Kayfield Academy Early Education Centers are the Best!

Kayfield Academy has a long and rich history in Louisville (and beyond!). Charlotte Kay (Hojnacki) opened her first early education center in September 1973. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in social science and English from Mercy College in Detroit. She always put an emphasis on a low child to faculty ratio. She believed, “Children learn through experimentation, by doing, not by being told what to do.” She was ahead of her time in the early 70s with NTI before anyone else. The newspapers even featured her in 1970 and 1974 for her first daycare and then school in the basement of their family home in Detroit. After coming to the Louisville area, Charlotte opened one of the very first early education centers in all of Kentucky.

“CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH EXPERIMENTATION, BY DOING, NOT BY BEING TOLD WHAT TO DO.”

Kayfield Academy sets the standard for preschool and early childhood education programs in Kentucky. At KA, they strongly believe in the value of new and varied experiences, which is the foundation of knowledge for holistic and well-rounded child development. Their programs are developed using core principles established by NAEYC starting at 6-weeks-old to Pre-K. They also offer after school care for Kindergartners once they graduate from the Pre-K program.

KA’s focus is NURTURING little minds, PROVIDING a safe and stimulating environment, and EDUCATING through play, classroom instruction, and award-winning curriculum.

The family that started Kayfield Academy still runs the schools. Kevin (Charlotte’s son) remembers his mom running that daycare in their basement from the time he was five. In 2017, Charlotte passed away after a battle with cancer and left her legacy and the schools to Kevin. He and his wife have continued to pour their hearts and souls into the community and into the children that attend KA, just as his mother always had. Charlotte continues to be missed dearly and left an incredible imprint on so many.

One of the original teachers at KA, Mrs. Beverly, is still with the school. She wanted to share a tribute to the founder for the impact she had on her life. “I started working for Charlotte Kay in August 1999 at Kayfield Academy 1. I would come check on her as she was doing work on the first school while I waited for it to get finished and open. A funny memory from those days is that I did my fingerprints for my background check in her car!

“Mrs. Charlotte was tough; she wasn’t afraid to try anything. She always said, ‘I can do it myself!’ Charlotte had a certain way she wanted things to go, as most bosses do, but she would ask the staff questions about what we thought of her ideas and factor that into her decisions. She really cared about everyone. She invited me into her home, and we loved playing Bunco together. I had so much fun with her. She was always excited about things to do at all the holiday parties and on all the holidays. And, she would always help you out if she could. Mrs. Charlotte even paid for me to get my CDA. I truly enjoyed working for Mrs. Charlotte Kay, and I miss her dearly.” Charlotte touched the lives of so many others just like this.

Kayfield Academy not only cares for their students, teachers, and staff – they also care about the community as a whole. KA has a legacy of community service. Over the years, they have gone into nursing homes in the area where the kids sang and brought the residents gifts; they have done military Secret Santas during Christmas; they’ve supported Norton Children’s Hospital premi ward and participated in the Splash ‘n’ Dash runs; plus so much more.

Find out for yourself why Kayfield Academy early education centers are the best – and have your family be part of this incredible legacy. Schedule a tour today!

*They have partnered with the Kentucky Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to make quality childcare more accessible to families in need.