1. HISTORY

KLA Schools® is an upscale childcare and preschool franchise center, serving children from three months of age through age six. The KLA Schools concept is inspired by cutting-edge educational philosophies including the Reggio Emilia Approach. KLA is building a world-class franchise organization that sets new standards for excellence within the children's educational services industry.
Heavy reliance upon the Reggio Emilia Approach provides KLA with a different method than what has become the standard in American daycare and preschool franchises. Many parents who are seeking the best for their children are drawn to KLA's new system and the inspirational design of the schools. While childcare and preschool centers often lay claim to having a superior education program or curriculum, few back up this claim with a concrete, verifiable explanation.

Our Philosophy

Our Founders

OUR PHILOSOPHY

Our educational philosophy is inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach, which was founded by lifelong educator Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) after World War II in a city in northern Italy called Reggio Emilia. The Reggio Emilia Approach was developed for municipal childcare and education programs serving children below the age of six and has attracted the worldwide attention of educators, parents and researchers alike.

In December 1991, Newsweek magazine hailed the preschools of Reggio Emilia as the "best in the world." The approach requires children to be seen as competent, resourceful, curious, imaginative and inventive and to possess a desire to interact and communicate with others.

In the Reggio Emilia Approach, there is a coined expression, "A child has a hundred languages." The approach unites and develops all these languages - innovation, construction, fantasy, art, music, dance, building, writing, talking, signing, science, body and soul. The multiple languages are used to help children build knowledge and understand the world around them. The natural environment is also incorporated as much as possible.

KLA believes that children have a right to a high quality education. At the core of the concept is the child's natural curiosity of their world coupled with a respect for the countless qualities and values that we believe each child is born with. Along with the support of parents, teachers and the community, children at KLA Schools will become prepared to excel in their lives as well as in future educational settings.

Click here for more information regarding the Reggio Emilia Approach to education.

OUR FOUNDERS

The Ortega family and a group of investors and educators opened the first KLA School in Miami, Florida in 2008. There are currently five schools serving South Florida. With both the vision and the resources to create a national, Reggio Emilia inspired childcare franchise when they came to the U.S. from Ecuador, the founders began the KLA Schools Franchise Program in 2009. Additional KLA Schools are coming soon in Seattle, Washington and Walnut Creek, California.

KLA Schools CEO Roberto Ortega, inherited his passion for education from his grandfather who founded two schools in Guayaquil, Ecuador after serving as the Minister of Education. His wife Candy (Educational Director of KLASCHOOLS) grew up in Argentina and Brazil and, after coming to the United States in 1994, she earned an Associates Degree in Child Development and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. She then became a pre-school teacher at a Reggio Emilia inspired school.

Candy and Roberto have attended several Reggio Emilia conferences and study groups in the U.S. and Internationally. They have also both attended the National Association for Education of Young Children conference (NAEYC) in Chicago.

In 2009, Jim Steger joined the KLA Schools team to consult on developing the franchise model. Impressed with the passion for excellence throughout the company, Jim joined the KLA Schools franchise in 2010 as Director of Franchising. Jim has more than 20 years of experience in the franchise industry.