SchoolWise Partners is pleased to announce the closing of Kids' Zone Learning Center, a portfolio of six (6) private schools located in and around Austin, Texas. SchoolWise Partners acted as the exclusive sell-side advisor.

The quality of a program rises and falls with the quality of its teachers, directors, and support staff. But over the past few years, one thing has become impossible for operators to ignore: wages have risen sharply in real terms, and for many providers, labor costs are now increasing faster than tuition revenue.

When selling an early childhood education (ECE) business, the best outcomes come from preparing around the exact areas sophisticated buyers underwrite. Below are the key value drivers—and what to emphasize—so you can reduce buyer friction, protect price, and increase certainty of close.

States are rapidly reshaping the early‑education funding map now that the federal COVID‑era stabilization grants— $24 billion that propped up 220,000 providers—expired last September.

After a volatile few years, many operators hoped 2025 would bring a clear rebound in center‑based enrollment. Instead, the data point to another “treading‑water” year.