North America’s Second-Largest For-Profit Early Education Provider

Learning Care Group was founded in 1967 and has grown into one of the largest early education companies in North America, operating more than 1,110 schools across 40 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. The company cares for approximately 166,000 children, from infants as young as 6 weeks through school-age children up to 12 years. American Securities and its co-investor position Learning Care as the second-largest for-profit early education and care provider on the continent.

Learning Care Group is privately held. Private-equity firm American Securities acquired a controlling stake in 2014, and PSP Investments took a significant equity stake announced in 2018, with American Securities remaining the controlling shareholder.

The company operates under 11 brands: La Petite Academy, Childtime, Tutor Time, The Children’s Courtyard, Everbrook Academy, Montessori Unlimited, AppleTree & Gilden Woods, U-GRO, Creative Kids Learning Center, Young School, and Pathways Learning Academy. Its consumer-facing brand is shortened to “Learning Care.”

Learn as We Grow®, Play- and Inquiry-Based Learning

Learning Care’s educational approach is branded Learn as We Grow®. It is play-based and inquiry-based: teachers use questions to prompt exploration, and lessons are personalized and research-based, built by the company’s in-house education team. Environments vary by brand, for example, Montessori Unlimited uses an authentic Montessori model.

Ages served: 6 weeks through 12 years, spanning infants, toddlers, preschool, and school-age programs across the portfolio.

Accreditation, Recognition, and Reviews

Learning Care has been named a US Best Managed Company (Deloitte Private / Wall Street Journal) for four consecutive years through 2023, and appeared on Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2024. It earned the CDA Gold Standard – Comprehensive from the Council for Professional Recognition in 2019.

Accreditation is center-level: some schools hold NAEYC, Cognia, and NECPA accreditation and participate in state QRIS. Parent and employee reviews are mixed and strongly center-dependent, employer platforms show roughly 2.75–2.79/5 on Indeed (about 610 reviews) and around 2.3/5 for culture on Comparably, with no single reliable company-wide Google or Yelp average.

Food Programs, Subsidies, and How to Connect

CACFP / CCDF: Participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Child Care Development Fund varies by center and state, though the company has substantial engagement with public subsidy funding. A March 2026 Senate Budget letter cited analysis that roughly one-third of Learning Care Group revenue came from state and federal child care subsidy programs (about $150–170M in FY2022).

Religious affiliation: None company-wide; the company is a secular for-profit. As an exception, Pathways Learning Academy locations in faith-based settings may offer short ministry-led lessons.

Contact: Families can learn more at learningcare.com or email CustomerService@LearningCareGroup.com. Phone lines include Corporate HQ 248-697-9000, enrolled families/tuition 877-817-3883, customer service 800-527-3848, and media 248-392-2039. Learning Care is active on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn; it has no X/Twitter account.