Engineering For Kids featured on 2 KASA This Morning

Engineering For Kids of New Mexico franchisee, Michael Cumbo, was featured on 2 KASA This Morning, Albuquerque. The segment shows Michael talking about Engineering For Kids can offer, as well as the importance of getting more girls involved and interested in STEM education. 

Click here to view the segment or view below: 

Engineering For Kids in The News-Herald

Engineering For Kids has been featured in The News-Herald in an article titled, "STEM franchisee looks to partner with area schools." The article talks about how Alyssa Choraszewski, who covers the Dearborn and Downriver areas, is interested in bringing engineering education to local schools. Click here for the entire article or begin below.

STEM franchisee looks to partner with area schools
By: Laura Zoochi 

While the headquarters of Engineering for Kids might be in Virginia, a franchisee is interested in bringing after-school engineering education to students in the Downriver and Dearborn areas.

Alyssa Choraszewski said her Farmington-based franchise business focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, or STEM, education. She said it focuses mainly on engineering because a lot of STEM programs only put a focus on math and science.

The program is for children ages 4 to 14 and involves a series of after-school programs including workshops, parties and assemblies. The educational learning is divided by ages 4 to 6 and 7 to 14.

(Read More) 

Engineering For Kids Featured in Phoenix Business Journal

Engineering For Kids featured in Phoenix Business Journal  in an article titled, "Engineering education franchise company landing in East Valley." The article also talks about how Engineering for Kids is looking to help bridge the gap between what students are learning and how that can apply to real life. In addition, it talks about how Ron Hoagland always wanted to run his own business and bring something valuable to the community. Furthermore, the article talks about how all of the Engineering for Kids programs meet national standards for STEM education and are aligned with Arizona’s common core standards. Click here for the entire article or begin below.

Engineering education franchise company landing in East Valley
By: Angela Gonzales 

Engineering for Kids — a Virginia education franchising company — has expanded into the Phoenix area.

The Fredericksburg, Va.-based company offers science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM programs to children ages four through 14 via classes, camps, clubs and parties.

Ron Hoagland, the program director for East Valley Engineering for Kids, said his franchise territory covers several parts of the East Valley, including Ahwatukee, Tempe, Chandler, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley.

“Kids in general are naturally curious how things work,” Hoagland said. “A lot of times they don’t really understand that math and science are a part of that.”

(Read More) 

Engineering for Kids in the Queens Chronicle

Engineering for Kids in the Queens Chronicle in an article titled, "Boro youth show off engineering skills." The article begins with some details about the Saturday classes offered by De and Lupita Chen and how it’s making kids excited to learn the STEM fields. The article goes into detail about the specific egg drop activity that took place during this particular session, and how the kids engineered their egg vessels. The article then gives more information about Engineering for Kids, how it supplements STEM education, and ends with information about the future of the Chens’ program. Click here for the entire article or begin below.

Boro youth show off engineering skills
By: Domenick Rafter

It’s Saturday morning in Jackson Heights. Outside the Renaissance Charter School at 81st Street and 37th Avenue, young children begin filing into the facility for class.

But there is little resistance to going into a classroom at 10 a.m. on a weekend. Instead, these kids, who range in age from 6 to 13, are excited and anticipatory.

Lupita Chen, one of their two instructors, tells a parent the plan for today.

“They’re going to develop protective packaging for eggs and drop them from different heights,” she said. “The kids are going to have fun with it.”

(Read More)

Engineering for Kids Featured in Nashville Business Journal

Engineering for kids was recently featured in the Nashville Business Journal in an article titled, "New kids' enrichment program focuses on science, tech, engineering, math".

The article is a Q&A with franchisee Neeti Agarwal about her Engineering For Kids in Nashville.  Neeti explains her background, how she got started with Engineering for Kids, some details about what Engineering for Kids offers, and her plans for the future.  The article also provides contact information for her location and some details about our franchise system.

Click HERE to read the full article with subscription or begin reading below:

New kids' enrichment program focuses on science, tech, engineering, math

Neeti Agarwal is owner of Engineering for Kids of Nashville (2206 Husker Court, Brentwood; 615-261-9937; www.engineeringforkids.net/location/nashville). She opened the business March 1. The organization offers after-school programs, camps, evening classes, in-school field trips, workshops and other activities for children ages 4 to 14. It is one of 15 franchises of Fredericksburg, Va.-based Engineering for Kids.

Please explain your background and how you came to launch this business. I am an electrical engineer, with more than 12 years of digital business analytics experience. I came across Engineering for Kids when I was researching after-school programs that teach the STEM (science, ...

