Children's Lighthouse: The Family-Owned Franchise Making Dreams Come True in the $59 Billion Child Care Category

From Day One, the Children's Lighthouse Early Learning School mission was built around one thing and one thing only: family. Today, as a leading early childhood education franchise dedicated to providing value-based care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children, that family-driven mission guides every decision. 

“My dad's goal was to build a business that could be passed down to us or one we could grow into,” said Michael Brown, president of Children’s Lighthouse. “As kids, we kept busy helping with whatever was needed at the schools — watering plants, changing air filters or handling maintenance. I started at the bottom, working in various roles within the company, and gradually moved into our franchise department. Overall, working in this family-centric environment not only helped us grow as a franchise, but also brought us closer as a family, which was an incredibly rewarding experience. We want to share that joy with other entrepreneurial families.”

Children’s Lighthouse currently has 70 schools operating and 24 more in development. Now, in an era where dual-income families have become the norm, the need for quality child care services has surged, and the time to join the Children's Lighthouse franchise family has never been better. 

A History Rooted in Family

The original Children’s Lighthouse School was founded over 25 years ago by Brown’s father and uncle in recognition of the need for quality childcare that went beyond simple playtime and babysitting. That philosophy has carried over to today. The family-owned brand respects the unique needs of each child, with a proprietary curriculum that encourages young minds to explore and create.

“This business is 100% rooted in family,” Brown said. “My dad and uncle founded Children's Lighthouse in 1997, when I was still in high school. My two younger brothers and I were involved from the start. Although my dad and uncle came from backgrounds in real estate, construction and finance, and had started other businesses, they were new to child care. They recognized the industry's potential and decided to dive in.”

The brothers launched their first school in Grand Prairie, Texas, and expanded to nine locations before starting to franchise in 2001.

“It was actually a prospective franchisee who first approached us with the idea of franchising,” Brown said. “The vision evolved from building a family business into developing a franchising model that not only aligned with our goals of enriching children's and communities' lives but also offered a robust platform for local entrepreneurs who wanted to run their businesses and secure their family’s futures as well.”

One such local entrepreneur is Alexis Legg, who has owned the Children's Lighthouse of Oak Forest in Houston since late 2020. 

After working in hospitality management, Legg found the industry wasn’t very conducive to having a family, due to the nights, weekends and holidays spent on the job. So, after getting married, she switched gears and went into teaching, working in charter schools, public schools and private schools. After earning her master’s degree in education while living in Dubai, Legg had her first child and returned to Houston to be closer to family. 

“We tried to find child care here for our infant son, but nowhere met our high standards for early education, which was my focus in my career,” Legg said. “I shared with my husband what I would do differently if I had my own school, and he suggested: Why not open our own? The more we looked into it, the more feasible it seemed. Children’s Lighthouse, based in Texas where we are from, gave us a great impression as a company. We appreciated that it is family-owned and operated, offering a small company feel even though it is larger.”

The Demand for Child Care: A Growing Opportunity

Over two-thirds of the nation’s 22.1 million children under the age of six have both available parents in the workforce. The U.S. child care market size was valued at $59 billion in 2023 and is expected to surpass around $88 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 4.3% between 2024 and 2033.

“There is a huge void for taking care of kids for two-income families — that is why the demand for child care is so massive,  The demand far exceeds the supply especially at the premium end." said Matt Kelton, vice president of franchise development at Children's Lighthouse. 

This gap in the market offers a fertile ground for prospective franchisees to cultivate a lucrative business while providing a vital community service.

“There's a significant nationwide demand for child care, and we've developed a robust process to identify and meet this demand in various markets,” Brown said. “Our approach differs notably from other brands, primarily because of the culture and foundation my dad and uncle established. This family-driven culture permeates our entire organization, ensuring that everyone — from our office team to our franchise owners — upholds our mission statement, foundational views and core values.”

Nowhere is this philosophy more evident than in the Children’s Lighthouse proprietary, STREAM-based Lighthouse Pathways curriculum. This approach provides opportunities for individualized skill development, group learning, self-regulation and inquiry-based investigation with a focus on four key areas; Confidence, Connection, Continuous Improvement and Curriculum. STREAM stands for science, technology, reading, engineering, arts and math.

Children's Lighthouse franchisees can access multiple revenue streams by offering a range of specialized educational programs tailored to different age groups along with summer camps. From the Lighthouse BRIGHT™ curriculum designed for early brain development in infants to the dynamic xSTREAM Quest™ for school-aged children, and engaging summer programs filled with diverse activities, franchisees have the opportunity to attract a broad demographic of families. 

Maintaining high standards of operational and educational excellence, each Children's Lighthouse school is independently owned and operated and may have its own Cognia™ or other accreditation. Dr. Kristi Martin-Smith, the brand’s director of education and training, conducts ongoing research and sends surveys to local franchisees, allowing everyone to give feedback on the curriculum.

