Every year, we gather all of our franchise owners of the Celebree School network together to learn, connect, and grow at our Grow Big Conference. Celebree School of Sudbury is honored to share that our owners, Nick and Nikki Foundas, were nominated for this year’s Rookie of the Year Award. This award recognizes owners who have made an incredible impact in their first year, building strong teams and a thriving school family from day one. Hear from Nick and Nikki about what this award means to them.
Looking back on your first year, what has been the most rewarding part of your journey so far?
The most rewarding part has definitely been integrating into the community and getting to know so many amazing families and children. We deeply value the culture and sense of community within our school, and it’s been incredibly fulfilling to see that come to life since opening. It was a long road to get here, but it’s been worth it to see the strong community that’s formed – while it’s only been 5 months, it truly feels like we’ve known our families for years. It’s also been incredibly fulfilling to build a team of educators and leaders who truly love what they do and come to work each day feeling supported, valued, and believe in the vision of what we are creating.
What helped you build strong relationships with families right from the start?
As local owners, it was very important for us to be intentional about open communication, visibility, and being present in the day-to-day experience of the school. We make it a priority to be approachable and available during arrival, dismissal, and throughout the day so families can get to know us personally, trust can form naturally and families can feel comfortable coming to us with questions, concerns or just to chat. As parents ourselves, with three young children of our own, we really wanted families to know that every decision we make is grounded in what mattered most to us when we were searching for care for our kids. Everything we once hoped for in a school environment is what we pour into our school each day, and we hope families can see and feel the genuine care and passion that we strive to create throughout the community.
What are you most excited about as you continue to grow your school?
We’re most excited about continuing to grow our school community and deepening the relationships we’ve already started to build with families. One of our greatest joys will be watching the children grow through our program and carry the love of learning they’ve built here into the next stages of their educational journey. We can’t wait for the day – roughly 12 years from now – when we can invite back our inaugural graduating class to walk alongside our future graduates. It’s also incredibly exciting to continue finding ways to value and strengthen our team of educators by supporting their professional growth, offering advancement opportunities, and helping promote teacher longevity which is very important to us as we work to make positive shifts in an industry where retention can often be a challenge.
