Knowledge Universe reaches $1.6 billion in revenue

STORY BY LINDA BAKER // PHOTOS BY LEAH NASH

On the second floor of a KinderCare center in downtown Portland, eight preschoolers are coloring pictures of Chinese characters while listening to their teacher speak in Mandarin. On the other side of the room, which is decorated with parasols and Chinese lanterns, another group is interacting with a different teacher — who is speaking in English. Eventually the groups will switch, with the entire class spending half the day learning in Chinese, the other half in English.

Now in its third year, the Mandarin immersion program got its start when Knowledge Universe, KinderCare’s parent company, came across a model program while scouting acquisitions in Singapore. “We thought this was a really innovative and important way to deliver dual language, which is something the United States is particularly remiss in,” says Elanna Yalow, executive vice president at Knowledge Universe. “It is much easier to develop second-language competency at a young age,” Yalow says. “So we brought that program over and implemented it in several locations.”

KinderCare’s Mandarin immersion program is a window on the world of Knowledge Universe, a global education services conglomerate that has its U.S. headquarters in Portland. The company, which employs 40,000 people on three continents, is the largest single private provider of early childhood education services in the country. It also has the biggest market share in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Singapore, where the company’s global headquarters are located.