Business Profile: Kidz Country Learing Day Care Center, Mahopac
The old adage “it takes a village to raise a child,” is more than just words to Laurie Lee Ford, the owner of Kidz County Learning Day Care Center in Mahopac. It is the foundation of her approach to early child development.
“At Kidz Country we look at ourselves as extended members of the family,” said Ford, who first opened up a small daycare center out of her home in 1987. “The parents depend on us because they have to go out and work. We are there for them.”
Ford’s commitment is two-fold. First, she makes sure that Monday through Friday her doors are open and parents can bring their children to the center no matter what the weather is outside.
“We do not close on snow days, we do not open late because of delayed openings,” said Ford. In fact, Kidz Country was open the Monday of Hurricane Sandy and every day that followed.
“We had a generator and I went out and bought pizzas,” said Ford, who is also the chairwoman of the Mahopac- Carmel Chamber of Commerce. “I have parents who work for Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla and others who are firemen or police officers. I cannot tell them that they cannot go to work.”
Before opening up her own center, Ford was in the financial sector and worked for companies such as Chemical Bank and Proctor and Gamble.
“As a woman, who was successful in business, I was not allowed to say, ‘Oh, I can’t do that because the kids were sick,’ or something like that,” said Ford. “I know what the parents are going through, so I made the policy about 26 years ago that if I can get to you, then you can get to me. I live in the area and I make sure that I can get here so that if the parents need me I am there for them.”
Her second commitment it to do everything in her power to provide for the betterment of a child.
Ford, who constantly is seeking out classes and seminars to learn new ideas and approaches, hosts trainings for not only her staff but the parents as well. In addition, to better understand the diverse cultures of the students, Ford has joined World Forum Foundation, an international early childhood development organization that brings early childhood professionals together from all over the world.
“It meets every two years all over the world,” said Ford, who has brought her staff to Malaysia and Belfast, Ireland so they could attend the conferences. “There are people from over 40 countries that belong to the organization. There are over 700 delegates from all different cultures. We come together and we share information.”
Back home, Kidz Country incorporates local resources from the community into its curriculum. “The children go swimming at New York Sports club, take dance lessons with a local studio and go to the library twice a month,” said Ford. “A lot of families do not have time to do this stuff on the weekends; they just have too many other commitments so we take them. We do anything we can to make the children’s lives more fulfilling.”
Kidz Country accepts infants as young as 6 weeks old. Then the child will go through the day care program and will often continue into the before and after school programs that Ford offers. Unlike most centers though, many teenagers continue to come to Kidz Country.
“When they are old enough to get there working papers I hire them and give them little tasks to do,” said Ford. “They work as reading buddies, or help with singing and dancing. Then they stay with me until they go to college and then a lot of them still return. Most of my staff that is here now as well as those who come during the summer has been raised through Kidz Country. I am proud to day that.”
Kidz Country is located at 854 Route 6, Mahopac. For more information call 845-628-0281.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