Franchisee Spotlight: Chris LeBreck of Naperville

Chris LeBreck grew up in Palatine, IL and lived there until he was 26. He then moved to Wisconsin where he spent about 20 years and moved back to Illinois in 2005 before opening up his own business called Airtastic Play Land in 2008. Airtastic Play Land is an open- play facility with four big party rooms and that’s where they will hold the EFK classes.

Chris has an electrical engineering degree from Northern Illinois University and graduated in 1984. He was in electronic manufacturing and worked for companies such as Honeywell, Northrop-Grumman, and Phillips where he got into the operating side of the business. He worked for Plexus and Sanmina – SCI in an operational role.

Why did you transition into the Airtastic opportunity?

My wife and I walked into a business in northern Wisconsin that was pretty similar, and it was that was our initial introduction to the possibility of having something like this in the future. I was at a point in my life where I could do something different. It ended up being a four year process before we opened, but we've been open for five years now. We bought the land and built the building to suit this type of business.

How did you learn about Engineering for Kids?

I saw it on the website, Franchise.com. We've been looking for something the last couple years, and it seemed to make sense for us.

Why did you choose an opportunity with Engineering for Kids?

We have about 8,000 families in our database to introduce to Engineering for Kids. Plus, this is a logical extension of our business offering and it really compliments the existing business we have. We do parties, and the fact EFK offers camps during the summer and classes during the school year was great for us. It allows us to better utilize the 17,500 square feet of space in the building.

Also, STEM is very big in Naperville, Aurora and the surrounding communities and the Engineering for Kids programs align well with the goals of the school districts’ STEM initiatives.

Are you involved with any charities or do any community outreach with your business?

Over the last five years, we have partnered with a lot of schools and community organizations in the area. We've donated thousands of dollars in free play time over the years to help fund initiatives within the local schools.  Additionally, we've donated 10,000 pounds of food to the local food pantry and held numerous fundraising events for organizations such as the American Heart Association and Pancreatic Cancer Research.  

How will you operate your Engineering for Kids business?

I’m the operator, so right now I’m interviewing teachers to start classes when we open. My goal is to teach camps through the summer and go into the communities and open learning centers in all seven of the communities I own rights to.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?

The biggest challenge has been the economy. In 2008 when we opened, that was when it was at its worst. Just surviving the last five years has been the biggest challenge. Now we feel more comfortable because the economy is on the rebound, which has allowed us to invest in another business to compliment what we are already doing.

In the big scope of things, Naperville and Aurora have 140,000 people, so getting 50 to sign up should not be a stretch. I’d like 100-200 kids ideally. I literally have four centers of space available. I’ve received good feedback about EFK from people in the community so far.

What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Engineering for Kids?

Our goal is to have one or two learning centers in the seven communities we have. My goal is to start people at the Airtastic facility and move them to the other areas to run their own businesses.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or passions?

I have three active boys in sports, so I am pretty involved with my kids’ activities. 

Franchisee Spotlight: Hitesh and Neha Shah

For married couple Hitesh and Neha Shah, engineering is in their blood. So when they heard about Engineering for Kids from CNN, something really clicked. Working in the IT industry, Hitesh has the industry ingrained in his profession, but for Neha, the curriculum focusing on the different activities and her enthusiasm for teaching, helped shape their desire to start the location.

Hitesh completed his bachelors and masters in computer science and Neha was looking for something which would bring enrichment to kids’ lives, something more than the regular math and science teaching, but do it in a fun way.

Deciding to pursue, Hitesh and Neha are currently looking for a place to conduct summer camp activities and learn a lot about teaching at the same time.

How did you learn about the brand?

We read about Engineering for Kids on CNN Money – and thought, “This is something we can do.” I then went to the website and began looking at all the programs.

Why did you choose an opportunity with Engineering for Kids?

We chose the opportunity because it’s all about the programs. We’re in the corner of three counties, so we have room for growth. We wanted something we could work into our lifestyle but getting something out of it ourselves.

Where will you conduct the summer camps?

We’re starting in community centers for July and August timing. We are in the process of figuring out the schedule.

What challenges have you overcome to get where you are now?

Getting into franchising, finding the right brand for us, finding about QuickBooks, and the best way to approach community centers, have all been pretty challenging to figure out the most efficient manner possible.

Who will teach classes?

Neha: I will teach the classes with another teacher who we signed up to volunteer for the summer camps. We may hire more, but I need to know the curriculum to teach the curriculum first, before we hire. That’s all part of this learning process for us.

Right now, we want to go for aerospace and Lego-Robotics or Mechanical as another option.

What are your expansion or development plans? What is your end goal with Engineering for Kids?

Right now, we want to go into our county and see how it goes with summer camps, and then schools after. We want to open an actual learning center with a physical address a couple years down the line.

