Learning Care Group
Learning Care Group is a U.S. early-childhood education company that operates a portfolio of preschool and child-care brands.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Learning Care Group is an American child-care and early-childhood education company headquartered in Novi, Michigan. Rather than presenting a single consumer-facing school identity, the company operates a multi-brand network of schools serving children through preschool and related early-learning programs. Its portfolio has included La Petite Academy, Childtime, Tutor Time, The Children's Courtyard, Montessori Unlimited, Everbrook Academy, AppleTree & Gilden Woods, Creative Kids Learning Center, U-GRO, Young School, and Pathways Learning Academy. The company traces its origins to the 1960s, although the available reference material does not identify a precise founding year or a named founder. Its corporate history has been shaped by successive ownership changes. In 2005, Learning Care Group was purchased by Australia-based ABC Learning. By March 2008, when it was acquired by Morgan Stanley Private Equity, the company operated approximately 800 schools under five brands. In 2014, American Securities acquired the business, bringing Learning Care Group under the ownership of a U.S. private-equity firm. By 2019, Learning Care Group was described as the second-largest for-profit child-care provider in North America, with more than 1,070 schools. The scale of the network and the breadth of its brand portfolio indicate a strategy based on operating multiple educational concepts rather than consolidating all locations under one name. The brands cover conventional child care, preschool education, Montessori-oriented learning, and other early-learning formats. Individual schools may therefore differ in educational approach, naming, and local market presentation while remaining part of the wider Learning Care Group organization. Learning Care Group’s business is primarily service-based. Its offerings center on supervised child care and early-childhood education delivered through physical school locations. The company’s brand architecture allows it to maintain established local or national identities while sharing ownership and an overarching operating platform. The available sources do not provide verified information about current revenue, exact enrollment, public-company status beyond its private ownership, or the precise number of operating schools after 2019. Its present status is therefore best described as active, with American Securities identified as its owner in the reference material.
History
Learning Care Group was established in the 1960s as a provider of child-care and early-childhood education services. The available reference material does not specify the exact year of formation, the original founder, or the first operating location. Over time, the organization developed into a multi-brand operator, using several school identities to serve different markets and educational formats. A significant ownership transition occurred in 2005, when Australia-based ABC Learning purchased Learning Care Group. The company subsequently expanded or maintained a substantial network of schools under multiple brands. By the time Morgan Stanley Private Equity acquired the business in March 2008, Learning Care Group operated about 800 schools under five brands. This transaction placed the company within a private-equity ownership structure and marked another stage in the consolidation of the North American for-profit child-care sector. In 2014, American Securities acquired Learning Care Group from its then-owner. American Securities is identified in the reference material as the company’s owner. Under its portfolio-company structure, Learning Care Group continued to operate a collection of child-care and early-learning brands rather than replacing them with a single group-wide name. The portfolio has included La Petite Academy, Childtime, Tutor Time, The Children's Courtyard, Montessori Unlimited, Everbrook Academy, AppleTree & Gilden Woods, Creative Kids Learning Center, U-GRO, Young School, and Pathways Learning Academy. These brands represent a range of early-childhood education and child-care concepts, including conventional preschool provision and Montessori-oriented programming. By 2019, Learning Care Group was reported to operate more than 1,070 schools and to rank as the second-largest for-profit child-care provider in North America. The available sources do not establish whether that school count remains current, nor do they provide a verified current enrollment figure, revenue figure, or detailed account of subsequent acquisitions, closures, or rebranding. Consequently, the company’s documented history is strongest on its ownership changes, portfolio structure, and scale through 2019.
- 2019
Reported as a major North American child-care provider
[1]Learning Care Group was described as the second-largest for-profit child-care provider in North America, operating more than 1,070 schools.
- 2014
Acquired by American Securities
[1]Private-equity firm American Securities acquired Learning Care Group, which remained organized as a multi-brand child-care and early-learning platform.
- 2008
Acquired by Morgan Stanley Private Equity
[1]Morgan Stanley Private Equity acquired Learning Care Group in March 2008. At the time, the company operated approximately 800 schools under five brands.
- 2005
Acquired by ABC Learning
[1]Australia-based ABC Learning purchased Learning Care Group, placing the U.S. child-care operator within an international education-services company.
- 1960
Company founded
[1]Learning Care Group traces its origins to the 1960s as a child-care and early-childhood education provider. The precise founding year and founder are not identified in the available reference.
Products and positioning
A large, privately owned U.S. early-childhood education platform operating a diverse portfolio of child-care and preschool brands.
Child care and preschool
La Petite Academy
A Learning Care Group school brand providing child-care and early-learning services for young children. It is one of the established identities in the group’s multi-brand portfolio.
Child care and early education
Childtime
An early-childhood education and child-care brand operated within Learning Care Group’s network of schools.
Child care and preschool
Tutor Time
A school brand in the Learning Care Group portfolio focused on child care and early learning.
Child care and early education
The Children's Courtyard
A Learning Care Group brand serving families through school-based child-care and early-childhood education programs.
Montessori education
Montessori Unlimited
A portfolio brand associated with Montessori-oriented early-childhood education and child-care services.
Early-childhood education
Everbrook Academy
An early-learning school brand included among Learning Care Group’s operating concepts.
Early-childhood education
AppleTree & Gilden Woods
A child-care and early-learning brand identified as part of Learning Care Group’s portfolio.
Child care and early education
Creative Kids Learning Center
A Learning Care Group school identity serving the early-childhood education and child-care market.
Early-childhood education
U-GRO
An early-learning and child-care brand included in the group’s documented portfolio.
Child care and preschool
Young School
A school brand operated within Learning Care Group’s network of early-childhood education providers.
Early-childhood education
Pathways Learning Academy
A Learning Care Group brand offering an early-learning and child-care school concept.
Brand decisions
2014
American Securities acquisitionM&ABackground
Learning Care Group had previously been owned by ABC Learning and Morgan Stanley Private Equity.
Action taken
American Securities acquired the company.
Aftermath
American Securities became the identified owner, while Learning Care Group continued operating a portfolio of child-care and early-learning brands.
2008
Morgan Stanley Private Equity acquisitionM&ABackground
By March 2008, Learning Care Group operated approximately 800 schools under five brands.
Action taken
Morgan Stanley Private Equity acquired Learning Care Group.
Aftermath
The company continued as a sizable multi-brand child-care operator before its subsequent acquisition by American Securities.
2005
ABC Learning acquisitionM&ABackground
Learning Care Group was purchased by Australia-based ABC Learning as part of the expansion of education and child-care ownership across national markets.
Action taken
ABC Learning acquired the company and became its owner.
Aftermath
The transaction preceded a later sale to Morgan Stanley Private Equity in 2008.
Sources1 sources
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