Primrose marks the opening of its 500th school in Danville, CA.
Our History
As we’ve grown from one school to more than 500, we’ve never wavered in our commitment to delivering high-quality early education and care.
Timeline
1982
1990
1998
2001
2003
2005
2006
2007
2008
2010
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Primrose Schools® is established. Paul and Marcy Erwin open the first Primrose in Marietta, GA, and make education the center of our curriculum when “all-play” is the accepted norm.
Primrose awards first franchise in Georgia and launches the educational child care franchise concept.
Jo joined Primrose in 1990 as Vice President and was instrumental in creating and expanding the franchise model.
The Service Excellence Assurance is created as an internal review process to continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards.
Primrose becomes the first educational child care company to receive accreditation from the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS CASI) Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, two prestigious associations recognized as the gold standard in evaluating high schools, colleges and universities.
Our Balanced Learning curriculum is introduced, which aligns with leading early childhood education philosophies, research and best practices.
Primrose is the first to integrate the use of wireless laptops into preschool and pre-K curriculum for teacher and student use.
A sign language program is designed to facilitate infant and young toddler communication and language development.
The Primrose Schools Children’s Foundation® is launched to enable Primrose schools to make a greater impact on the needs of underserved children in their communities.
Children learn languages most easily before age 5, so we introduce our Spanish language curriculum Mucho Mundo®.
KIDWARE® software programs are introduced in preschool and pre-K classrooms to provide online extensions for learning activities and experiences.
A partnership with Reach Out and Read® is established by donating $100,000 to support the integration of literacy into pediatric care facilities.
With 176 schools in our system, we celebrate our 25th anniversary!
The Education Advisory Board is formed, a team of leading early childhood experts, who advise us on current research and trends in high-quality early childhood.
Primrose expands our national support center campus with a 22,000 square-foot Primrose School of Education. Now Primrose Franchise Owners and school management teams from across the country can come together for training and development.
AdvancED®, now Cognia, selects Primrose to partner with them in developing and piloting the new Standards for Quality Early Learning Schools. Primrose becomes the first early education company to earn AdvancED Corporation Systems Accreditation under these new standards.
A national partnership with Save the Children® is established for a multi-year initiative that promotes early literacy, child sponsorship and protection for underserved children in North America.
Primrose Promise℠, our corporate social responsibility commitment, is integrated throughout our organization including with children and families.
FranchiseGrade.com names Primrose Schools as the leader in Franchisee Satisfaction in the Children’s sector.
Primrose marks the opening of its 300th school in Brookhaven, GA.
An exclusive STEM-integrated Balanced Learning approach launches within our curriculum using the latest early learning research that guides our early learning experiences for children.
Primrose forges partnerships with ZERO TO THREE® and the World Forum Foundation™.
We celebrate our 35th anniversary and launched Primrose on Premise®, a new business segment adjacent to our core business that is focused exclusively on employer-sponsored child care.
Entrepreneur ranks Primrose Schools the No. 1 child care franchise on its Franchise 500® list.
Primrose Schools opens its 400th school, bringing early education and care to the Westside community in Atlanta, Georgia.
Forbes Magazine ranked Primrose Schools #5 as America’s Best Franchises to Buy.
A proprietary music, literacy and character development program called Harmony & Heart® is introduced.
Primrose Schools — in partnership with AdventHealth, Bainum Family Foundation, Lift Orlando and Purpose-Built Communities — launches an innovative, nonprofit early education and care center for underserved families in Orlando, Florida.
The Primrose Schools Children’s Foundation® donates $250,000 to No Kid Hungry to help ensure children in need receive proper nutrition to focus and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Primrose marks the opening of its 450th school in Arlington, VA, and now serves more than 60,000 children and families across 32 states.
Primrose Friends hit the screens! With the launch of a video series, Primrose Friends puppets reinforce cognitive, social, emotional and character development, providing all families a glimpse inside the classroom.
Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ) is applied across all schools making Primrose the first national education and child care provider to implement this trusted development-assessment tool systemwide.
We celebrate our 40th anniversary and achieve a 2022 FUND® Score of 930 from FRANdata, one of the highest scores among all evaluated franchise systems. Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 awards also names Primrose Schools No. 1 in the child care category for the 5th time.
Primrose Schools launches its first-ever “Ready, Set, Robotics!” curriculum to help children solve problems through coding, design thinking and engineering and further STEM-based learning.
Primrose schools, support center staff, vendor partners and the Primrose Schools Children’s Foundation collectively donate over $510,000 to the West Lakes Early Learning Center.
