Levittown Natives Embark on New Business Venture

Kiddie Academy, a national franchise of day care facilities, has launched its latest location in Bethpage with two Levittown professionals leading the way.

Natalie Ramnarain and Danielle Connelly always dreamed of one day owning a business together. Lifelong friends, the two finally reached their goal when Kiddie Academy opened its doors last month.

"I've known Danielle all of my life, and she has a great background in teaching," said Ramnarain, who holds a Bachelors Degree in Accounting from Molloy College. "We love kids, so we decided to go for it. We went with a franchise because they already have a brand, a name, a good reputation."

Located at 45 Seaman Ave., Kiddie Academy offers child care services for children up to 12 years old. Offering an extensive curriculum and qualified teaching staff, the Kiddie Academy team hopes to provide much more to families than the average day care center could, stressing the importance of learning and safety.

"We have the brand of Kiddie Academy behind us," Ramnarain explained. "We use our own curriculum that is built and created by Kiddie Academy itself, not bought from an outside company, and we serve only healthy meals that are all approved by a nutritionist. Our building is surrounded by security cameras and guests have to ring in through an intercom system."

As owner, Ramnarain said she handles the business side of things while Connelly and her co-director, Christine Trifiletti, are specially trained in various areas of child care.

"I have a background with children from day care ages up to the high school level," said Connelly, a certified high school instructor. "When we started planning this in 2010, I went and worked under a day care director to learn even more."

"I love working here, because I like being able to watch the kids develop," she added. "Our curriculum includes weekly lesson plans with math, social studies, science, english. It's not a place where your kids just play all day. It's constant learning. You can see such a big difference developmentally."

The Bethpage facility is opening Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Tours are available to interested families. For more information, you can visit their website.