Whiz Kidz Preschool founder and CEO Martha Picciao will open her second Whiz Kidz Preschool in Scottsdale and the fifth in the Valley in June. (Submitted photo)
Rapid Expansion Whiz Kidz Preschool opens 2nd Scottsdale location
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By Alex Gallagher fter seeing its waitlist soar to nearly 50 families, creating a nearly yearlong backlog, Whiz Kidz Preschool founder/CEO Martha Picciao decided her best option to accommodate families seeking day care for children ages 5 and younger was to open a second facility in Scottsdale. The new facility has a targeted opening date of June 6 and will open in the former 8,500-square-foot building that was home to Sunrise Preschool on Frank Lloyd Wright Boulevard for over a decade. It
can host about 180 students. “Our Scottsdale location has been open for six years, and we’ve had a waitlist going for quite some time,” Picciao says. After seeing a rebound in the wake of a 40% enrollment decline during the early days of the pandemic, Picciao quickly saw a surging demand as parents struggled to balance caring for a child while working from home. “Our work-from-home parents ended up coming back once they realized how tough it was to get work done with little kids at home,” Picciao says. Then came additional factors that
extended the waitlist to grow from six months to a year, depending on children’s age, which is a high demand for care of younger kids. “The demand is exponential, and the younger they are, the longer the waitlist,” Picciao says. “Between other centers either being out or being understaffed, I’m assuming that’s why there’s such a demand.” The demand eventually reached a point where Picciao felt it was time to begin looking for a second space. “Our Realtor was always looking at when things would come up, and when this location became available, he
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