Do you have any other interesting hobbies or passions?

Hitesh is passionate about photography and he is a freelance photographer, and Neha likes to listen to music and likes to be with nature. We like going for walks and doing outdoors activities with our kids.

Engineering for Kids Reaches System-Wide Sales Increase of 124 Percent in Q1

Growing STEM Educator Begins 2013 Strong and Maintaining Goal of Adding 50-60 Locations This Year

Engineering for Kids, a 50-plus-unit Fredericksburg, Va.-based franchise offering a range of learning-based classes including after school programs, camps, evening classes, in-school field trips, workshops and even birthday parties, today announced a 124 percent system-wide sales increase in the first quarter of 2013. With expansion, the company has seven new openings in areas of the country including Tennessee, Maryland, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Texas and California.

Sales strength has allowed them to complete a total of 15 signings in the first quarter, further demonstrating the rate of growth the company has experienced thus far and helping to maintain the aggressive goal of adding 50 to 60 locations by the end of the year.

“As we have now had some time to get Engineering for Kids up and running, I am very encouraged by the rate of growth and actual expansion we have experienced to-date,” said Dori Roberts, Engineering for Kids’ founder and CEO. “What is interesting is although we are a relatively new company, our emphasis helps show strategic STEM-focused curriculum is a strong and lucrative topic for education. We started out on the East Coast, but are now really starting to expand. For anyone with a true passion for teaching the sciences, Engineering for Kids offers a great niche option.”

Engineering for Kids highlights not only the importance of learning engineering skills at a young age, but also the potential success children can have in engineering fields in the future, while not forgetting one of the most important features of learning – fun.

With 5,300 children enrolled across the network to-date, enrollment has never been higher and offers a suite of programs for children ages four to 14 that introduce them to science, technology, engineering and math through a variety of workshops all aimed at developing problem-solving skills.

In areas of the country where STEM education is particularly emphasized and where there is a strong base of IT and science-based jobs, success has been very high. For example, Juanita Leung, who runs the San Francisco Engineering for Kids, experienced 10 times the sales revenue for her first month compared to others’ first-month sales in the network.

“While Juanita’s story is only one example and cannot be assumed in all cases, we do see a correlation between the demand for engineering-based positions and stressing the importance of teaching the curriculum properly, and enthusiastically, at a young age,” Roberts added. “Time will tell as we continue to grow, but we are excited to see what developments come as we head into the next portion of 2013.”

With a franchising fee of $17,500 and a typical home-based franchise cost of $25,000 to $30,000, Engineering for Kids currently has over 56 locations spread throughout the United States that are in various forms of completion.

As a low-barrier opportunity with room to grow, Engineering for Kids franchisees have the option of taking their home-based franchise and eventually open a learning center, which are typically 1,200 square feet in size. An ideal franchisee is someone who is well connected in their community, a parent or an individual who has a passion for educating children.

“Our most successful franchisees are those who truly understand the need for supplemental education to elevate kids beyond the standards taught in public education,” explained Roberts. “These people see funding cuts and the gaps in curriculum at their own children’s schools and want to fill that need.”

Engineering for Kids also retains an active and engaging Facebook page featuring fun and informative information on engineering. ‘Like’ the page at www.facebook.com/engineeringforkids. 

Engineering for Kids featured in Huffington Post

Dori Roberts, founder of Engineering for Kids, recently wrote an article for the Huffington Post's Blog online. She spoke about the importance of STEM education, her history in teaching, and her dedication to inspiring young adults to explore careers in engineering. Roberts cites an interesting study by the Intel Corporation which reports that 63% of teens have never considered a career in engineering, but 44% would if they knew more about it!

Click HERE for the full article, or begin reading below.

Creating, Tinkering, Inventing and Imagining Our Way to the Top

By: Dori Roberts

If you were to peek through the door of most preschool classrooms or observe young children playing at home, you would likely find kids creating, tinkering, inventing and imagining. Their hands would be busy and their minds would be racing a hundred miles a minute with all different types of creative possibilities: A rollercoaster using foam pipe insulation! A rocket from a plastic water bottle! A bridge from paper and tape! These kids are engineers. Most just don't know it. Yet.

I began my career as a high school technology and engineering teacher. During that time, I witnessed amazing ideas high school students developed and implemented around engineering-related challenges. I saw firsthand how students could begin to address real-world problems with their innovation. My own son, who was 6 at the time, became very interested in the students' projects. Upon searching for an after-school STEM program for him, I realized such a thing did not exist. So, I began to dream of a program that would introduce STEM concepts to young children. In 2009, I founded Engineering for Kids, which brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to kids ages 4 through 14 in a fun and challenging way.