Matt Speranza and Dave Horrell each changed the trajectory of their lives, shifting to figuratively painting the potential of children from literally selling paint.
Both men presided over the Nov. 11 groundbreaking of The Goddard School, one of about 640 early childhood development centers across the country but the first of four planned locations in Southwest Florida.
Stultz Construction will build the 14,000-square-foot building at 10100 Arcos Ave., off Three Oaks Parkway and just north of Corkscrew Road.
First Speranza, then Horrell left Sherwin-Williams.
Speranza did so when he first invested in The Goddard School. He owns the rights to 20 locations, making him Goddard’s largest franchisee. Thirteen of the schools are already open in the Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Cleveland areas.
Estero will mark Speranza’s 14th school to open. There are 22 Goddard Schools in other parts of Florida, but none of them are owned by Speranza.
Speranza’s group also has secured the first Goddard School in Fort Myers. It will be at 13541 Goldenwood Drive, off Treeline Avenue and just north of Daniels Parkway.
The first Collier County location has been secured for 8200 Immokalee Road, adjacent to Gulf Coast High School. Speranza is looking at a second Collier County site near Kaiser University off U.S. 41.
The growth of private early childhood schools enticed Horrell to join Speranza’s group as the Estero franchise owner.
“The need for child care is very, very big right now, with dual income families having to work and finding a place that has a high-quality childhood education rather than just a day care,” Speranza said. “We have our own proprietary system called the Wonders of Learning. No other childhood franchise or child care system has anything like that. So, we’re going to be bringing Wonders of Learning to Florida and to the community of Estero.”
Horrell, who recently left selling insurance for Allstate, rejoined Speranza as a business partner, having worked with him years ago at Sherwin-Williams. Horrell said he spent about two years preparing to join Goddard, training in Pittsburgh. He has been managing payroll and benefits for Speranza’s employees, which number about 300.
The Estero school will have about 30 employees.
“I’d say we started the journey — it was probably Thanksgiving of two years ago,” Horrell said. “The hard work’s not over. But being out, away from my family, that hopefully has subsided. There’s never a dull moment. I’m always moving, and this is going to be another opportunity to grow.”
Speranza and Horrell have yet to announce tuition costs in Estero. Other Goddard schools typically charge between $1,200 and $3,200 a month, depending on the age of the child.
Speranza’s group paid $975,000 for the land and will pay about $5 million in construction costs.
Horrell said he loved the location. The school should be open by the end of next year.
“Whenever we had this particular site come open, I think it just fits really nicely with the corridor of the area,” Horrell said. “It gives us a lot of opportunity for traffic to fill the school with students.
“I hope that the Estero community welcomes us. I hope that the families here learn to trust us, and we grow our presence, and we represent The Goddard School well.”