Primrose marks the opening of its 500th school in Danville, CA.
Primrose Schools® is established. Paul and Marcy Erwin open the first Primrose in Marietta, GA, and make education the center of our curriculum when “all-play” is the accepted norm.
Primrose awards first franchise in Georgia and launches the educational child care franchise concept.
Jo joined Primrose in 1990 as Vice President and was instrumental in creating and expanding the franchise model.
The Service Excellence Assurance is created as an internal review process to continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards.
Primrose becomes the first educational child care company to receive accreditation from the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation (CITA) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS CASI) Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, two prestigious associations recognized as the gold standard in evaluating high schools, colleges and universities.
Our Balanced Learning curriculum is introduced, which aligns with leading early childhood education philosophies, research and best practices.
Primrose is the first to integrate the use of wireless laptops into preschool and pre-K curriculum for teacher and student use.
A sign language program is designed to facilitate infant and young toddler communication and language development.
The Primrose Schools Children’s Foundation® is launched to enable Primrose schools to make a greater impact on the needs of underserved children in their communities.
Children learn languages most easily before age 5, so we introduce our Spanish language curriculum Mucho Mundo®.
KIDWARE® software programs are introduced in preschool and pre-K classrooms to provide online extensions for learning activities and experiences.
A partnership with Reach Out and Read® is established by donating $100,000 to support the integration of literacy into pediatric care facilities.
With 176 schools in our system, we celebrate our 25th anniversary!
The Education Advisory Board is formed, a team of leading early childhood experts, who advise us on current research and trends in high-quality early childhood.
Primrose expands our national support center campus with a 22,000 square-foot Primrose School of Education. Now Primrose Franchise Owners and school management teams from across the country can come together for training and development.
AdvancED®, now Cognia, selects Primrose to partner with them in developing and piloting the new Standards for Quality Early Learning Schools. Primrose becomes the first early education company to earn AdvancED Corporation Systems Accreditation under these new standards.
A national partnership with Save the Children® is established for a multi-year initiative that promotes early literacy, child sponsorship and protection for underserved children in North America.
Primrose Promise℠, our corporate social responsibility commitment, is integrated throughout our organization including with children and families.
FranchiseGrade.com names Primrose Schools as the leader in Franchisee Satisfaction in the Children’s sector.
Primrose marks the opening of its 300th school in Brookhaven, GA.
An exclusive STEM-integrated Balanced Learning approach launches within our curriculum using the latest early learning research that guides our early learning experiences for children.
Primrose forges partnerships with ZERO TO THREE® and the World Forum Foundation™.
We celebrate our 35th anniversary and launched Primrose on Premise®, a new business segment adjacent to our core business that is focused exclusively on employer-sponsored child care.
Entrepreneur ranks Primrose Schools the No. 1 child care franchise on its Franchise 500® list.
Primrose Schools opens its 400th school, bringing early education and care to the Westside community in Atlanta, Georgia.
Forbes Magazine ranked Primrose Schools #5 as America’s Best Franchises to Buy.
A proprietary music, literacy and character development program called Harmony & Heart® is introduced.
Primrose Schools — in partnership with AdventHealth, Bainum Family Foundation, Lift Orlando and Purpose-Built Communities — launches an innovative, nonprofit early education and care center for underserved families in Orlando, Florida.
The Primrose Schools Children’s Foundation® donates $250,000 to No Kid Hungry to help ensure children in need receive proper nutrition to focus and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Primrose marks the opening of its 450th school in Arlington, VA, and now serves more than 60,000 children and families across 32 states.
Primrose Friends hit the screens! With the launch of a video series, Primrose Friends puppets reinforce cognitive, social, emotional and character development, providing all families a glimpse inside the classroom.
Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ) is applied across all schools making Primrose the first national education and child care provider to implement this trusted development-assessment tool systemwide.
We celebrate our 40th anniversary and achieve a 2022 FUND® Score of 930 from FRANdata, one of the highest scores among all evaluated franchise systems. Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 awards also names Primrose Schools No. 1 in the child care category for the 5th time.
Primrose Schools launches its first-ever “Ready, Set, Robotics!” curriculum to help children solve problems through coding, design thinking and engineering and further STEM-based learning.
Primrose schools, support center staff, vendor partners and the Primrose Schools Children’s Foundation collectively donate over $510,000 to the West Lakes Early Learning Center.
Primrose marks the opening of its 500th school in Danville, CA.