“This curriculum ensures that we're not just teaching academics but nurturing well-rounded individuals,” Brown said. “For instance, I just heard a remarkable story about a child who joined us at six weeks old and stayed through our after-school program until age 12. They recently published a book, attributing part of their development to their experience at Children's Lighthouse and the valuable lessons they learned. Stories like this underscore the profound impact of our work.”

Legg says the curriculum was a key factor in her decision to bring Children’s Lighthouse to her community. 

“As a parent, you want a brand that is well-established and tested,” Legg said. “These preschools all aim to achieve similar goals, but what sets this brand apart is the character value component of the curriculum — responsibility, honesty, humor, gratitude — these important life skills that are essential for children at this age. We are teaching them to read and write, but we are also creating little humans. I was impressed both as a parent and an educator. Last year, 45 of the 60 toddlers we taught were accepted into the gifted program at their school, which is a huge testament to the brand.”

And when it comes to the demand for this type of early education programming, the results speak for themselves — the recent Children’s Lighthouse location in Kyle, Texas was sold out with full occupancy weeks before the doors even opened.  

What Makes the Children’s Lighthouse Investment Stand Out?

As a franchise, Children's Lighthouse stands in the upper-tier of the child care space, with facilities, which have the capability to accommodate 180 to 250 students, costing between $867,695 to $8,985,630 to build. But the return on that top-tier investment, Kelton says, can be equally great. According to the Children's Lighthouse website, schools that had been open for 18 months or more as of the end of 2023 saw Average Gross Revenue of $1,941,556.*

Furthermore, a new leasing program significantly lowers that initial investment barrier, as franchisees no longer need to own the land to start their schools. This strategic move makes it more feasible to enter the business while enhancing the potential for building generational wealth.

Beyond the investment, support is the name of the game for Children’s Lighthouse, which aims to foster that family-driven feeling across its entire franchise network. “This is a second-generation, family-owned company,” Kelton said. “As a franchisee, you can still call the leadership team. That is a big advantage."

Backed by this model, no previous child care experience is necessary, as franchisees and senior staff will have access to in-depth pre-opening training that immerses them in the Children’s Lighthouse culture, curriculum and business model. 

Julie Carter, the owner of Children’s Lighthouse of Oak Point, for example, came from a background in accounting, finance and insurance before starting her child care business in 2017. 

“I honestly never thought I would be a business owner, and without all of the processes that Children’s Lighthouse has in place, I wouldn't have been able to do it,” said Carter. “Over the past seven years, I've found that if you adhere to the established processes, there's a high likelihood of developing a well-rounded center that attracts families. Everything is planned out for you from start to finish. Everyone on the team has extensive experience, but this isn’t a big conglomerate. This is a family-owned business and they have been by our side every step of the way.”

Another one of the most compelling aspects of the Children’s Lighthouse franchise model is the operational simplicity offered to franchisees, allowing them to manage their business semi-absentee after the initial phase. 

“You hire a director to run the day-to-day,” Kelton said. “You may work 20 hours a week at the beginning, but after the first year, you only have to be in the center maybe ten hours a week. Also, a lot of our franchise owners want to do something that allows them to spend more time with their children and family. This is a great model for that.”

Carter agrees, noting that her primary goal is to empower her management team so that they can take control of the operation. “They are really the face of the business,” she said. “I look at myself as support for the management team. I’ll go in wherever I am needed and share ideas, but the model is designed so that they handle the day-to-day operations of the business. I really enjoy supporting my team — two of our managers have been with me from the start.” 

All of these differentiators explain why Children’s Lighthouse continues to see such momentum in the child care space. The brand was recently ranked No. 327 on Entrepreneur's 2024 Franchise 500.

Why Now Is the Time to Invest in a Children’s Lighthouse Franchise

With open territories all across the country — a rarity among competitors — now is an opportune time to join Children's Lighthouse. The brand's strategic growth, combined with a rising demand for child care, presents a unique chance to secure prime locations and tap into a prosperous market. The brand is focused on continuing to build out locations across its home state of Texas, with room to add 25 schools in Dallas and 27 in Houston, in addition to expanding in Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Orlando, Denver, Chicago, and St. Louis.

So, who is the ideal Children’s Lighthouse franchisee? 

“If you have a passion for education, for child care and for enriching your community, this could be a great opportunity for you,” Brown said. “It's an industry that requires great responsibility, but it's also so rewarding. It's not for everybody, but if you have that passion, it can be a uniquely fulfilling experience.”

Legg says she has never experienced a dull moment since opening her Children’s Lighthouse location over three years ago, and she continues to find deeper satisfaction with the business. 

“We don’t take our responsibility lightly — we put a lot of work into every aspect of the business, know everyone's names and strive to make our school an extension of each family’s home,” Legg said. “These children spend a majority of their lives with us — dropped off at 7 a.m. and picked up at 5 p.m., five days a week. We want our school to feel warm and welcoming; the greatest part is seeing the children happy. The best feeling is when a child doesn’t want to go home.”

For more information on franchising with Children’s Lighthouse, visit: https://www.childrenslighthousefranchise.com/.

*Please see Item 19 of the franchise disclosure document (FDD) for more details.