision through other types of work as well—including using our wide-ranging expertise to provide innovative business solutions to customers in the care and education industries.

Another example of our vision at work can be seen in our decision to meet or exceed national accreditation standards. - As of April 2011, we have nearly 600 nationally accredited childhood education centers — more than any other private education provider. Accreditation ultimately supports the fulfillment of our vision in many ways, not the least of which includes attracting employees who thrive in—and parents who appreciate—a quality learning environment.

Below is a brief description of each of our U.S. brands, and how they contribute to creating a world of learners.

•KinderCare® | Knowledge Beginnings® | Cambridge SchoolsTM | The Grove School®
Combined, these brands operate in 39 states and count among their ranks more than 1,700 community-based early learning centers and employer partnerships. Every center is dedicated to providing a caring environment focused on fostering the education and self-esteem of infants, toddlers, preschoolers, kindergartners, and school-age children.
•Childrens’ Creative Learning Centers (CCLC) ®
CCLC provides employer-sponsored early childhood education through on-site and near-site child care to support employees’ work-life needs. We partner with client companies to develop quality and innovative family-focused programs, create professional work environments for teachers and help children develop a lifetime love of learning.
•Champions®
Champions is a national brand that provides fun and engaging educational solutions to children five to twelve years old through supplemental and enrichment programs. More than 400 programs across the nation meet learners’ needs through exciting educational offerings that include academic tutoring and before- and after-school learning experiences.
KU Community Leadership
Many times when you’re in the business of creating a world of learners, you get involved in philanthropic activities simply because it’s the right thing to do. That’s why we’ve committed our support to 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 interventions for at-risk families.

Our literacy initiatives include:

•Launching literacy programs in Boston, Chicago, and Denver.
•Developing Today I Will Get Lost in a Book, a free guide that encourages parents to read to their children.
•Bringing books and mobile book carts to schools in over 30 states.
•Creating the KinderCare Book Station, a small mobile library geared toward individuals and community organizations who support early readers.
•Supporting organizations such as: Children’s Book Bank of Portland; Start Making a Reader Today (SMART); Schoolhouse Supplies; Los Angeles Public Library’s infants and toddlers program; and the library development and patient education programs of Doernbecher Children’s Hospital (Oregon).
Since 2000, KU—together with our 35,000+ employees and the families we serve—has raised more than $13 million for our community partners.

KU Educational Leadership
At KU, we understand how important it is to recognize excellence in education, and one important way we do this is through direct awards and sponsorship.

All of our 35,000 early childhood educators at KinderCare Learning Centers, Knowledge Beginnings, and CCLC provide children with fun and impactful learning experiences every day. Every year, however, we have a special way of recognizing those teachers who’ve demonstrated exceptional skills and talent for teaching young children. These teachers are selected to receive the Knowledge Universe Annual 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 the fall of 2010. This CEO-led initiative seeks to cultivate widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In keeping with the research that points to the benefits of exposing children to math and science at an early age, we believe our high-quality infant, preschool, and school-age programs will serve as a model for other programs.

In these and many other ways, we demonstrate our vision in our actions—it’s a fundamental component and the driving force behind everything we do.