EDMOND — Edmond residents Andrea Choate and Ashley Hughes want to prepare preschool children for today as well as help them get a leg up on preparedness for the future.

The sisters-in-law opened the newest Primrose School in Oklahoma and the third one in the metro area two weeks ago on Feb. 18 at 6101 N.W. 139th St. in Oklahoma City.

“Our goal is to help children have fun building active minds, healthy bodies and happy hearts while giving parents the peace of mind they need and deserve,” Hughes said.

Hughes has an accounting background, managing investments and running businesses, and Choate is a former school teacher with an entrepreneurial spirit. Hughes knew that once her sister-in-law discovered the Balanced Learning philosophy of Primrose, she would fall in love.

It was Hughes who first enrolled her children in Primrose and loved it so much she encouraged Choate to see what it was all about.

“I saw the difference it made in our kid’s lives as well as our home life,” Hughes said. “Primrose is focused on character development and sharing.”

Choate said when her family moved to Edmond Hughes invited her to visit the school.

“When I first walked into Primrose it was home to me,” Choate said. “I told Ashley this is a school, not a day care. I have never seen anything like it. The environment and curriculum were amazing.

“Research shows that what children learn before the age of 5 is easier to grasp and remember. At Primrose the children are in a social environment working with other children as they are building character.”

Hughes added that Primrose is the building foundation for academics as well as character.

“Our children learn how to communicate at an early age and how to exchange ideas with adults,” Hughes said. “They are learning how to go to school, stand in line, sit down and be still and how to act in quiet time. They also are building their confidence.

The school services five communities including Edmond, Oklahoma City, Putnam City, Deer Creek and Piedmont.

The school already has positively impacted the local economy by adding 25 to 30 new jobs, and $2.9 million to $4.1 million in project costs.

The school features 11 private classrooms with state-of-the-art wireless technology. Outdoors, four separate and secure age-appropriate playgrounds will accommodate each stage of the children’s early development with equipment specifically designed to help them develop and grow their gross motor skills. Children also develop their fine motor skills in the Primrose Patch — a garden on the school’s property.

“The artificial turf will ensure we have an extended outdoor playtime with no water puddles or mud holes to worry about as our children can be outside more months out of the year,” Choate said.

With room for more than 200 students ages 6 weeks to five years, the school opened with 54 students enrolled and more than 85 students in the Explorer (ages 5 to 12) program. Explorers come before and after school as well as during regular school breaks during the year. The school has two true infant rooms with 20 cribs between them.

“When we began talking about becoming owners of a Primrose School we first started looking for land,” Choate said. “We think we have found the ideal location off Memorial Road and MacArthur. We are close to the turnpike and major roads are easily accessible for our parents to drop off their children.”

To mark the official entrance of Primrose Schools into northwest Oklahoma City, franchise owners Hughes and Choate are inviting families to a Grand Opening from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 9 and local families and children are invited to tour the school and enjoy a kid-friendly celebration, getting a taste of the Primrose experience.

The nearly 12,000-square-foot Primrose School of Northwest Oklahoma City is the third school in the Oklahoma City market using the Balanced Learning approach, which blends teacher-directed and child-initiated activities with a special emphasis on character development.

The school also boasts a safe room large enough to hold the children and staff and the staff members are prepared for any type of emergency. A password-protected website keeps parents informed of the emergency procedures and any critical information in the case of a situation requiring immediate attention at the school.

Christina Wodarski is the director of Primrose School of Northwest Oklahoma City and has worked in the area of child care for 19 years.



TO CONTACT Primrose School of Northwest Oklahoma City, call 721-2200 or visit http://www.primrosenwoklahomacity.com. For more information about how Primrose prepares its students for future success in learning and in life, visit www.justaskaprimrosemom.com.