Recognizing the need for quality care for young children, Kathy Feigley established Kangaroo Kids in 1991 as a small school in Middlesex County. As the school grew, a larger facility was required and renovations were begun on a building in historic North Branch in 1997. Although the new Kangaroo Kids is a high tech facility, the building itself has a great deal of history. It’s now more than a century old and began its life as a one room school house. It also enjoyed time as the North Branch Firehouse. The building has come full circle. Today, it’s a modern, state of the art 7,000 square foot childcare and learning center licensed for 147 youngsters.
“With advances in the field of early childhood education over the years, our program has evolved, but our values have remained the same. At Kangaroo Kids, we believe that providing a safe, positive, family friendly and caring educational environment is the foundation children need for future academic success. Kangaroo Kids strives to build a love of learning that will last a lifetime,” stated Kathy Feigley.
The logo exemplifies the philosophy of Kangaroo Kids with the nurturing environment of the child in the pouch. The child is holding a book represents the importance of education, and the child sliding down the tail of the Kangaroo demonstrates that learning should be an enjoyable process.
The school has children from 6 weeks old in the Young Explorers room and goes through a private school kindergarten. In the summer the school age children through 10 years of age get to enjoy a theme based program with daily swimming in Kangaroo Kids onsite heated pool. Their curriculum includes all the academic domains of learning plus Chinese, Spanish, and Music lessons.
They proudly boast, fifteen Hall of Fame staff members have been at the school for over 5 years. Some of which were actually the original staff of Kangaroo Kids in 1991!
In 2009 Kangaroo Kids was awarded #1 school in America by the National Association of Child Care Professionals (now called Association for Early Learning Leaders). Seven of the long time staff members, Kathy Feigley, Ed Kross, Shaun Pidany, Carol McKinnie, Peggy Jones, Fatima Morin Pidany, and Sandy Rodrigo traveled to Florida to receive the award.
Kangaroo Kids is very involved in the community through their annual event, including the Giving Tree, Food bank collections, Valentines for Veterans and Seniors, and a Family Carnival for Autism Speaks, “Julia’s Hope.” Kathy is also a Rotarian and has received numerous awards including Director of the Year, “Outstanding Women of the Year Somerset County,” Economic Vitality Award, Somerset County Diversity Award and was awarded a certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for significant contributions in professional fields, to women’s causes and to community endeavors. She currently is the Executive Director of Kangaroo Kids, President of the New Jersey Child Care Association, and Chairman of the Rotary Club of Branchburg Public Relations.
Seven staff members have been awarded “Teacher of the Year,” at times during their 25 years in operation. Carol McKinnie, Shaun Pidany, Fatima Pidany, Jackie Russano-Weiss, Sandy Rodrigo, Misse Turner, and Peggy Jones have all received this special recognition.
Kangaroo Kids earned accreditation by the National Association for the Education of Young Children in 2001 and has successfully recertified upon each renewal. Only 7% of schools nationwide have the distinction of being accredited which is equivalent to a Blue Ribbon school and is the industry standard of excellence.
Please stay tuned to Kangaroo Kids facebook page at Kangaroo Kids Child Care for an update on events throughout the year to celebrate this exciting milestone. For further information call 908-231-7800 or visit the all new website at kangarookidschildcare.com
