Kiddie Academy: Case Study ~ Dwight Wilkinson

Friday, February 24, 2012
As a parent, I know all too well how important it is spend quality time with my family. The days are short, and the work hours are long. It's difficult to take back your time. Dwight Wilkinson had the same struggles but found the perfect solution when he opened a Kiddie Academy Franchise 9 years ago.


Dwight Wilkinson opened his Kiddie Academy, located at 1020 Horsham Road in North Wales, Pennsylvania, on September 8, 2003, at the age of 42. He has remained dedicated to educational excellence, which along with a passion for children’s mental and physcial development, has helped him and his academy achieve success.

Background: As a previous business owner of a Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Shop, Dwight Wilkinson was looking for a business concept that would grant him more time with his wife and four children. He began researching opportunities with a Monday - Friday schedule to help accommodate his family-oriented lifestyle and responsibilities as a community volunteer and coach of his children’s soccer, basketball and baseball teams. Dwight narrowed his search down to the child care franchise industry due to his love of children and managerial background. After two years of looking at child care companies, he chose Kiddie Academy for its warm, caring personality. He found Kiddie Academy to have a vested interest in the success and well-being of their franchisees. He has remained dedicated to educational excellence, which along with a passion for children’s mental and physical development, has helped him and his academy achieve success.

Goals: Dwight often sets goals around educational achievements and finds opportunities for his academy to reach a higher standard. He continually looks to improve the quality of services at his Kiddie Academy, whether through hiring qualified, passionate staff members or adding educational resources. Dwight hopes to grow his academy’s enrollment and is looking into the possibility of opening a second location in the future.

Challenges: Each new generation of parents find a new way to communicate with each other, their children and their child care providers. For Dwight, finding the most effective way to communicate with his families has proved to have its challenges. However, by experimenting with various communication methods, including take home folders, outdoor signage and technology, he has learned more about the consumer and how to reach his target audience.

Results: Dwight’s hard work and commitment has earned him great success. His academy was recently licensed by the Department of Education and accredited by AdvancEd, which is an achievement no other child care in his area can claim. From a personal stance, becoming a Kiddie Academy franchisee has been both fun and rewarding for Dwight. It has given him a better quality of life and allowed him time to spend with his children and family.


Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed herein are solely mine. Any factual information was provided by Kiddie Academy.

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