Neighborhood Kids’ Founding and Evolution Story

Neighborhood Kids, a God-honoring early education school, originally began in 1978. Previously known as The Little Place and The Little Place 2, the brand launched in Wellington, Florida, to serve working-class families.

“Both of the original locations had a surprisingly strong brand loyalty to them,” said Frank Toral, CEO of Neighborhood Kids. “I say that because they had no website, marketing, growth strategy or operational systems but families gravitated toward their caring and nurturing environment. That loyalty remains strong today as many of our current student’s parents were once preschool students themselves in the 70s and 80s.

Toral and his wife, Olivia, acquired the Greenbriar and Wellington Trace campuses in 2019. While the value of the schools has always been spectacular, he explained that they saw growth potential in the way the schools were engaging with families. “We knew right away that we had something special that we could build upon,” Toral explained.

This led to a thorough rebrand, implementing the new Neighborhood Kids name, uniforms, meal plans and a parent engagement app called Brightwheel. Later, the faith aspect was implemented.

“Brightwheel allows parents to send and receive photographs of their kids while they’re in the centers, it allows them to pay by walking in and scanning their phone, they’re able to check the kids in and out, and we’re able to communicate with the parents throughout the day,” Toral said.

“We waited a year before we introduced the faith element into both schools because we weren’t sure how parents would respond,” he said. Historically, they had holiday performances during Christmas, but no one said the word God or Jesus. We thought something was missing and  there was an opportunity to encourage the students and their families with faith, hope and love.” The response was overwhelmingly positive. Parents loved it.

Shortly after implementing these changes, both schools had to close in April 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Toral says that, though this was a time of great uncertainty, they made the necessary but difficult decision to close both campuses and a bold and courageous decision to push for full capacity when both campuses reopened.

After implementing a marketing plan, faith and a renewed engagement with families in the area, he noticed a true turning point.

“When everything began to open up in Palm Beach County, we saw unprecedented growth over the next six months. We had families that returned and new families who decided to join the Neighborhood Kids family, and by January of 2021, we were at full capacity.”

Now, the brand has four campuses and is working to open a fifth. Three campuses are located inside of churches.

“Christian preschools are not uncommon but it’s unheard of to franchise that concept,” Toral explained. ‘You can go down the list of the top 10 early education franchise brands in America, and none of them have a faith element. I think that is what is missing today in early education programs. Parents are yearning for a sense of community and a return to foundational family values. We know it’s resonating because parents that may not subscribe to any faith in particular still want their kids in a faith based environment”.

“What we’re providing to children and families is the most precious thing in their lives — a foundation of faith. That’s more important than the school that they will graduate from and more important than the money that their parents will one day leave them. It’s a legacy of faith.”

Toral explained that Neighborhood Kids has a commitment to positively impact neighborhoods across Florida. “We’re launching Neighborhood Kids Franchise Solutions in August, and we are seeking franchise owners situated strategically in communities beginning with Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Tampa/ St. Petersburg.” These are prime markets that in many instances are unavailable with other brands.”

Once the brand sees success in these areas, it plans to expand across other southern states and eventually make its way north, providing faith-based learning to children across the country.

ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS: 

Neighborhood Kids got its start as a preschool established in Wellington, Florida, in 1978. Now a private, faith-based early childhood education organization, Neighborhood Kids provides generational impact through safe, fun, supportive, and God-honoring early education environments. For more information, visit www.neighborhoodkids.com.