Serial entrepreneur Jason Skidmore is the largest franchisee in the Celebree School system after signing a five-unit deal in North Carolina.
Having received what he calls a poor start to his education, Jason Skidmore said he gets a lot of personal satisfaction knowing his Celebree Schools are having a positive impact on children’s lives.
“I didn’t get a good education growing up, unfortunately, so when I look at my own situation and the experiences I had, I knew I wanted to make sure my children and other children got started in a good school,” Skidmore said. “The work we are doing with Celebree gives me a lot of personal gratification watching the kids thrive.”
The owner of three Celebree Schools in Maryland, with another set to open there this summer, Skidmore signed a five-unit deal for the Raleigh, North Carolina area that will make him the largest franchisee in the Celebree system and the first to break into the Tar Heel State. The father of three said he plans to open two Celebrees a year over the next three or four years in North Carolina, starting this spring.
“Corporate has something like 26 Celebree Schools in Maryland already, so there was really no more opportunity for growth there for me,” Skidmore said. “Going into North Carolina just made the most sense because it’s an easy flight for us and there is a real need for quality early education in the Raleigh area.”
Founded in 1994, Celebree offers infant and toddler care, preschool, before- and after-school care and summer camps for children age 6 weeks to 12 years old. The company has 47 schools, including 25 corporate units, open in 15 states and an enrollment of more than 4,570 children.
With estimated sales of $62 million in 2022, the brand cracked the Franchise Times Top 400 rankings last year.
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Investing in an early education franchise is not cheap—the cost to open a Celebree School can top $2 million. But Skidmore, a serial entrepreneur, has both the means and desire to keep growing his portfolio.
Along with his wife, he started a transportation company for patients requiring transfer to long-term care facilities and hospitals. He also founded a management company to oversee his various business interests, which include a full-service automotive repair and healthcare company, which his wife oversees.
For his part, Skidmore has been instrumental in helping Celebree grow its franchise system. He became the company’s first franchisee when he opened his first school in Glen Burnie, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, in 2021. Richard Huffman, founder and CEO of Celebree School, called Skidmore “the perfect franchisee to drive our mission forward” at the time.
Since then, Skidmore added schools in Owning Mills and Canton, Maryland, with another Celebree scheduled to open in Columbia, Maryland, in July.
He said his schools average about 8,500 to 12,000 square feet in size and are licensed to accommodate between 150 and 135 children. A staff of about 28 are employed at each location.
“It actually gets easier the more schools we add because of my background in healthcare and because of the leadership team we have in place and the resources we’ve allocated to support our school directors and their administrative teams,” Skidmore said.
Skidmore said his management team includes a finance chief who oversees payroll, a controller who oversees enrollment numbers and another administrator in the financial department devoted to subsidy by obtaining available grant money for parents who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford Celebree’s tuition.
Skidmore’s team also includes a district director who meets with school executives multiple a times a week to go over key performance metrics and account receivables, and a marketing manager to promote the schools on social media channels to help drive enrollment and recruit quality teachers.
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“Me, I rotate between our three schools each week because I think it’s really important to observe the culture and talking to the staff, the parents, the kids, mainly to listen and find out what’s on their minds,” Skidmore said. “As far as how we run our Celebree business, you can say we divide and conquer here.”
Founded in 1994, Celebree offers infant and toddler care, preschool, before- and after-school care and summer camps for children age 6 weeks to 12 years old.