Multi-unit childcare franchise operators continue to expand in Florida, one of the most active states for early education investment in 2026. Sanddy and Melodie Marchena, owners of two existing Kiddie Academy Educational Child Care locations, opened their third franchise on June 18 in Sarasota County, a 12,000-square-foot facility licensed to serve up to 190 children and staffed by 25 educators.
The childcare and early education franchise sector has maintained steady expansion momentum as working-parent demographics drive enrollment demand and supply-side capacity gaps persist across suburban Florida markets. As more entrepreneurs look to open a child daycare, franchising continues to offer a structured entry into the growing early education industry, Sarasota County, which has seen sustained residential growth since 2020, joins a broader pattern of childcare franchise activity in the state. Operating under a franchise business model, Kiddie Academy operates a nationwide network of educational child care centers built around its proprietary Life Essentials curriculum, a developmental framework organized by age group from infancy through school-age programming.
A Third Location for Florida’s Marchena Family
The new center, located at 7290 Canon Street in Sarasota, marks the Marchenas’ third Kiddie Academy franchise. The facility features 12 classrooms across a 12,000-square-foot footprint, along with a 6,000-square-foot outdoor playground divided into three separate play areas tailored for infants, preschoolers, and older children. The age-segmented design reflects the Kiddie Academy curriculum model, which structures programming around specific developmental stages rather than mixed-age groupings.
“About seven years ago, we reached a crossroads in our lives, but we knew whatever came next we wanted it to focus on shaping the next generation,” said Sanddy Marchena. The Sarasota facility is licensed to serve up to 190 children and employs 25 educators at opening, making it one of the larger Kiddie Academy units in the Florida market by licensed capacity.
Childcare Franchising and the Florida Growth Dynamic
Florida has ranked among the most active states for childcare franchise unit openings in recent years, driven by a combination of net domestic migration, rising dual-income household rates, and limited public pre-K availability in certain counties. Sarasota County’s residential population has grown significantly since 2020, adding enrollment pressure on existing childcare infrastructure and creating openings for franchise operators to enter underserved suburban submarkets.
The childcare franchise sector has also attracted multi-unit operators from adjacent industries, including retail and food service, drawn by the recurring revenue characteristics of enrollment-based models and the relative resilience of childcare demand compared to discretionary-spending franchise categories. Operators who build out multiple units within a single county or metro area can also benefit from shared administrative resources and staff development structures, a pattern the Marchena family’s expansion illustrates.
Kiddie Academy’s Multi-Unit Development Pattern
The Marchenas’ move from two to three locations follows a trajectory common within the Kiddie Academy franchise system, where established operators frequently develop additional sites within the same metro area or county. The brand’s franchise model is built around a standardized curriculum, staff training frameworks, and facility design standards that support multi-unit rollout without requiring operators to rebuild programming from the ground up at each location.
As of mid-2026, Kiddie Academy continues to develop new franchise territories across the United States. Florida represents one of its most active growth markets based on the volume of recent openings and development agreements reported in the franchise press. The Sarasota County opening adds to a year of consistent childcare franchise activity in the state’s Gulf Coast corridor.
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