Early learning is focus at All' Bout Children

If, as the old proverb goes, it takes a village to raise a child, then Stonewood Village in Brookfield may be the ideal setting for All 'Bout Children Preschool.

"It's a great spot because it gives parents peace of mind that their children can go on fieldtrips in the village and be safe," said Heather Butkiewicz, who bought into the venture in late 2009, after her business partner, Allison Manuel, started the school earlier that year. "It's also just off Capitol Drive, so it makes for easy and convenient drop-offs."

Location, Butkiewicz said, is just one of the many selling points regarding All 'Bout Children Preschool that appeals to the students' parents. The school offers flexible scheduling, maintains small class sizes (8:1 student-teacher ratios for the 3- and 4-year-old classes and 6:2 for the 2-year-old group), requires staff to hold bachelor's degrees, accepts children who are not toilet trained, and makes Spanish a cornerstone of its academic curriculum.

"There's so many day care facilities and preschools in Brookfield, so we had to be unique," said Butkiewicz. She and Manuel have almost 20 years of combined teaching and administrative experience. "No one else in the community teaches Spanish at this level, but Allison and I knew that parents would value having their children learn it, because studies show that the earlier a foreign language is introduced to a child the better the odds that it'll be mastered."

Parents themselves of children in the Elmbrook School District, the pair started All 'Bout Children Preschool to help prepare other families for the rigors of the Elmbrook school system.

Online advertising has helped All 'Bout Children take off. Boosting the school's Internet presence led to increased enrollment and revenues and allowed it to add three staff members.

"No one seemed to know who we were before we implemented our website and advertised on Google," Butkiewicz said. "Now, we have a waiting list, business is going very well and we can concentrate on working with families to better meet their academic and social goals."

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JUST THE FACTS

BUSINESS: All 'Bout Children Preschool

ADDRESS: 17700 W. Capitol Drive

PHONE: (262) 894-5437

WEBSITE: AllBoutChildrenPreschool.com

OWNERS: Allison Manuel and Heather Butkiewicz

INCORPORATED: 2009

TYPE OF BUSINESS: preschool

PEARLS OF WISDOM: "Allowing children to have fun, learn and grow."