Before Rocco Varma and his wife Nisha had a child, they knew they wanted to spend as much time as possible with him or her. So, they became franchisees of a Primrose School in Florham Park. “We actually raised our son Jaiden, now 7 years old, through Primrose’s entire school system,” says Rocco.
After experiencing all that Primrose had to offer their own child, and wanting to provide this same opportunity for other children, they opened up three other New Jersey locations – one in West Orange, one in Paramus and another in Morristown. They also have two more locations in Pennsylvania.
Founded almost 40 years ago, Primrose Schools are nationally accredited early education and care schools serving infants through kindergarten. Today, there are over 450 schools across the United States.
“We have state-of-the-art fully educational facilities with every single age group in separate classrooms,” he says. “They’re warm and welcoming – we want our students and parents to feel like it’s their second home.”
Mom Cynthia Jensen agrees, “As an elementary school educator, I knew this big decision would set our daughter on what I hoped to be a path of positive lifelong learning. Primrose in Florham Park was the right choice. Over the course of the last ten months, our daughter has blossomed into a confident two-year-old toddler who shares, communicates verbally in five word sentences, holds crayons with a proper grip, and expresses pure excitement for school every morning at drop-off.”
Teachers are trained by VARMAEDGE, an education group, and Primrose, explains Rocco, and they also have teaching experience and/or are fully certified and have educational degrees. “They have to go through about 80 hours of in person and online training where they get acclimated to our curriculum, our processes and our procedures. After that, there's continuous assessments for the teachers to make sure they’re delivering what our students need.”
He adds, “We are pioneers in education. Primrose develops its own curriculum - we don't source it or purchase it.”
Lead kindergarten teacher Janet Delon has been teaching at the Primrose School of Florham Park for seven years. “I have enjoyed teaching the students at Primrose School and watching them become little scholars,” she says. “I love to see the students embrace what they have learned. Primrose School provides a safe, nourishing, environment with a well-rounded education for all children.”
Primrose Schools are accredited by Cognia (previously AdvancED®), a quality-improvement enhancement network made up of the largest community of education professionals in the world. It’s the highest level an early learning school can receive.
The basis of its curriculum is an exclusive, time-tested Balanced Learning® approach which is based on the latest research in early childhood education. Every toy, book, and lesson plan is purposefully chosen to build character, school readiness and life skills. Starting in preschool, students are introduced to technology with iPads.
Not only are children’s mind’s nourished, but so are their bodies. “Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are provided and everything is organically sourced and made by our in-house chef,” says Rocco.
Adds the Lusquinos, whose daughter Dylan attends the Morristown location. “Primrose provides each class with a delicious and healthy menu each week, and they differentiate themselves from other daycares through their unique learning curriculum; everything about them exemplifies ‘white glove service.’”
Health and safety are, of course, of utmost importance too. Rocco says all facilities are sanitized on an hourly basis and cleaned on a daily basis. They’re also completely secure. “There is no entry from the outside. Only students, parents and staff have access.”
States parent Jessica Campagna, “Our son has been attending Primrose School of Florham Park for just under a year and we absolutely love this school. The staff is amazing, the entire operation is extremely well-organized, and they truly care about your child. My son is excited to go to school every day. His teachers are kind and loving. The office staff is responsive and informative. We love Primrose!”
For older children, Primrose also provides after-school care with homework help for children aged 5 through 12 and a Summer Adventure Club for kids from kindergarten through 5th grade. Every program offered allows parents to pursue their own professional careers.
Another key aspect that makes Primrose Schools stand out is their involvement and support of their local communities. “We do an annual event called the Spring Fling, where we raise funds for a nonprofit, be it a food pantry in Florham Park or a cancer organization in Paramus,” says Rocco. “Every single location finds a charity to partner with, and then all the funds that are raised through these events go to them.”
In order to become a franchisee, he had to go through several hours of onsite and in-person training from learning how the processes work to how the education curriculum works. “We're not educators,” he says. “Primrose franchises with business entrepreneurs because they want to separate the educational aspect from the business aspect.”
Rocco, who lives in Essex County, was born and raised in India before moving to the United States at the age of 17, was already an entrepreneur at age 20. After finding success in real estate and retail, he founded VARMA RE DEVELOPMENT, which he operates today alongside his Primrose Schools franchises.
To take a tour of one of the Primrose School locations and see where your child can learn and thrive, call (973) 771-4403 or go to https://www.primroseschools.com/schools/morristown/.
