Primrose Schools is an American franchise network of accredited private preschools providing early childhood education and child care for children from infancy through kindergarten age, with some locations offering after-school programs for children up to age 12. Founded in 1982 in Marietta, Georgia, the company operates more than 530 franchised locations across 34 states and Washington, D.C. Primrose schools are independently owned and operated by franchise owners.
Primrose Schools was established by Paul and Marcy Erwin in 1982 as a single preschool in Marietta, Georgia. Marcy Erwin developed the school's educational approach drawing on Montessori-style child-initiated learning combined with teacher-led curriculum. The company expanded to three half-day preschools before converting to a full-day education and child care model in 1988, and it awarded its first franchise license in 1990. Jo Kirchner, who joined the company in 1990 as vice president, became president and CEO in 1999 and led the company's expansion from a handful of locations in the Atlanta area to a national franchise system.
In June 2008, Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group acquired Primrose Schools. At the time of the acquisition, the company operated 182 franchise locations generating approximately $275 million in system-wide revenue.
In May 2024, Reuters reported that Roark was exploring a sale of Primrose Schools at a valuation of approximately $2 billion including debt, with R.W. Baird engaged to manage the process.
Primrose schools use the company's proprietary Balanced Learning curriculum, which combines teacher-guided instruction with child-initiated play. The curriculum draws on research in child development and places emphasis on character education alongside academic readiness.
All Primrose locations are required to maintain accreditation from Cognia, a quality-assurance organization for educational institutions. Primrose was the first early childhood education franchise to achieve system-wide accreditation through Cognia's predecessor organization, AdvancED.
In 2005, Primrose established the Primrose Children's Foundation, a nonprofit organization that coordinates fundraising across the franchise network to support child advocacy and literacy programs. Early partners included Reach Out and Read, to which the foundation donated more than $1.4 million by 2014. In 2014, the company announced a partnership with Save the Children focused on sponsoring at-risk children in underserved communities in the United States.