| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Education, Tutoring |
| Founded | 1979 (as Sylvan Learning Corporation) |
| Headquarters | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Owner(s) | Sterling Capital Parters Citigroup Private Equity |
| Website | www.sylvanlearning.com |
Sylvan Learning (formerly Sylvan Learning Center) consists of franchised and corporate supplemental learning centers which provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, homework support, and test preparation for college entrance and state exams. Sylvan provides personalized learning programs and primarily serves students of kindergarten age through high school. Sylvan Learning appears to be a trade name of Educate Inc.
Sylvan Learning began in Portland in 1979 at the Sylvan Hill Medical Center Building. It was founded by former school teacher and California based, "The Reading Game," employee, W. Berry Fowler. By 1983, Sylvan had dozens of successful franchises and moved its headquarters to Bellevue, Washington, near Seattle. In 1986, having over 500 franchises, Sylvan went public on the NASDAQ exchange and used funds to develop corporate learning centers in key cities. Shortly afterward, KinderCare Learning Centers acquired the majority of stock and moved the franchise headquarters to Montgomery, Alabama with mostly new staff.
Since its founding, Sylvan has served more than two million students. Currently, Sylvan Learning operates approximately 1,100 learning centers across North America – 49 US states and six provinces in Canada – as well as ten countries.
In 2009, Sylvan Learning was ranked number 67 in Franchise Times magazine's "Top 200 Systems"[1] and has been ranked 25 times in Entrepreneur magazine's "Franchise 500 Ranking;" most recently, Sylvan was named one of the "25 Top Franchises for Hispanic American Ownership" by Poder Enterprise magazine and was ranked in Bond's "Top 100 Franchises."[2]
Several franchised centers have closed in the 2008 to 2010 timeframe including three in Massachusetts and Connecticut (2008), three in Wisconsin (2008/9), two in Arkansas (2009), two in Missouri (2009) and three in northern Colorado (2010). Per the Sylvan spokesperson, Jennifer Gaegler, It appears that the corporate response is to send their students to an on-line solution and deny refunds.
As a franchisor Sylvan Corporate may not elect to support their franchisees during a bankruptcy. They have stated that “Sylvan Learning, Inc. is a separate entity which licensed to [franchisee] the right to operate a Sylvan Learning Center. Sylvan did not, and will not, assume any of the Franchisee's liabilities.”