Abi Elabanjo of Kiddie Academy of Odenton was recently recognized by the Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce as the “Minority Business of the Year.”
“I felt excited and very happy and felt like all our hard work has been recognized,” said Elabanjo. “We provide excellent childcare to the community. We’re providing educational childcare instead of regular childcare.”
While Kiddie Academy of Odenton has only been open since April 2016, it fills a desperately needed void in the community for quality childcare.
“I’m glad we’re able to do this for the community,” said Elabanjo. “Over 5,000 cars park [nearby] to commute to D.C. on the MARC Train. We’re able to provide this [educational childcare] service to the community.”
Elabanjo’s search for quality childcare began when her family moved to Odenton in 2002 and her daughter Mope was born.
As a probate lawyer for the District Superior Court, Elabanjo found it necessary to commute to Washington D.C. daily and, therefore, required childcare for Mope during the day.
“There was very limited childcare [at the time],” said Elabanjo. “We went several places but were not happy. We were put on wait lists.”
Many childcare centers appeared dirty to Elanbanjo. She was told by the owners there wasn’t enough time to clean. That was unacceptable to Elabanjo, who eventually had her mother babysit Mope the first two years of her life.
This disappointing experience was the impetus of Elabanjo’s desire to open a childcare facility. “I began to wonder, can I do a better job?” she said. “I only had a legal background but I tried to see if I could do it.”
After a great deal of research, Elabanjo found the franchise of Kiddie Academy. She knew Odenton was a great location to open one as it was right next to the train station.
The curriculum of Kiddie Academy is what attracted her to the franchise.
“We have life essentials in four pillars,” explained Elabanjo. “First is Character Education, second is Developmentally Appropriate Practice, third is Technology, and fourth is Health and Fitness.”
The curriculum is all-inclusive with age-appropriate toys and educational items for each age group.
Safe, nutritional food is also served family style for the children. As an added bonus, teachers eat with the children in order to teach proper table manners.
Music and movement are crucial parts of the curriculum. Parents can download for free over 400 songs used by the teachers.
“We have open communication with parents,” said Elabanjo. “Parents get emails and updates even before coming to pick up their child.”
“I love the interaction with the kids and being able to provide services for the parents,” she said. “You do have to have a passion for children. This is a safe, healthy place where children learn different things every day. That gives me joy.”
“The goal is to prepare kids for school,” said Elabanjo.
Elabanjo has been told by parents Kiddie Academy of Odenton is the cleanest child care facility they’ve been to. That makes her proud.
The building also had top notch security with codes required for entrance as well as safety devices.
Elabanjo is still working as a probate lawyer while running Kiddie Academy. After two years of working every day of the week, she’s ready to find an Academic Director.
“People think it’s just childcare, but there are a great deal of administrative things that need to be done to keep [Kiddie Academy] running, including managing finances, curriculum, staffing and more,” she said.
All of Kiddie Academy’s 20 employees have some background in early childhood education, and Elabanjo is looking for an Academic Director with a Bachelor’s degree in the same subject.
“I’m not going to sit back,” she said. “We’re growing, and the more children we have the more responsibility we have.”
Kiddie Academy is located at 1114 Town Center Boulevard in Odenton. It is currently enrolling all age groups and are open 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, visit: https://kiddieacademy.com.
What’s Up this week
Sunday, from 1 to 4 p.m., the Odenton Heritage Society will hold its monthly open house. This month’s display is “Odenton in World War I: Faces from the Past.” The museum is located at 1367 Odenton Road in Odenton. Admission is always free. For more information, contact Wylie Donaldson at 410-674-2677.
