Celebree School to open in Henrico’s Far West End, more to follow

A new childcare center is set to open in the Innsbrook area by early summer.

Vakul Goel, the owner and operator of the center, said that his own children’s experience with local childcare inspired him to open up a center of his own.

If your child is crying for hours, it breaks your heart as a parent, he said.

“I wanted somewhere accredited, with roots in the community, and that I feel safe for my kids to go,” Goel said.

That's why he is opening up a Celebree School, which is a Maryland-based franchise that uses Creative Curriculum, a popular early childhood curriculum that blends STEAM and play learning.

“By the time our students graduate from here, they will be well ahead of their peers,” Goel said.

While Goel runs the business and operations side of things, the school director, May Attenelle, runs the education side.

With 24 years of experience as an educator, Attenelle said that she was drawn to Celebree because of the focus on supporting the teachers.

At full-capacity, there will be 30 full-time staff members. The school is licensed for 172 students.

"We like to have experienced teachers, and we love to take care of them so they stay with us," Attenelle said. "I think that's what's lacking in a lot of schools unfortunately, especially with the pandemic when we ask more of the teachers. That's why Celebree is very different; it's really taking care."

In addition to the preschool program for children 6 weeks through kindergarten, the school will offer before and after school child care from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for kids in kindergarten through 12 years old.

Tuition rates haven't yet been established, but Goel said that the pricing will be competitive.

“It won’t be the cheapest, but it won't be the most expensive,” he said. “To pick quality teachers, to bring them on board, I need to pay premium money. To pay premium money, I do need to charge premium. When [parents] see the quality of care, when they see the folks that we are putting in, they will see it's a bargain that they're getting.”

The first focus is getting the school open, Goel said, and after that he will get started on subsidy programs.

The building, at 3641 Cox Road in the Shoppes at Twin Oaks shopping center, is an active construction site now. The completion date is still up in the air, as supply chain issues have caused some uncertainty, but the school is set to open in late spring or early summer.

Goel, who has been a Henrico resident for 18 years, has two children in Henrico County Public Schools, at Moody Middle and Rivers Edge Elementary.

“I live in Henrico, I work in Henrico, I call it home,” he said. “I want to work with the community and for the community to provide the quality care that I always longed for, for my neighborhood.”

After the school is up and running, Goel plans to open up a few more in the Richmond area.