Past Year Brings National Growth for Toledo-Based Child care Provider

With more than three decades of experience nurturing and teaching children in the Toledo area, Children’s Discovery Center expanded its operation outside of the Ohio market. This past August, the nationally ranked Top 50 child care provider opened a 12,000-square foot facility in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina – a suburb of the admired Southern city of Charleston, South Carolina.

The new location sets the pathway for the Ohio-based provider to become a national child care provider. Located less than 15 miles from downtown Charleston, the center becomes the corporation’s eighth location, with the other seven covering the Toledo market.

Each of the company’s centers feature distinctive interior design and local elements. The South Carolina location is no different, including sea-life themes and Lowcountry decorations. This particular center also features a replica of the iconic Cooper River Bridge – a life-size structure inside the center’s discovery room that serves as a focal point of the center and a play area for children.

Groundbreaking for the center was held in early spring of last year and by August, the center was welcoming children and families. The center has capacity to serve nearly 200 children between the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years old.

“We knew growth outside the Toledo area was in our future,” says Lois Rosenberry, the company’s founder and CEO. “When the opportunity to expand to Charleston presented itself, we knew immediately it was the perfect place to start our national footprint.”

Rosenberry attributes part of the selection process of the new location to Charleston’s economic growth and an obvious need for high-quality child care providers. All signs pointed to the fact that the need was there.

“We were at capacity almost immediately after opening our doors,” explains Katie Carter, the South Carolina center’s director. “With the relocation of Boeing to the area and the area’s constant growth, it was obvious very quickly how much the community appreciated us opening our doors.”

Just like each center in the Ohio market, the South Carolina facility offers the world-renowned Reggio Emilia educational philosophy. Notably, Children’s Discovery Center was the first to bring the award-winning structure to the SC community.

With state-of-the-art security and technology, Children’s Discovery Center utilizes video conferencing across hundreds of miles to provide training, consulting and oversight. Rosenberry says its imperative that a model be followed in order to guarantee a quality educational environment to parents and families.

“Our team in Ohio has been doing this for more than 30 years,” says Rosenberry. “Consistency is huge for me so it’s important that our team up here stay closely connected to our team in South Carolina.”

“We want to ensure that our families in South Carolina experience the same level of care that our Ohio families have experienced for so many years.”

Children’s Discovery Center began in 1982 in Maumee and employs more than 150 people, serving 1,400 children. The center’s administration also runs Discovery Express School, a chartered non-public school located in Holland that offers kindergarten through 4th grade.