History
Little Sprouts was founded 29 years ago by Susan Leger Ferraro. Today Little Sprouts serves over 700 families, providing top-quality early education and child care at 13 locations across Massachusetts.
Our founder’s fascination with early education began at a young age. While in kindergarten, Susan would often tell her teacher that she too would be a teacher some day.
In 1982, at the age of 17, Susan realized her dream, opening Susan’s Playpen in a rented duplex in Methuen, MA. The family day care organization was licensed for 6 children. Susan still remembers all of the children from that first year: Johnny, Kimberly, Kristen, Jimmy, Benjamin, Rebecca, Laurie and Nicole – and most of them have returned to work for Little Sprouts at some point since.
In October of 1984, Susan purchased a house and re-opened as Little Sprouts Learning Center, serving 15 children.
In 1986, Little Sprouts expanded to 37 children (infants through kindergarten). Susan hired 14 employees, including a high school student intern named Alison Boucher, who worked her way up through the organization and is now a Regional Director.
Susan wanted to grow the organization to better meet the needs of the community. She convinced Bill Felides, the landlord for Brooks Property that the Valley Office Park in Methuen, MA needed a corporate early education and day care center to attract and retain tenants. In 1994, Susan opened Little Sprouts Child Enrichment Centers at Valley Office Park in Methuen, MA serving 114 children.
In 1995 Little Sprouts then entered a rapid growth phase, opening a new location at Cross Point Towers in Lowell, MA, with a license for 144 children. Cross Point selected Little Sprouts in a very competitive bid process, based on the organization’s personalized approach, exceptional curriculum, and innovative environments. Also in 1995, Little Sprouts opened an early education and child care center at Northern Essex Community College in Haverhill, MA, licensed for 69 children.
The summer of 1996 marked the inaugural year for Big Sprouts Summer Adventure program, which offers a summer day camp experience in Haverhill, MA to children aged 5-12.
In 1998, Little Sprouts opened two new schools, one in Andover, MA, and the other at Lowell General Hospital in Lowell, MA. Little Sprouts Andover was licensed for 144 children and the location at Lowell General offered first and second shift early education and child care to 94 children. Later that year, Little Sprouts at Valley Office Park in Methuen, MA added a full-time school age program, offering a before and after school care as well as back-up care for vacation days and snow days.
Summer of 2001 was opening year for Blooming Sprouts Summer Program, a new opportunity for younger school-age children.
In 2003, Little Sprouts received national recognition as Preschool Centers of Educational Excellence, receiving the U.S. Department’s $1.5MM Early Reading First grant to provide advanced literacy training to young children in the Merrimack Valley. This honor reflects Little Sprouts’ hard work to achieve NAEYC accreditation, to provide high-quality early education, and to serve its community. Little Sprouts was the first and only first for-profit organization in the nation to receive this award.
In summer 2005, Little Sprouts opened a new school for 140 children in Lawrence, MA, as part of the Riverwalk revitalization project in the Lawrence Mills.
In 2006, Little Sprouts was awarded a second Early Reading First grant for $3.5MM to continue its outstanding work in early literacy. Little Sprouts was the only preschool in Massachusetts to receive this honor. In September, Little Sprouts opened a 6th school in Westford, MA, in collaboration with the Early Education Department of the Nashoba Valley Technical School.
2007 presented another opportunity to expand Little Sprouts and bring top-quality early education and child care to the Boston area. Little Sprouts at Roxbury Community College opened fall 2007 .
In 2008, to further expand our footprint and bring high quality early education and child care to additional communities, Little Sprouts partnered with American Education Group, a national organization which operates many Pre K through grade 12 schools across the country focusing on individualized, customized, specialized learning for each student. We continued to innovate in 2008, adding nationally-acclaimed FUNdamentals of Music and Movement to our award-winning curriculum. Little Sprouts added 2 schools in 2008, building a state-of-the-art facility in Haverhill, MA and a new location in Woburn, MA.
In 2009, Little Sprouts added schools in Amesbury, North Andover and Dedham, MA and was awarded the U.S. Department of Early Education's prestigious Early Reading First Grant for the third time in a row. One of only 28 early education providers in the country and the only private provider in Massachusetts to receive the grant. Little Sprouts provides more than just day care to families across Massachusetts; Little Sprouts’ unique, award-winning, holistic, and nurturing approach is setting the standard in early education and child care.
In 2010 Little Sprouts opened the doors to their 12th location at Andover, MA in the New England Business Center and has plans in place for schools in Wilmington and Brighton. The state of the art early education facility at NEBC Andover serves 85 children.
In 2011 Little Sprouts is truly onto something BIG, opening their 13th school in Wilmington, MA. More than daycare, this school will serve 72 students from infants to preschool and offer our award-winning, nationally recognized curriculum.
Find a Little Sprouts near you and look for new locations as we continue to sprout!
